Parts 22,23
Part 22: The Buffster
Riley got out of bed and started to do his push-ups. Buffy, who had donned his robe for a quick trip to the bathroom, watched him with a sly grin. After about eight, Riley stopped, rolled over and just sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. He sighed.
"What's *wrong*, Riley?'
"Nothing."
"When you don't do the full regulation set of however many it is, something's wrong."
Riley looked up at her.
"This have to do with your big talk with your nameless buddy last night, which seemed to require drinking lots of beer before you could call me?"
"Yeah." Riley nodded. "Ya know how you know someone really well, and then it turns out that you really don't know 'em, or OK, you do, but not as well as you thought you did?"
"Uh, maybe." Buffy sat on the floor beside Riley. "This one's got you spooked, huh?"
"A little. I mean it's OK. It'll just take some getting used to."
Buffy nodded, "Anything hell-mouthy here?"
"No, nothing like that. It's more like when Willow didn't tell you about Tara."
Buffy nodded. "So, is it the keeping secrets thing or the whole other life thing that we're dealing with here? Cause those are the issues, right?"
"Yeah. No. I mean, I don't know. I like him. I really like him. He's just this great guy. And we've been buds for, well, as long as I've been buds with anybody."
"But?"
"I just thought I knew him is all. Really well. And it turns out I don't."
"Cause he likes guys?"
Riley startled. His head snapped round to look at her.
"The Willow and Tara thing *was* kinda obvious."
Riley sighed and nodded.
"And this was the big news you had to discuss with Graham?"
"Hey! I never said who!"
"No, you just said your best friend, who you've known longer than anybody."
"I just suck at this secret thing, don't I?"
"Pretty much, yeah." Buffy shot him a sweet grin.
Riley had to smile back. Then he sighed. "So what do I do?"
"That depends, cause if you're talking about you and Graham getting together and buying a condo in San Francisco, I might have issues."
Riley looked at her and laughed. "No it's not that, he's got the boyfriend thing covered."
"Yeah? Go Graham! That been going on for a while?"
Riley shook his head. "They just got together like two weeks ago. His first real boyfriend, according to him."
That two weeks ago' triggered something for Buffy. She spoke aloud, trying to remember, "Funny, Graham came by my place about two weeks ago, he seemed really nervous about something. There was small talk and surreptitious checking ot of my room. He said he was looking for you. I did notice later that someone had torn off a corner of page from my notebook, about the size you'd write a ... and it was *right* next to my list of phone numbers!"
Buffy mentally went down the list of numbers. Whose phone number could Graham have copied down? There was only one possibility.
"Giles!" Graham is dating *Giles*?"
Riley stared at her for a second and then broke into a fit of laughter, and rolled over on his side, tears streaming down his face he was laughing so hard.
Buffy thought a minute, 'OK, never mind. Giles wouldn't go for the commando-guy type, he would go for more of a book reading guy he could drink tea with, scoffing at the colonials type.'
Riley had stopped laughing and was lying on the floor, still grinning at her, "*Giles*?" he mocked. Buffy hit him on the arm. Hard.
"Ouch!" Riley protested, like he couldn't believe she'd just done that.
That 'ouch' triggered something. Buffy turned her head towards Riley. She screeched incredulously, "*Xander*!" Riley froze.
Buffy stared incredulously at Riley, "Xander? No! Graham is *not* going out with Xander!"
Riley knew his face had given it away. The cat was out of the proverbial bag. He grinned evilly. "As far as I can tell, they don't actually go out a lot."
Buffy stared at Riley. "I *so* can't believe that you weren't going to tell me!"
"Hey! Come on! I promised 'em!" Riley saw it now, he was right in the middle of it. Buffy was mad at him for withholding info, and Graham and Xander were gonna be mad as soon as they found out he'd let it slip. Riley stood up. "This was really about me and Graham, Xander was just there, in, like, a boyfriend capacity."
"The *three* of you went out drinking last night! '*Boyfriend* capacity'! You are *so* in trouble!"
"OK, I'm just not gonna win here, am I?"
Buffy pulled on the rest of her clothes.
"You can't tell 'em I told ya!" Riley pleaded.
"Buffy!" She turned and faced him. Riley took hold of her shoulders lightly. "Look. This isn't easy for them. I've seen that. Last night, at The Pub, these guys were ready to jump 'em, just for being there."
"*When* were you going to tell me?"
Riley hung his head, and let his arms fall to his side. "This isn't easy for me either."
