Part 19/?
Graham hurriedly raked his hands through his hair,
trying to make sure he
looked just plain rumpled, as opposed to debauched.
He watched Xander
frantically straighten his clothes, and even Spike was
making an effort to
put himself back together, grabbing his shirt and
pulling it back on.
Graham got up and moved over to the chair, leaving
Spike on the couch alone.
There was a nervous fluttering in his stomach, which
was absolutely
ridiculous. He?d faced down demons in the middle of
darkest jungle nights.
This was Willow; she was just a college student.
Riley?s voice floated
through his mind, telling him about a threat involving
a shovel, but he did
his best to ignore it. She was Xander?s friend and
she had no idea what was
going on.
Xander opened the door even as Willow began to push it
open, so the redhead
nearly fell into the room. ?Xander!?
?Hey, Willow.? Xander helped her to steady herself,
then stood aside so she
could enter. ?What are you doing here??
?I hadn?t heard from you in a few days and I was
beginning to worry.? Tara
entered the apartment right behind Willow. ?Tara
baked cookies.?
Tara ducked her head and held up the covered plate in
her hands. ?Chocolate
chip.?
Xander grinned delightedly and took the plate. ?Watch
it, Wills. I think I
may try to steal her away from you.?
Willow looked around the apartment and spotted Graham
and Spike immediately.
She waved a little at Spike, but her brow creased as
she looked at Graham,
clearly trying to place him. He decided to save her
the trouble. ?Graham
Miller,? he said. ?I?m a friend of Riley?s.?
?I thought the Initiative pulled out of Sunnydale.?
Willow and Tara moved
closer together, nearly blocking his view of Xander in
the kitchen. He saw
Xander hurriedly put the plate down on the counter
then return to the living
room.
?They have,? Xander said. ?Mostly.?
?What do you mean mostly? And do Buffy and Giles know
about this?? She
glared suspiciously at Graham. ?What do you want with
Xander??
Graham struggled to find an answer that wouldn?t
violate national security.
He was saved by the doorbell chime. ?Door,? he said
helpfully.
Xander shot him a warning look and opened the door.
?Riley??
?Hey, Xander. So you?re up and around now? You must
be feeling better.?
Riley looked the dark-haired man over carefully as he
walked into the
apartment.
Graham smothered a groan. He knew Riley; not only did
he want to check on
Xander and be sure that he was all right, but he was
also undoubtedly here
to make sure that Spike didn?t do anything to hurt
Xander or Graham.
Overprotective Riley to the rescue, only this time he
was going to make
things worse. Graham heard a muffled snort and he
turned to glare at Spike,
who stared back unrepentantly even as he tried to
stifle his laughter. How
could Spike laugh at a time like this? Meeting Willow
was like...the only
thing he could come up with was meeting the in-laws.
This was probably more
important than that, and Riley had just blundered
right into the middle of
it.
?Riley?? Willow?s expression was dangerous.
After making a sound suspiciously like ?eep?, Riley
raised one hand in a
half-hearted wave. ?Hi, Willow.?
?What are you doing back here?? she demanded.
Riley took a step back. ?Give me a chance to
explain.? Wow. Riley
actually seemed afraid of Willow. Maybe he should
have paid more attention
when Riley was talking about her.
Xander jumped in to the conversation before Riley had
a chance to even
start. ?They?re not here as a part of the Initiative,
Wills. They just got
into town. Spike and I ran into them and they?ve been
helping us out on
patrols the past few nights. They?re here to help.?
Riley nodded
enthusiastically.
Willow didn?t relent. ?Have you seen Buffy yet??
Riley shook his head. ?I?ve been working myself up to
it. I?m headed over
there next.? He met Willow?s gaze firmly. ?I needed
some time and some
help to get my priorities straight. I know what?s
important now.?
Graham was happy that Riley had finally come to a
decision, and he thought
it was the right one. Riley wasn?t happy apart from
Buffy. He didn?t know
if they could be happy together after what happened
between them, but they
both deserved the chance to find out.
Willow stared at Riley, then nodded. ?I don?t usually
let people have
second chances. You won?t get another.?
?I understand,? Riley said.
Willow watched him for a moment and then her stern
expression softened. ?Go
see her soon.?
?I?m on my way. I just wanted to stop in to check in
on Xander.? He looked
over at Xander. ?You look better. How are you
feeling??
Willow turned her gaze to Xander. ?Xander? Are you
all right??
?Just tired,? he said quickly. ?It was a late night
last night and I got
knocked around a little. You know - the usual. Don?t
worry about me.
Speaking of being tired, how are you two ladies doing?
