Shacking Up, 20
By
EntreNous

*****

Part Twenty: Taking Directions

Giles hummed quietly to himself as he added grated ginger to the sizzling ingredients in his wok. "Blast!" he swore suddenly when the sound of the doorbell made him knock a large block of tofu to the floor.

"You aren't seriously going to eat what I'm smelling, are you?" Spike asked as soon as Giles opened the door and revealed him slouching against the doorframe. "If it's for a spell, then alright, but . . . "

"Do come in, Spike," Giles said in an irritated voice. "I'd rather not burn this because of your poor timing."

Spike ventured in, headed towards the kitchen when Giles stopped and barked "Sit!" as he pointed at the couch. Spike sat and waited.

"At least offer me a cuppa if I have to watch you eat that . . . sprouty fungus-like stuff."

"Why don't you tell me while you're here," Giles said coolly, "and I'll decide if your visit warrants the sort of treatment I'd give to an invited guest?" He leaned on the kitchen counter and waited for Spike to proceed.

"I like that!" Spike huffed. "Do so many favors for you that I've lost count and . . . well, fine. You want to be that way. I'm here to talk to you about what's going on with him."

"Him . . ." Giles asked blankly.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Xander of course."

"Ah," Giles responded. He cocked his head to one side, inviting Spike to continue.

Spike sprang to his feet and began pacing. "Don't want him hurt . . . Then again, I've gone and messed it all up, apparently. Practically driven him towards . . . but I'm hardly the only one responsible . . . if he'd only listen to reason, you see… "

Giles sighed. "Could you be persuaded to tell the story as though you actually wanted me to understand what is going on?"

"Oh, yeah . . . " Spike muttered and gave himself a little shake. "Xander is . . . his roommate, that Davy . . . look, you have to help me stop them."

"Stop them from what?" Giles asked.

"From!" Spike waved his hands around wildly. "From . . . look, have you met Davy? We don't want Xander involved with that sort."

"Could it be that you have your own investment in the issue of who Xander becomes . . . involved with?" Giles asked.

Spike came to a halt.

"And what would you know about that?" he asked.

Giles rubbed his hand up and down his chin and cleared his throat. "I haven't been . . . unaware of a certain situation, shall we say, developing . . . "

Spike regarded him intently. "Is that why you were so keen on having me move out? I should have known that -- "

"No," Giles interrupted sharply. "Well . . . if I had known I might have . . . but I honestly thought that you were imposing and I wanted for Xander to . . . it's only recently that I wanted --"

"What you wanted," Spike repeated. "What you want, what Buffy and Willow want . . . ever bother asking Xander what it is that he wants?"

"Even if he does want someone -- something -- in particular, that doesn't mean he's making the wisest choice," Giles asserted. "Surely you understand that given the circumstances, the concerns that I would have are -- "

"It strikes me," Spike said, "that you're being rather delicate about all this, and you might as well just say outright what's what."

"Fine." Giles nodded. He sat on the recliner and faced Spike. "I'll make no secret of the fact that I have for some time been resistant to the possibility of you and Xander becoming involved. I don't know what you intend by leading him on in this way, but I would fault myself if I didn't maintain a skeptical perspective on what your motives might be."

"Yeah, well, can hardly blame you there," Spike observed.

"What?" Giles asked in confusion.

"Well, vampire -- more often than not you lot like to pretend I'm no more than a troublesome kitten, but you'd do well to remember that even with this chip in my head, I'm capable of causing real damage. I can understand that you'd be concerned for Xander, but the one you should be worried about is that git Davy." Spike's face darkened for a moment, and then relaxed as he continued speaking as if to himself. "I'm not leading Xander on. I'm not saying that I'm not capable of it, but the fact is that . . . I want something from him, but nothing he doesn't want for himself. It's just a matter of making him see it. I'd never hurt Xander -- well, not unless he wanted me to . . ." Spike trailed off his serious speech with a smirk. "And you'd best close your mouth, Rupert. Gaping isn't really the best look for you."

Giles shook his head, changing his expression from slack-jawed surprise to concentration. "You know, Buffy told me that I should speak to you about this before making my final judgment on the matter . . . She was convinced that you could possibly care for him."

"Yeah?" Spike asked. "Slayer's got some sense, after all." He pointed to Giles. "You'd do well to follow her example and not be so uptight."

"How do I know that I can trust you . . . that Xander can trust you?" Giles asked.

Spike leaned back in his chair and shrugged. "See, that's the tough one, mate. You'll have to wait and see . . . actions speak louder than words, and all that. It's up to Xander what he chooses, but I know that I would treat him right. If you can stay out of our way, you'll see that I will."

"Well, then," Giles said slowly. "Perhaps you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Spike said impatiently. Then he looked at Giles with suspicion. "Are you smiling about all of this?"

"Erm . . . Sorry, sorry. I can't help it," Giles said as he grinned more widely.

"Smile away if it makes you less difficult," Spike said with a weary sigh.

"I know it seems odd . . ." Giles paused. "It's just that I can't shake the feeling that I've just given you permission to woo Xander."