Buffy shook her head, he just didn't get it. She really thought that she and Riley had gotten beyond the whole keeping secrets from each other thing.
She walked out before she said something she would regret later. She walked by Graham's room. She started to knock angrily on the door. What she heard stopped her cold. It was muffled but unmistakable, two guys groaning, and then laughing, then the distinct sound of a slap, and then more groaning.
She practically ran out of Lowell House, and off campus. She ran aimlessly, but she realized that her subconscious must have guided her when she found herself found herself right in front of Giles'.
Buffy sighed and knocked on Giles' door, catching her breath. There was rustling, and then the door opened. Giles in jeans and sweater, mug of tea in hand.
"Buffy. Come in."
She entered and went and plopped down on the couch. Giles went in the kitchen and poured another cup of tea, and brought it out and set in on the coffee table in front of her.
"Not a vampire activity visit, I take it."
Buffy shook her head. Then picked up the cup and politely tasted the tea. She didn't really want it, but English-guy Giles didn't believe that two human beings could talk without drinking tea.
Giles sat in the chair opposite, and took another sip of tea.
"Trouble with Riley? Because, you know, Buffy, these sorts of quarrels are really to be expected now and again. The making up part afterwards can be quite enjoyable, in my experience..."
Buffy cut him off before she heard way more than she wanted about Giles' experience. "No, I mean, yes, I just stormed out on him, but that's not it."
Giles nodded. He knew when not to speak. He took another sip of tea and watched Buffy, waiting.
"It's Xander."
Giles sighed, resisting the urge to say 'Again!'. "What's he done now?"
"He's ... seeing someone."
"Yes, I can see why that would be cause for panic. I'll check the chronicles immediately for precedents."
Buffy shot him a you're-abusing-sarcasm look.
"Sorry, do go on."
"And, it's *not* a girl."
Giles suddenly looked serious, and asked carefully, "Is 'it' human?"
Buffy looked at him like he was thick as a post. "Yes!"
"Ah! So our Xander is, um, keeping company with another young man?"
Buffy nodded.
Giles sat back, his face half annoyed and half relieved. "About bloody time!"
Buffy's head snapped up at Giles. "Huh? What? *What!*"
"I can't pretend to know everything about this, Buffy, but I *am* aware when someone has, shall we say, a school-boy crush on me. I'm not completely dense, and I did go to a British all-boys school."
"So you *knew*?"
"... That Xander sometimes has a romantic interest in members of his own gender? Well, yes. It was several years ago, and he seemed to get over it after a while, although I did have to discourage it a bit roughly, I'm afraid."
"That's why all the snide comments to Xander..."
"Not the gentlest way to handle it, I'm sure, but it was effective... Snide?, I don't recall ever being snide."
Buffy had to grin at that. "That's gotta be selective memory at work, Giles."
Giles put his mug down on the table, and leaned forward. Time to get down to the important questions. "Have you met the young man in question?"
"Yeah, his name's Graham, one of Riley's friends."
"'Gram'?" Giles looked puzzled, then brightened, "Oh, 'Graham'" said Giles, pronouncing the name correctly with two syllables, and suppressing the urge to ask Buffy if she were ever planning to learn to speak English. "And is this Graham's a decent sort?"
"Well, yeah. A really good guy, from what I know of him."
"And the two of them seem to be happy with the ... situation."
"So Riley says."
Giles shrugged his shoulders and leaned back. "What else is there to ask?"
Buffy thought about it and finally nodded, getting the point. "It's just after Willow ... and now Xander ..."
Giles nodded. "Yes, it does seem to be a recurring theme in the chronicles."
"Huh?"
"Well, the council is still rather stuffy about it all, but it does seem to pop up with a certain regularity. Among watchers as well."
"Do you have something you want to tell me?"
"Yes, that I am *not* prepared to discuss my school-boy crushes with you."
"Can you make that a promise?"
"On my honour." Buffy could hear the silent British 'u' in the word as Giles spoke it.
Suddenly Buffy looked up and asked, "Wesley?"
"Heterosexual, surprisingly enough. He *is* a bit on the wet and weedy side for my taste, though."
Whatever 'wet and weedy' meant, it sounded like Wesley, in Buffy's estimation.
"Buffy, the point is that, throughout the ages, the fight against the forces of darkness has been aided by those who already found themselves outsiders, for whom keeping secrets and hiding parts of their lives was already second nature, and that often includes those whose ..."