I didn?t expect to
see you up and around so soon.?
Tara yawned hugely, then flushed. ?We?re still
feeling the effects of the
spell,? she admitted. ?But it?s getting better.
We?re staying awake
through classes now.?
?Speaking of,? Willow looked down at her watch.
?We?re going to be late to
our science class. Xander, do you want us to stay??
?No, you get to class. I?ll be fine.? Xander grinned
at her. ?Go on. You
need to get to class and I?ve got more babysitters
here than I can handle.?
His smile slipped a little as he said the last part.
He hugged Willow, then
made a big show of hugging Tara, before closing the
door behind them as they
left.
Riley watched Xander. ?Are you sure you?re all
right??
Hearing Riley ask about Xander again made Graham take
a closer look at the
dark-haired man. Xander still had shadows underneath
his eyes, but he
looked far better than the first time he had awoken.
There was an unhappy
twist to his mouth now, though, that hadn?t been there
before. Graham
straightened up on the couch. What was this?
Xander shrugged off Riley?s concern. ?I?m fine.?
?Huh. So what?s going on??
?Ask Graham or Spike. I don?t have any idea.? Xander
leaned back against
the wall and refused to look over at the men in the
living room.
Graham looked over at Spike, but the vampire looked as
bewildered as he
felt. What the hell was going on? What had happened
to the good mood and
laughter they?d just shared? He wanted to find out,
but he didn?t want to
get into it in front of Riley. He caught his friend?s
worried glance.
?Everything?s fine, Ri,? he said reassuringly. ?When
are you going to go
see Buffy??
?Today. Now. As soon as I leave.? Riley wasn?t
exactly jittery, but he
wasn?t far from it.
?Ri, it?s going to be fine. You have to find out,
right?? After Riley
nodded, Graham smiled. ?You can do this. You know
how to reach me if you
need me.?
?All right. I?ll catch up with you later.? Riley
nodded toward Spike and
Xander, then headed out the door.
Graham hoped everything turned out all right for
Riley, but right now he was
more concerned with finding out what had happened to
Xander. He licked his
lips in preparation for asking, but he never got the
chance.
Xander pushed away from the wall. ?I?m tired again,?
he said quietly,
refusing to look away from his feet. ?I?m going back
to bed. Lock up when
you leave.? He walked into the bedroom and shut the
door firmly.
Graham stared over at Spike. ?What the hell just
happened??Title: Uncommon
Distractions
Author: Kay
Email: kaygrr@hotmail.com
Feedback: Please? Because watching a grown girl cry
is just pathetic.
Website: ssfdu.tripod.com/kay/journal.htm (love for
Sandy)
Archive: Just let me know, eh?
Fandom: Buffy
Pairing: (Xander/Graham) + (Xander/Spike) =
Xander/Graham/Spike
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Mine? What? *These*? No, they?re Mutant
Enemy?s. They just
followed me home and wouldn?t leave until I played
with them.
Spoilers: The last season of Buffy. The incident
with Glory, and the ep
?The Body?. (Look at me, trying to be vague). And
that ugly rumor about
Spike and a certain blond slayer? Never happened.
Summery: Graham and Riley are called back to
Sunnydale when the area
destabilizes. When they return, they discover there
are new factors in
lives of the Scooby Gang, especially in Xander and
Spike?s.
Part 19/?
Graham hurriedly raked his hands through his hair,
trying to make sure he
looked just plain rumpled, as opposed to debauched.
He watched Xander
frantically straighten his clothes, and even Spike was
making an effort to
put himself back together, grabbing his shirt and
pulling it back on.
Graham got up and moved over to the chair, leaving
Spike on the couch alone.
There was a nervous fluttering in his stomach, which
was absolutely
ridiculous. He?d faced down demons in the middle of
darkest jungle nights.
This was Willow; she was just a college student.
Riley?s voice floated
through his mind, telling him about a threat involving
a shovel, but he did
his best to ignore it. She was Xander?s friend and
she had no idea what was
going on.
Xander opened the door even as Willow began to push it
open, so the redhead
nearly fell into the room. ?Xander!?
?Hey, Willow.? Xander helped her to steady herself,
then stood aside so she
could enter. ?What are you doing here??
?I hadn?t heard from you in a few days and I was
beginning to worry.? Tara
entered the apartment right behind Willow. ?Tara
baked cookies.?
Tara ducked her head and held up the covered plate in
her hands. ?Chocolate
chip.?
Xander grinned delightedly and took the plate. ?Watch
it, Wills. I think I
may try to steal her away from you.?
Willow looked around the apartment and spotted Graham
and Spike immediately.
