Title: Pears

 Author: meagan <nutmeg@serv.net>

 Summary: Next up in my Fortune collection. Inspired by this fortune from Gail: "You will be admired by your pears." But see the note below. Xander/Giles.

 Spoiler: "Hush," but nothing earth-shattering.

 Rating: G, I think.

 Disclaimer: Of *course* they belong to someone else. If they were mine, things would be different. Specifically, they belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, WB, and anyone else I forgot.

 Note: Originally posted to lists 13 February 2000. An acquaintance pointed out that typos in fortune cookies are fun and that this fortune was naturally supposed to read "You will be admired *for* your pears." For some reason, this correction stuck in my head rather than the original version.

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  "Nice fruit."

  Giles slowly pulled his eyes from his newspaper, clearly distracted by whatever he was reading. "What?" Oh. The fruit basket. "Ah. That. Yes, Olivia sent it to thank me for putting her up when she was visiting."

  "That's the only reason she would be thanking you?" Xander smirked. "Well, on the up side, you got pineapple. And grapes. And apples."

  "Yes, if I want to make a nice fruit salad, I'm prepared." The older man sighed. "What do you want, Xander? I was enjoying a nice, peaceful Sunday, alone with my newspaper. And now you're here. *Why* are you here?"

  Xander shrugged. "Nothing better to do? I don't know. But I'm here." He examined the basket once more. "Wow. She must really like you. There's kiwi in here."

  Frustrated at the apparently pointless conversation, Giles dropped the newspaper on the floor. "Would you like some fruit, Xander? Feel free to help yourself."

  The teenager shook his head. "I was just noticing the variety you have going here. I mean, you don't send a basket like this to someone you hate or just happen to work with." He peered deeper into the depths of the arrangement. "Hey, there's chocolate in there. And coffee."

  "Do you have a *point*?"

  Xander flushed at the irritated tone in Giles' voice. "Sorry. I'll just shut up now."

  "Thank you."

  A few silent moments passed before Xander had to speak again. "What did you do to deserve pears?"

  Giles blinked, his mind a blank. Pears? Xander was fixated on *pears*?

  "I mean, these are really nice pears. All nice and ripe, with no bruises or cuts." He lifted one to his nose, sniffing the fruit flesh. "And it smells really, really good." He sighed. "I wish someone thought enough of me to send me something like this. You have to really admire someone to do something like this. But I know that's not going to happen to me. So I have to live vicariously through you."

  Later, Giles would wonder what would have happened had he simply handed the fruit to Xander. He would follow that thought with the realization that he really didn't care or want to know. Things turned out rather nicely, after all. He picked up a pear and took a bite of it. Then he carefully placed the pear on the table, wrapped one hand around the back of Xander's head, rubbed the fruit held between his teeth over Xander's lips, and finally used his own lips to deposit the bite of pear between Xander's, pulling away the instant they touched.

  Dazed, Xander slowly chewed the pear and swallowed it. Then he spoke. "Is that what you think deserves a pear? Because I don't think so."

  Instead of speaking, Giles gently licked the traces of pear juice from Xander's lips.

  "Um, you're getting warmer."

  But Xander's voice was slightly strained, and Giles' smirk returned. "So you think *you* deserve a pear?" The teen shrugged. "I think you do. Prove it."

  "How?"

  "How do you think?" He handed the pear to Xander. When the teen just stared blankly, Giles sighed and lifted the pear and Xander's hand to his own mouth, taking another bite and leaning down to place the fruit in Xander's mouth once more. But this time, instead of pulling away as soon as Xander took the pear in his lips, Giles used his tongue to carefully push the fruit in and -- oops, gosh darn it all, he slipped -- deliberately stroke the roof of Xander's mouth.

  And that was all it took. The rest of the pear took a *very* long time to finish. Eventually, it turned brown and mushy, but by that time, both men had forgotten about it, so it didn't really matter.

  And Giles never did manage to finish reading his newspaper.

  ~~~ the end ~~~