Spike nodded. "Well, you have, in a manner of speaking. I imagine that's why you've been working so hard to bollocks this thing up until now . . . didn't approve of what's been happening."

"I'm not saying I approve now . . . "

"Yeah, I get it," Spike said impatiently, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. "Well. Now that we're all friendly-like and open-minded, I should probably be off."

"Wait," Giles said, standing at the same time that Spike did. "Didn't you come here to ask me something about . . . Davy, was it? You think Xander's in some danger from his roommate?"

"Not the standard Hellmouth variety of danger, but I don't trust Davy."

Giles considered. "Is this really something that anyone can help you with?"

"Maybe you're right," Spike conceded. "This is about me and Xander -- I'll have to just go talk to him myself." Spike turned on his heel and made for the door.

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"Well, that was a pretty good movie," Willow ventured to say as she, Oz, and Nathan entered Oz's dorm room.

"Yeah, it was okay," Oz said. "Big with the computer graphics." He shrugged off his jacket.

"It's hard not to watch some of the special effects and think man, that looks so . . . expensive," Nathan said. "Not bad acting though. And hey, the popcorn was top notch."

"You can't go too far wrong when you have buttery popcorn," Willow agreed.

Nathan smiled at her. "Thanks for asking me back here after the film."

"Oh, sure!" Willow said enthusiastically. "I mean, we could have gone to get coffee, but we'd just be thinking about what would happen next, you know? And we have coffee here and plus, already here and at the 'next' part." She nodded vigorously, then exclaimed "So!"

Nathan ducked his head and grinned a little. "So . . . want some help making the coffee, or . . . "

"Nah, I got it," Oz replied.

"Maybe we should wait to have coffee," Willow piped up.

"Willow?" Oz asked.

"I guess I feel like we need to know what's going on . . . well, we all know what . . . maybe more like the where and the how . . . except the answer to where would be here . . ." she motioned around the room, "though that does leave the 'how,' " She watched Nathan expectantly and he nodded.

"Do you mean you want to try this out a little?" Nathan asked. He stopped and cleared his throat. "I'm game if you both are. We could just start out. You know, see what works."

"I'm pretty sure that this part of the equation works," Willow said with a small smile as she put her hand on Nathan's arm. "I mean, girl/guy, guy/girl. With Oz and me . . . that definitely works. And I know that I think you're . . . well, I kind of feel like we should try out the other um . . . " and she waved her hand around vaguely, "part of the combination."

"The part after the equal sign?" Nathan asked in confusion. "You want to go right to . . ." He did a quick eeny-meeny-miny type point between the three of them.

"No, no, no," Willow said. "Not all three of us right away. I mean, not that that wouldn't be cool," she added with a blush. "But I want to make sure that the other part of the . . . the other duo . . . is okay. With you both. And with me. Being there with you and seeing it, I mean. If it's not too much for me to see how that part works. . . you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Nathan said softly.

"So that would be guy-guy," Oz said with an arched brow.

"That's the one!" Willow said with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Okay," Oz replied, looking calm.

"Okay?" Willow said a little hysterically.

"Sure," Nathan said. He glanced at each of them and smiled slightly.

"Okay then," Willow stated. Her face took on a firm set that Oz was familiar with and she nodded decisively. "Go on then, you two. Start stuff."

The three of them looked at each other dubiously for a moment.

Nathan was the first one to burst out laughing.

Willow watched him with wide eyes as he laughed so hard that he slumped with his back to the wall and slid down to the floor.

At that, Oz grinned at her, and she couldn't help but giggle. That made Oz laugh out loud, and Willow began to giggle harder, until gradually all three of them were howling with laughter.

Willow clutched her side and fell over sideways on the bed, gasping as they started to finally wind down a little. "Ow," she complained, grabbing her side, still giggling slightly.

"You okay?" Oz asked from where he currently lay prone on the floor.

"Uh, yeah," Willow replied. She looked back and forth at Oz and Nathan, and covered her mouth with her hand trying to hide the smile.

"Holy fuck," Oz said soberly, setting them all off again.

"Don't say that," Nathan got out, before they all cracked up again.

"What, fuck?" Willow asked, her innocent look quickly straining as she began to laugh once more.

Finally they all caught their breaths. Willow pushed herself off the bed to settle with her back against it as she seated herself on the floor, and Oz propped himself up on his elbows, glancing over at where Nathan was still leaning against the wall.

"Okay," Nathan said and leaned over towards Oz. He look at him for a moment, reaching out briefly to touch Oz's spiked hair and cup Oz's face in his hand. "I like the glitter," he said seriously, touching the powdery sheen on Oz's cheekbones.

"Thanks," Oz said simply. He reached up, catching the nape of Nathan's neck, and brought him closer until their lips touched.

"Oh boy," Willow said almost inaudibly as Nathan increased the pressure of the kiss, sliding his hand down Oz's neck then resting it on his chest. Oz held Nathan's shoulders, grasping them tightly as he opened his mouth and skirted his tongue along Nathan's.

Nathan eased down, lying beside Oz and kissed a line down his neck slowly before facing Willow. "Okay so far?"