She waved a little at Spike, but her brow creased as
she looked at Graham,
clearly trying to place him. He decided to save her
the trouble. ?Graham
Miller,? he said. ?I?m a friend of Riley?s.?
?I thought the Initiative pulled out of Sunnydale.?
Willow and Tara moved
closer together, nearly blocking his view of Xander in
the kitchen. He saw
Xander hurriedly put the plate down on the counter
then return to the living
room.
?They have,? Xander said. ?Mostly.?
?What do you mean mostly? And do Buffy and Giles know
about this?? She
glared suspiciously at Graham. ?What do you want with
Xander??
Graham struggled to find an answer that wouldn?t
violate national security.
He was saved by the doorbell chime. ?Door,? he said
helpfully.
Xander shot him a warning look and opened the door.
?Riley??
?Hey, Xander. So you?re up and around now? You must
be feeling better.?
Riley looked the dark-haired man over carefully as he
walked into the
apartment.
Graham smothered a groan. He knew Riley; not only did
he want to check on
Xander and be sure that he was all right, but he was
also undoubtedly here
to make sure that Spike didn?t do anything to hurt
Xander or Graham.
Overprotective Riley to the rescue, only this time he
was going to make
things worse. Graham heard a muffled snort and he
turned to glare at Spike,
who stared back unrepentantly even as he tried to
stifle his laughter. How
could Spike laugh at a time like this? Meeting Willow
was like...the only
thing he could come up with was meeting the in-laws.
This was probably more
important than that, and Riley had just blundered
right into the middle of
it.
?Riley?? Willow?s expression was dangerous.
After making a sound suspiciously like ?eep?, Riley
raised one hand in a
half-hearted wave. ?Hi, Willow.?
?What are you doing back here?? she demanded.
Riley took a step back. ?Give me a chance to
explain.? Wow. Riley
actually seemed afraid of Willow. Maybe he should
have paid more attention
when Riley was talking about her.
Xander jumped in to the conversation before Riley had
a chance to even
start. ?They?re not here as a part of the Initiative,
Wills. They just got
into town. Spike and I ran into them and they?ve been
helping us out on
patrols the past few nights. They?re here to help.?
Riley nodded
enthusiastically.
Willow didn?t relent. ?Have you seen Buffy yet??
Riley shook his head. ?I?ve been working myself up to
it. I?m headed over
there next.? He met Willow?s gaze firmly. ?I needed
some time and some
help to get my priorities straight. I know what?s
important now.?
Graham was happy that Riley had finally come to a
decision, and he thought
it was the right one. Riley wasn?t happy apart from
Buffy. He didn?t know
if they could be happy together after what happened
between them, but they
both deserved the chance to find out.
Willow stared at Riley, then nodded. ?I don?t usually
let people have
second chances. You won?t get another.?
?I understand,? Riley said.
Willow watched him for a moment and then her stern
expression softened. ?Go
see her soon.?
?I?m on my way. I just wanted to stop in to check in
on Xander.? He looked
over at Xander. ?You look better. How are you
feeling??
Willow turned her gaze to Xander. ?Xander? Are you
all right??
?Just tired,? he said quickly. ?It was a late night
last night and I got
knocked around a little. You know - the usual. Don?t
worry about me.
Speaking of being tired, how are you two ladies doing?
I didn?t expect to
see you up and around so soon.?
Tara yawned hugely, then flushed. ?We?re still
feeling the effects of the
spell,? she admitted. ?But it?s getting better.
We?re staying awake
through classes now.?
?Speaking of,? Willow looked down at her watch.
?We?re going to be late to
our science class. Xander, do you want us to stay??
?No, you get to class. I?ll be fine.? Xander grinned
at her. ?Go on. You
need to get to class and I?ve got more babysitters
here than I can handle.?
His smile slipped a little as he said the last part.
He hugged Willow, then
made a big show of hugging Tara, before closing the
door behind them as they
left.
Riley watched Xander. ?Are you sure you?re all
right??
Hearing Riley ask about Xander again made Graham take
a closer look at the
dark-haired man. Xander still had shadows underneath
his eyes, but he
looked far better than the first time he had awoken.
There was an unhappy
twist to his mouth now, though, that hadn?t been there
before. Graham
straightened up on the couch. What was this?
Xander shrugged off Riley?s concern. ?I?m fine.?
?Huh. So what?s going on??
?Ask Graham or Spike. I don?t have any idea.? Xander
leaned back against
the wall and refused to look over at the men in the
living room.
