New To You
By
EntreNous

There was a lot more touching once they were in Cleveland.

It didn’t seem strange or unusual. To be expected, even. The First had rated higher on the apocalyptic scale than any of the other enemies they had faced. And the losses. . . too many not to change the way each of them interacted with the others.

So if Vi laid her head on Andrew’s shoulder and Andrew rubbed Rhona’s calves while they all watched the news, nobody blinked.

Or if Willow played with Dawn’s hair, even ducking her nose against Dawn’s scalp and breathing in her mango shampoo smell as they sat on the floor mapping the hotspots in town, Kennedy didn’t appear to mind at all.

And if Xander gave Giles almost daily backrubs after Giles was worn out from a day filled with stressful conversations and legal wrangling coordinating the whereabouts of the latest Slayer-of-the-moment, it didn’t cause a buzz of giddy gossip.

Perhaps it should have, however. The relaxation those moments brought came with attendant concerns that unsettled Giles. Not the least of which were the worries that the sight of Xander with his strong hands ably soothing Giles’ cares away as Giles groaned in pleasure looked like the start of some cheap web-cam download.

Giles had been aware of Xander since . . . though it was foolish to think of it that blandly. Aware. He’d . . . felt for Xander, for a long while now. The question was whether Xander felt the same.

That question was settled rather unexpectedly when during a large thundershower the two of them were sitting on the couch in the living room, alone after a long day of training. Xander was making notes with a pencil, sketching the plans for the addition on the house with sure strokes. Giles held a book but barely looked at it, idly pondering the amount of rainfall as he listened to the rapid strikes of the droplets against the window pane.

The others had all gone to sleep already, and with a single crack the lights in the house had flickered and died. They had each laid the tools of their pastimes aside and sat silently, listening.

Then Xander had reached out and simply taken Giles’ hand. Not frightened or in need of comfort, not pointlessly reassuring . . . just an easy move through the darkness, an acknowledgement of the unspoken intimacy in the room, an extension of what had been building between them the past few months.

Xander’s thumb had stroked the web between Giles’ thumb and forefinger almost absently.

Neither of them said anything when they climbed the stairs and slept in Xander’s room that night. Not to each other, not to the others the next morning. Nothing of consequence had happened, after all.

Only that Giles had laid awake as Xander murmured in his sleep, running a finger lightly over Xander’s forearm, over the curve of his hip and the dip of his waist.

***

“I think it’d be good if we took things kind of slow,” Xander said at breakfast the morning after another night spent together in his bed. They’d left quietly when no one else was stirring -- both of them were early risers. “And that is not a back-off in any way. I’m just -- this is new. And I don’t want to mess it up.”

They’d done little else besides kiss, and that was enough of a change, enough to cause a thrill of frisson whenever Giles looked up suddenly to see Xander just coming through a doorway or leaning on the kitchen counter as he laughed at something Buffy said. But here it was -- a conversation about what was between them already and what was in store for them beyond this moment.

“Well, as this sort of thing is new to both of us,” Giles replied, “I’m sure that an unhurried pace would be the best approach. But I’m not the slightest bit worried that you’ll mess anything up.”

“This sort of thing is new to . . . what was that again?” Xander said, slightly pale. “You mean this,” and here he gestured between Giles and himself, “right? This this?”

Giles regarded him with a small smile. “I only mean that -- well, of course you’ve had experiences with women, as have I.” Xander gaped at him, and Giles cleared his throat. “I’m not trying to make you uneasy; I only wanted to reassure you. . . ”

Xander put a palm up like a stop sign. “Wait. Hold on here. I don’t want to miss anything. You’re saying--”

Leaning in to the table, Giles lowered his voice. “There’s no need for dramatics. But clearly, seeing as relationships with men are new to both of us --”

Xander flushed. Giles paused in confusion, then suddenly felt unmoored, somehow registering without quite understanding that suddenly this was something that was, in fact, dramatic.

Xander spoke quietly. “Not like I’m bragging. Or that I thought we’d be having this conversation today. But I don’t want to start this off wrong.” Xander took a deep breath. “You’re saying this is . . . the kinds of relationships that are new. . .” He pressed his lips together briefly. “Excepting that they’re not new to me. With men.”

Giles goggled at him. “But . . . you were with Anya . . . all those years, the entire time.”

“Well, we had some on-again, off-again times,” Xander explained. He cleared his throat slightly. “It didn’t always seem worth announcing it to everybody. The off-times never lasted too long anyway. It was just . . . We got together when we were so young. You know how it is.”

“Of course,” Giles said faintly.

“And the off-times, well . . . I mean, I wasn’t looking for anything long term. And there were a few that . . .” Xander shrugged, then hunched his shoulders, darting a look at Giles and then looking away in embarrassment. “There were some guys.”

“Ah,” Giles responded slowly. He looked at the faded diner logo on the mug of coffee, at the hood of Xander’s truck just visible in the parking lot outside . . . anywhere but at Xander.

“Giles?” Xander inquired softly. “You never . . . I mean, you and Ethan . . . ” he trailed off when Giles gave a short bark of laughter. “So that’s a no.”

“Give me a minute.” He glanced at Xander and shook his head. “It just doesn’t seem like you.”

Xander ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Great. Now you think I’m some kind of--”

“No!” Giles said loudly. Some of the people seated on stools at the counter turned their way. “But it does change things,” he said in a lower voice.

“Yeah, okay.” Xander drummed his fingers on the table. “I get it.”

“Not that either,” Giles said in exasperation. “I’m not turning away from you because I found this out. Yet . . .”

“Yet what?” Xander asked, staring blankly down at the crumbs on his plate.

Giles drew his hand over his mouth and chin. “It’s rather ridiculous, actually. I hadn’t anticipated this turn. You see, I’m so often in the role of guiding others. I imagine I saw myself leading you by the hand in this, so to speak.”

Xander raised his head and a grin spread across his face. “Damn, but that sounds dirty.”

Giles cleared his throat. “I suppose it does at that.”

“Listen,” Xander said hoarsely, drawing out his wallet and throwing some bills onto the table. “Do you want to get out of here?”

Giles half-smiled at him. “That doesn’t sound much like taking things slowly.”

“Hey, if we’re going to have these kinds of serious, freaky relationship talks, we should at least be doing something fun while we’re at it.”

“We can’t go back to the house now with everyone awake. And please don’t tell me that you want to take me to some tawdry motel.”

“Nah. We’re not going either of those places. C’mon.”

***

“I don’t know how good of an idea this is.”

“Quit talking, okay? I mean, sex talking is good. But stop worrying.”

They were in the back of the truck’s cab, Giles shaking on the seat as Xander slid down to the floor and buried his head in Giles’ lap. Xander had driven them to another parking lot and parked the truck in a deserted area.

“Xander . . . you don’t have to . . .”

“Shhh.”

Giles had already pried the buttons of Xander’s flannel shirt open, and had run his trembling fingertips under the thin t-shirt beneath. Now he watched as Xander’s hands rubbed along his thighs over the fabric of his trousers, and Giles slid forward with a slight intake of breath.

Xander stroked his hand lightly over Giles’ hardening cock, then sat back on his heels gazing up at Giles.

“What is it?”

Xander took Giles’ hand and kissed the center of his palm. “Aren’t you going to lead me by the hand or something?”

Giles nodded slowly and drew Xander’s hand back to his lap.

*~*~*~*~*~*The End*~*~*~*~*~*