"... lifestyle makes them feel like outsiders already."
"I was going to say 'romantic proclivities'."
"I'm glad I stopped you."
Giles smiled. "And I don't think Xander is suddenly going to start wearing a tutu and mincing about, if that's what you're afraid of. He's still, for better and for worse, the same Xander."
"I want to thank you for that colorful visual image." Buffy replied sarcastically, but then she smiled and nodded.
"Anything else? More tea?"
"No, I think I'd better go talk to Riley."
Giles nodded. "Good idea. And bring them 'round. I'm intrigued to meet Xander's young man."
Buffy grinned "He's totally buff guy."
Giles frowned, "Do I want to know what that means?"
"You'll see."
===== ====== ====== ====== =======
As Buffy reentered Lowell House, she saw Graham in his boxers heading back to his room from the bathroom.
"Hey, Graham!"
"Oh hey. Morning, Buffy."
"It's 2 p.m., Graham."
Graham hung his head in mock embarrassment, a guilty smile on his face.
"You wanna come to lunch with Riley and me? Riley's treat."
"Uh thanks, but I sorta got something on."
"I meant the two of you." Buffy smiled warmly at Graham,
Graham looked at her and sighed, "Riley told ya, huh? I'm gonna hafta to clean that boy's clock." He said it with a slight angry edge, but he was half smiling.
"No, he didn't exactly say anything, I kinda figured it out from what he wasn't saying. Plus, that scoring of the phone number wasn't very covert-y."
"Damn! I thought I got away with that."
"Besides, I *am* the slayer."
Graham nodded. "So, you're not freaked? Cause I'd totally understand if you had some minor wiggins."
Buffy chuckled and shook her head, "You *have* been hanging out with Xand!"
Graham blushed and nodded. "I'll go ask him about lunch."
"Good, while you're doing that, I'll tell Riley he's buying."
*****
Part 23: The Cemetery
"Shit!" Xander swore as his rifle jammed, or whatever it is tasers do when they suddenly stop firing. It's especially bad when they jam as you're being charged by a 300 pound warrior demon.
"Xand!" Graham tossed him a taser rifle, Xander caught it, cocked it and aimed it as Graham ran at the demon warrior, and then deked to the side, avoiding a headstone, and the demon warrior growled and turned to attack Graham, turning its back to Xander. Graham hit the ground, beginning to roll away, and Xander fired, and the demon convulsed spastically as 3000 volts surged through him. He tossed down the rifle, and he and Graham tied the demon quickly with the shock cord.
Willow and Tara rushed over and poured some sort of potion on the demon warrior's screaming head. The two held hands and recited the sapphic Greek incantation, "... ex nekron, thanato thanaton patisas..." and the demon began to melt.
Riley called out "Got one down here!" And the two wiccans rushed over. Tara asked, "Do we have enough potion left?"
"I think so. But next time we super-size the batch."
Tara nodded in complete agreement.
Xander and Graham trotted over to the part of the cemetery where Buffy and Riley had a demon pretty much knocked unconscious against a headstone. The four watched as Tara and Willow did their potion and incantation thing and another demon warrior melted into the ground.
Buffy looked around. "That's all of them, I think."
Riley agreed with a nod, "We got four of the six. Graham?"
"Xander and I got two, sir…"
Riley smirked at the 'sir'
"… uh, we got two, Riley." Some habits were hard to break.
Buffy shook the dust off her hands, and announced proudly, "Our work here is done, guys. The cemetery is once again safe for..." She looked around at the rows of headstones "...well, for all the dead bodies." She looked at the last melting remnants of the demon warriors. "OK, they don't go all poof, but at least we don't have to bury them. Thank you, Willow and Tara!"
The two wiccans grinned. They gave each other a glance, and intertwined hands, quickly squeezing and releasing, acknowledging the other's equal role in aiding in the demon destruction. The two then went round and said good night to the other four, and headed off.
Graham was still breathing a little heavily. He looked over at Xander, and gave him a nod. "Nice shooting."
"Thanks. Nice fake on the demon."
Graham nodded and kept looking at him. He grinned. "Have I ever told you that you look really hot in uniform?"
Xander grinned, "You may have mentioned it a couple hundred times."
"It's still true."
Riley was blushing slightly at hearing Graham talk like that. He turned away from them and looked at Buffy, who was trying to suppress a chortle herself. Although, she did have to admit that it had a certain cuteness factor.