"Okay," Willow breathed. She glanced at Nathan's face then down to Oz who lay splayed out on the floor. "But you know, you should probably do more -- just so I can see how it goes, alright?"

"Sounds okay to me," Oz said casually. "In the interests of seeing how it goes, of course."

"Oh, absolutely," Willow said with a nod. "It's all for the greater good. So keep going. Except . . . you're kind of at a weird angle for me . . . soooo . . ." She waved her hand a little, indicating they should move from their prone position.

Nathan laughed and sat up; Oz followed suit.

At first they just leaned towards one another but they edged closer once the kisses gained fervor and depth. Then Nathan reached and pulled Oz into his lap so that he was sitting sideways across his legs.

They parted for a moment, and Oz sighed, brushing Nathan's hair away from his forehead. He twisted and shifted until he was straddling Nathan, until their legs loosely closed around each other. Oz gently pushed forward a little, drawing a low moan out of Nathan as their kisses became more heated. They began rocking back and forth slightly, their hips jutting towards each other, trying to get even closer than they already were.

"Oh, man," Nathan said as he pulled partly away. He dropped his head onto Oz's shoulder and took a deep breath. "Maybe this should be . . . should we call it a night? Because if we keep going, I don't think I'll be able to . . ." He lifted his head and smiled weakly at both Willow and Oz.

"Well, if you really want to go . . ." Willow said in a disappointed voice.

"It's not that I want to go," Nathan said with a slight laugh.

"I'd like you to stay," Oz said suddenly, and Willow quickly nodded.

"Stay, Nathan . . . really . . ."

Nathan turned to her, watching her intently for a moment. "Okay. But Willow . . . are you cool with this?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Willow said with a blush. "Not so much cool as -- I just mean, I'm kind of hot. I mean it is kind of hot. In here! In the room! Did you notice how hot it had gotten in here?" When the corners of Oz's mouth quirked upwards in a smile, Willow rolled her eyes at herself. "I guess this isn't really a good situation for sweater-wearing." She plucked at her cardigan slightly for emphasis. "But otherwise, I'm totally on board."

"Maybe you should take the cardigan off," Oz said reasonably.

"Or we could all take something off," Nathan offered. "In the interests of fairness."

"That does sound like a good idea," Willow agreed. Her eyes widened as they flickered over them. "Why don't you, uh . . . take each others' shirts off?"

And suddenly Oz had captured Nathan's lips again as the pace changed. The exploratory sense of hesitancy earlier dropped away as the two of them frantically pulled at each others' clothing, panting slightly as skin came into contact with skin.

"Damn," Oz gasped as Nathan's hands slipped down to cup his ass, pulling their erections into friction once again.

"Too fast?" Nathan managed, even as he still pulled Oz closer.

"Probably not fast enough," Oz clarified. "Maybe we should take this to the bed?"

"No objections here," Willow said in a fascinated voice. She had already moved up to the bed, cardigan now discarded on the floor, and patted the mattress next to her in a friendly way.

Oz got to his feet and reached out a hand to pull Nathan up. They stumbled towards the bed together, but Willow raised her hand up.

"Wait a sec," she said. "You should take off your jeans now." They both looked at her with slightly stunned expressions at the instructions. Her eyebrows had shot up about as high as they could go, and her cheeks were flushed, but the obvious heat in her eyes added to the electricity of the moment. "I mean, it'd probably be easier, right?

"Well, if you think so . . . wouldn't want to be rude," Nathan said with a grin as he shimmied out of his jeans, leaving him clad only in boxers.

"You've got that right, mister," Willow said, watching the jeans pool on the floor. "You don't want me getting all offended in the middle of all this."

"Far from it," Nathan agreed as he turned to thumb open the buttons on Oz's fly.

"I'm just glad we're all being so polite," Oz murmured. He groaned when Nathan's fingers brushed up against his hardness. "Though, you know, conversation is getting more challenging."

"Just stop talking then," Willow said firmly as she scooted over on the bed to make room. "Those are hard to get loose in a hurry, aren't they?" she asked Nathan sympathetically.

"Got 'em," Nathan said triumphantly when he had Oz's jeans in hand, turning slightly red as he realized how eager he sounded and as he realized that Oz wasn't wearing anything under his jeans.

But there wasn't time to worry about that, because Oz had pulled him onto the bed and was mouthing at his throat, scraping along his jaw with blunt teeth, and Nathan was gasping, catching Oz to his chest and falling backwards fully, and Willow was murmuring encouraging words to both of them.

Oz thrust desperately against Nathan, losing any semblance of distanced reaction as he gave a hoarse cry because it all felt so good. And Nathan, who'd been so confident all along, was trembling in fits and starts, and Willow, who'd laughed so hysterically earlier was all wide-eyed seriousness as she watched the motions intently, so close to them that she could feel the heat pouring off of their bodies.

"Fuck" "Yeah" "Please" "Harder" and Nathan pressed up against Oz, trying for faster, closer, more, and the cries he made when he came were swallowed whole as Oz kissed him hard.

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