Graham looked over at Spike, but the vampire looked as
bewildered as he
felt. What the hell was going on? What had happened
to the good mood and
laughter they?d just shared? He wanted to find out,
but he didn?t want to
get into it in front of Riley. He caught his friend?s
worried glance.
?Everything?s fine, Ri,? he said reassuringly. ?When
are you going to go
see Buffy??
?Today. Now. As soon as I leave.? Riley wasn?t
exactly jittery, but he
wasn?t far from it.
?Ri, it?s going to be fine. You have to find out,
right?? After Riley
nodded, Graham smiled. ?You can do this. You know
how to reach me if you
need me.?
?All right. I?ll catch up with you later.? Riley
nodded toward Spike and
Xander, then headed out the door.
Graham hoped everything turned out all right for
Riley, but right now he was
more concerned with finding out what had happened to
Xander. He licked his
lips in preparation for asking, but he never got the
chance.
Xander pushed away from the wall. ?I?m tired again,?
he said quietly,
refusing to look away from his feet. ?I?m going back
to bed. Lock up when
you leave.? He walked into the bedroom and shut the
door firmly.
Graham stared over at Spike. ?What the hell just
happened??
*****
Part 20/?
Spike sighed and shoved himself to his feet. Bloody
humans. They couldn?t
ever make anything easy, could they? He headed for
the kitchen. He needed
a drink and he needed to eat if he was going to have
to put up with this.
?Spike? What the hell is going on?? Graham followed
him into the kitchen.
The soldier sounded utterly bewildered.
Pouring the contents of a blood packet into a mug,
Spike turned to face the
other man. ?Think about it. What did the Cynon tell
us about Xander?s
state of mind??
Graham?s expression grew solemn. ?It said that he was
upset. Suicidal.
But he was so happy, just a little while ago.?
?Going to the Cynon screws with Xander?s emotions,?
Spike said quietly,
warming his blood in the microwave. ?He doesn?t like
to let it show but if
you pay attention you can see it. It?s been getting
harder and harder for
him to push away what the demon makes him feel.
Yesterday he was depressed
enough to try to get himself killed. He?s not just
going to snap out of
that.?
Graham?s attention immediately shifted to the bedroom
door. ?You don?t
think he?s...?
?No! No. I don?t think he?s going to get that low
again. But he?s not
going to just shrug it off, either. He?s been hurt,
he?s still hurting and
it?s going to take time to heal.? Seeing the worry in
Graham?s eyes, Spike
reached out and touched his cheek. ?What?s the
saying? Nothing that?s
worthwhile is ever easy.? Xander was going to need
them to patient, would
need them to be willing to wait and be there for him
as long as it took for
him to regain his equilibrium. Spike knew he could do
it. It was an
unexpected gift from his Dark Princess: he?d learned
patience from her.
Not that Xander was anything like Dru. He wasn?t
crazy; he was just
overwhelmed and in need of care.
Spike stepped close to Graham and pressed a gentle
kiss to the other man?s
lips. ?We?re going to be here for him,? he said
quietly.
?And for each other,? Graham added, before leaning
down to return the kiss.
Pleased, Spike drew out the kiss for several moments
before stepping away.
He quickly drank down the heated blood. A chaser from
his flask and he was
ready to go talk to Xander. He opened the
refrigerator and pulled out a can
of Coke. He gestured toward the cupboard. ?Pull out
one of those plastic
wrapped cakes for me, would you, pet??
Graham rooted through the cabinet until he found the
snackcakes. ?You want
dessert??
?It?s not for me,? Spike said, irritated until he saw
Graham?s small smile.
?Idiot,? he said quietly, not meaning it. Graham?s
sense of humor was good;
not only did Spike like it, but it would be good for
Xander. Leading the
way, he walked over to the bedroom door. He knocked,
but he didn?t wait for
an answer. He knew he wasn?t going to be given
permission to come in, so
what was the point?
Xander was in bed, covers wrapped tightly around
himself and a pillow tucked
over his head. A muffled voice emerged from beneath
the bedding. ?Wrong
door. The front door is to the right of the kitchen.?
?We weren?t looking for the door out, Xander. We?re
not going anywhere.?
Graham?s voice was gentle but determined.
A weary sigh, and then Xander was rolling over,
shoving the pillow to the
floor. ?What do you want?? he asked. His eyes were
infinitely tired, but
there was confusion in them as well.
Spike knew that Xander didn?t want them to leave; the
Cynon?s influence was
clouding his perceptions. He walked over to the bed
and held out the can of
soda. ?You need to get something more in your system,
luv.? Beside him,
Graham held out the cake.
?I?m not hungry.? Xander?s tongue crept out and swept
across his bottom
lip.