Buffy looked at the two guys and had to smile. They were both grinning at each other like there was nobody else around. She turned to Riley. "I think we should we go debrief Giles on this mission, and soon."
It took Riley a second to follow her line of reasoning. He glanced at the two guys. "Right, report to Giles. Good idea. Let's go."
Riley put an arm over Buffy's shoulder and the two headed off. Buffy called their farewells over her shoulder. "Night, guys!"
Xander looked up, "Uh, right, Good night!" And then returned his gaze to Graham, and the grin returned. "You were looking pretty good out there, yourself, nice moves."
Graham grinned slyly, "Looking pretty good, huh?"
"Hey, come on, Graham," He patted him on the shoulder. "You know you're pretty much the hottie."
Graham stared at Xander, giving him the barest hint of a smile, "Yeah? You think so?"
Xander stared back at him, unbelieving, "Graham Miller, you are the hottest man I've ever *seen* in my life, much less met."
"Yeah?" The smile widened across Graham's face.
"Well, yeah." Xander shrugged as if stating the obvious.
Graham sort of slightly shuffled his feet, more than a little embarrassed, "Cause y'know, you've never said anything."
"I just kind of thought you knew..." Xander looks down. "You're just so good looking, I kinda find it hard to believe that you..."
Xander was feeling bad about this. Graham had called him 'hot' in practically their first conversation, and was always talking about how hot or cute Xander was, and what a hot body he had and so on... Had Xander really never said anything? What else hadn't he said to Graham?
"Believe it, Xander." Graham put a hand behind Xander's neck. And standing in the middle of the graveyard in the moonlight, Xander looked up and leaned in for the kiss. They stood, hands slowly exploring each others' bodies.
Xander broke the kiss suddenly, "Come on" He picked up their weapons.
Graham followed him with a grin. He had seen the look that Xander had given him as they both stood there after the last demon warrior was down, both of them panting, adrenaline-pumped, and victorious. A little battle-ground action, Graham figured. OK, whatever turned the guy on. He certainly couldn't complain if it turned out that Xander had a kink or two.
In the part of the cemetery where they had taken down the first demon, Xander stopped, and pulled off his T-shirt and threw it on the ground. Graham just watched, hands on hips, as Xander pulled off his boots, and then the camouflage pants, and then the boxers. Xander stood there naked in the moonlight. Xander stepped over to Graham, put his hands on his arms and kissed him, moaning as Graham took him in his arms. Xander was really eager. Graham didn't mind. Xander pulled at his shirt, Graham stopping their kiss only long enough to get it over his head. Xander palmed his chest. He leaned over and licked one nipple, then the other. Then he looked up at Graham.
"I want you to fuck me." Xander said calmly.
Graham looked at him, running his right hand through his hair. "Yeah?" Both excitement and concern in his voice.
"Yeah." And Xander undid Graham's belt, and opened his pants, and tugged them down. Graham stepped out of them after kicking his shoes off. Xander reached down, spit on his hand and massaged the spit into Grahams rapidly hardening cock. He then went down on his knees and got Graham as hard as he could.
Xander then got up, took Graham by the hand and led him to where he had undressed. He found his pants, and pulled out a little plastic packet of lube and a condom and handed them to Graham. Graham looked at him a little puzzled. Xander joked, "Every boy should have his own supply."
Then he spread out his clothes behind a grave marker and lay down on his back, head against the back of the tombstone. Graham got his shirt and rolled it up and put it behind Xander's head. "Those headstones can be pretty hard, man."
Xander grinned, and lifted his legs. Graham knelt, tearing open the pack of lube with his teeth, and squirting some of the lube on his fingers. He found Xander's ass, and gently eased one finger up it.
"I'm gonna take it easy, OK?"
Xander nodded, a little scared, but very turned-on. Graham eased the finger in and out, letting Xander get used to the feeling, and then two fingers, spreading Xander open a little more, but gently, gently, and using the free hand to caress him, reassure him. And then three fingers. Xander groaned a bit. Graham pulled out and stroked his chest and whispered, "Any time you want to, we can stop, I'll stop. It's OK. I can wait."
Xander shook his head, "Go on, man."
Graham smiled at him, and slowly pushed the three lubed fingers in and out, Xander was pretty relaxed. Much more relaxed that Graham had been the first time someone did this to him. Graham had had needed a lot to drink to get himself ready for it. Xander was doing pretty well, but maybe that came from actually knowing the guy doing it to you ... and trusting him.