?What a coincidence. I?m not going anywhere.? Spike
met Xander?s glare
steadily.
?Please,? Graham added.
Xander sat up and held out his hand. ?Fine.? He took
the soda and cake.
His indifference was belied by the haste with which he
tore away the plastic
wrap and consumed the small dessert. It only took him
a little less time to
drain the soda. When both the treats were gone, he
stared levelly at both
men. ?So what do you want??
Graham reached out toward Xander but stopped just shy
of touching him.
?Xander, what?s wrong? Please, please let us help.?
?The only way you can help is by leaving.? Xander
shook his head. ?I?m
sorry. I don?t know what I was thinking earlier.
This is all happening too
fast. It?s insane. You have to know that this can?t
work.? He held up his
hand to stop Graham or Spike from saying anything.
?This isn?t real. It?s
a lovely dream and one that I wish could be real, but
it isn?t. This is
going to go bad and fall apart,? he swallowed hard,
?and I don?t know if I
can handle that. I don?t know if I can take losing
everything. I want to
believe, but I can?t. I can?t risk it.?
Graham sat down on the edge of the bed. ?Xander, I
want you to think about
something for me. Could you do that??
Xander sighed but nodded. ?Will you leave, after??
The weariness in his
voice made Spike want to hunt the Cynon down and carry
out all the threats
he?d made against it.
?We?ll talk about it again after we?re done,? Graham
promised. ?Do you
remember how you felt the first time you talked to the
blue demon? The
Cynon??
?Tired,? Xander admitted. ?And my head hurt a
little.?
?What about the second time you went??
?I was tired again, and my head hurt worse.?
?So every time you went to go see it, you?d get more
exhausted and the
headaches would get worse. How about the way you
felt??
Spike began to see where Graham was going with his
questions and he
approved. It was a better way of getting Xander to
see reason than tying
him to the bed and refusing to let him up until he
started to believe them.
He was still holding that plan in reserve, though.
Just in case.
Xander frowned a little. ?I already told you how I
felt. My head hurt and
I was tired.?
?No, beyond that. I meant your emotions. How were
those after you?d gone
to the Cynon?? Graham moved a little closer to
Xander.
The brown-eyed man squinted suspiciously at him.
?They began to get a
little strange,? he admitted. ?It was like they
started to linger after it
dredged them up, or something. Some times it would
take me a few days to
shake them off, but I always got back to normal. It
wasn?t anything that I
can?t handle.?
?What was the last emotion that the Cynon wanted from
you??
?Rejection. It was pretty bad,? Xander admitted.
?And you only went to the demon yesterday.?
?Yesterday...god, it seems like longer. Yeah.?
Xander blinked. ?Wait.
You think that it?s the Cynon that?s making me tell
you to go??
?Kinda, yeah. I think that the emotions the Cynon
made you feel are
effecting how you?re thinking. I think that the
rejection you remember is
making you doubt everything you?re feeling now.?
Graham traced the back of
his hand over Xander?s cheek. ?I love you, Xan. I
know that, and I don?t
want to lose you to a demon?s manipulations.?
Xander?s gaze flicked over to Spike. The vampire was
ready for that. ?Me,
too, luv. I?m not letting that blue bastard ruin
this.? He leaned down and
carefully kissed Xander, not wanting to push too hard.
When he felt Xander
respond, he finally began to relax. He stood back up
and waited for
Xander?s decision.
Fingertips brushing over his lips, Xander glanced back
and forth between
Graham and Spike. ?Um, maybe I should give the
decision a few days, then?
Just in case it is the Cynon giving me the wiggins.?
Spike barely restrained a whoop of triumph. They had
him. They were going
to be able to convince him to stay with them. ?So we
can stay, then?? he
asked, once he got himself under control.
?You can stay.? Xander hesitated, then added, ?Please
stay.?
Graham leaned forward and kissed him. ?Of course we
will. Now, were you
really tired, or was that a ply to get us to leave??
?It stared out as a ploy, but now I?m actually sleepy.
The Coke isn?t even
enough to perk me back up.? Xander mangled his last
few words with a yawn.
Spike stripped off his jeans even as Graham stood up
and worked at the
fastenings of his own. Spike moved over to the other
side of the bed and
got in as Graham persuaded Xander to scoot over toward
the middle of the
bed. Spike spared a grateful thought for Anya?s
demands that Xander get a
large bed for them to play in. He watched as Xander
got settled on the bed,
and then nodded approvingly as Graham spooned up
behind him. Spike then
moved to wrap his arm over Xander?s waist and link his
fingers with Graham
at the small of Xander?s back.
Maybe there was hope for them yet.
*****
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