Graham just worried that there might not be enough lube left in the packet. If not, they'd stop. No problem. Except that he didn't want to stop. He'd wanted this for a long time. But there was one thing Graham was sure of, he was *never* gonna fuck someone unless they were really ready. He was never gonna put anyone through what he went through. Never.
Xander was clearly into it. Graham could feel his reaction through the hand on his chest.
"OK?"
Xander whispered, "Yeah." Softly, nervous but excited.
A well-practiced Graham put the rubber on, picked up the packet of lube from the ground and squeezed the rest of it onto his cock, and spread it around. He looked down at Xander. "You sure about this?
"Yeah." Xander whispered. "Come on, hot guy, do it to me!" Xander said it in a half-kidding voice, enough to make Graham grin. But the desire was there too. Xander wanted it.
"Any time you want me to stop, just let me know, OK?"
Xander nodded. Graham eased Xander's calves up onto his shoulders and held his cock in his right hand and pushed it in slowly, letting Xander get used to the feel of it. Watching his face carefully in the moonlight, making sure he wasn't hurting him, hoping that there was enough lube. Xander reached up and caressed Graham's arms, feeling the tension in those arms, and the quick pulse in the veins in his forearm. He looked straight into Graham's eyes, and whispered, "Go on."
Graham slowly pushed in all the way, and Xander tensed up. Graham ran his hands along Xander's sides, soothing him until he relaxed again, and when he had, Graham began to very slowly pump in and out, leaning over and bending his neck down so he could kiss him as he moved in and out of him.
The kiss was passionate, almost animal-like, tongues ruthlessly exploring. Xander held Graham's back as he felt Graham inside him, feeling like it might tear him apart from the inside, until Graham began to hit the spot, and Xander groaned, eyes wide open, and tightened his grip, his fingers digging into Graham's back.
Graham was unbelievably excited, working his pelvis in a circular motion as he moved in and out. Working really hard at keeping it slow, not wanting to accidentally hurt Xander his first time taking it. He looked down at Xander. Xander was pushing against the headstone with the back of his head as he softly moaned in time with Graham's thrusts. His eyes were open, but unfocused, his shoulders tensed as he held onto Graham.
Xander's mouth was barely open, soft groans coming from between those lips, barely visible in the moonlight. His jaw line tensed. Graham gave a sharp intake of breath, realizing that he had never been so excited by the sight of another guy in his life.
"Xander, I'm gonna..." and before he could say it, Graham came inside Xander, long before he wanted to, but he had wanted this for so long, he was so excited by it, that he couldn't make it last as long as he wanted. He knelt up, panting. Xander took hold of his own cock and started to jerk off. Still recovering himself, Graham reached down and added his hand. Xander shot a spurt that arched a good three feet in the air and landed on the headstone just above his head, the second and third spurts landed on his chin and chest.
Xander looked up and gave Graham a huge grin. Graham leaned down and slowly licked Xander's chin and chest clean, then knelt back up. The two just looked at each other for a long second in the shadows of the moonlight. Xander spoke first. "Graham?"
"Yeah?"
Xander swallowed hard and said, "Y'know that I love you, don't you?"
Graham smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I got the message." He leaned over and brushed the hair off of Xander's forehead. Graham had to admit that it felt really great to hear Xander actually say it. "By the way, if you hadn't figured it out, me too."
Graham pulled Xander up and hugged him tightly to him. They knelt there, locked in an embrace for a long moment, just holding each other tightly against the world.
Then Graham asked, "Can we go home? Cause this place is giving me the complete wiggins."
Xander grinned at the scooby-speak, "You bet."
The two hurriedly pulled their clothes back on. Graham had to hunt around in the moonlight for his left shoe, hurriedly kicked off in the excitement of only moments and a lifetime ago. He looked for it on the other side of the headstone. The moonlight was dim, so it was hard to find. But there it was at the base of the headstone. Graham looked at the gravestone and had a sudden shiver as he realized that they had just made love on someone's grave. He just wanted to get out of there. Fighting goosebumps, he quickly yanked on the shoe, not even bothering to tie it.
Graham sprang up, went over to Xander and put an arm across his shoulders, Xander put an arm across Graham's lower back and the two headed back to Lowell House and bed.
Epilogue
Graham wasn't positive, the moonlight was dim. But he was pretty sure that he saw two things written on that headstone as he hunted for his shoe: "Died 1997" and a first name, "Jesse".
Finis
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