Graham caught Riley?s eye and nodded quickly.  Riley
winked to signal that
he understood and Graham tensed his muscles, ready to
put their plan into
action.

The past few days had been killing him.  Spending a
few hours every night in
Xander?s company had sealed his fate:  he was now in
love with the other
man.  The way Xander smiled at him, the way he never
complained even though
he was obviously tired or hurting, the way he listened
to everyone speak and
was guided by them in making decisions, the way his
pants clung in all the
right places when he hunkered down to watch their
prey...it all combined to
cause him to fall helplessly for Xander.  He was
incredibly grateful to have
been ordered to work with Xander because there was no
other way that he
would have been able to get to know the other man.  He
was finally able to
see beyond the always-cheerful surface and see the
dedicated, determined man
hidden beneath.  He was in love with Xander.

Now if only Spike would get the hell out of the way so
Graham could *do*
something about it.  The damn vampire was always
there, always standing
between Graham and Xander so that Graham couldn?t say
anything to the
dark-haired man without Spike being a part of the
conversation.

If he hadn?t been so hung up on Xander, Graham might
have decided to make a
play for Spike and turn the vampire?s presence to his
own advantage.  Spike
was handsome, no denying it; and the way he moved and
talked pretty much
screamed sex.  Graham hadn?t been immune to the
attraction when Spike had
been captured months ago and he wasn?t immune now.
This time around,
though, his heart was involved and that changed
everything.  He could still
feel the pull of Spike, but it was Xander that
captivated him.

That was the reason he had convinced Riley to help
him.  Not only could he
count on Riley?s help because he was a good friend,
but also because it was
sure to irritate Spike.  Riley still hadn?t forgiven
Spike for giving him
hell about his relationship with Buffy.  Graham was
inclined to think it was
a head game Spike had played with Buffy and Riley
both; if he really wanted
her, wouldn?t he be hanging around her now?  He wasn?t
going to argue with
his friend, though, not when Riley was about to run
interference for him.

Acting on Graham?s signal, Riley picked an argument
with Spike.  ?Are you
sure you know how to handle these demons?  I ran into
something like them
with the Initiative and we did something different.?

?Pissed yourselves and ran screaming for mommy?? Spike
suggested snidely.

The argument was off and running.  Riley held Spike?s
attention by first
challenging his knowledge and then just by bickering
with him.

Not wasting the chance given to him, Graham quickly
moved to take Spike?s
place at Xander?s side.  He smiled at the dark-haired
man.  ?Hey.?

Xander smiled at him.  ?Hey.?

Graham felt like an idiot.  Here was his one chance
and he had no idea what
to say without coming off as an idiot or overly
creepy.  ?Hey, I?m in love
with you??  ?I know we?ve just met but would you like
to stay with me
tonight, stay with me every night??  He?d just send
Xander fleeing in
justified terror.  He glanced over at Riley and Spike.
?They sound like an
old married couple.?

Xander rewarded him with a grin.  ?God, you?re right.
Just don?t tell them
that.?

Graham felt better.  At least he?d made him laugh.
?So are these Glidernts
the usual demon?  Slavering for human blood and all
that??

?All that and ugly.  Ugly by even Hellmouth
standards.?  Xander shuddered.

?I noticed that,? Graham said.  ?I never got to see
anything attractive when
I was stationed here.?  Now or never.  ?Not until the
past few days, that
is.?  He held Xander?s gaze.

Xander stared at him for a moment as the meaning of
Graham?s comment sank
in.  Color rose up in his cheeks, but he didn?t look
away.  ?I?ve, uh,
noticed that the quality of the nightlife has gone up
myself.?  His voice
was a little shaky, but a hesitant smile that played
at the corners of his
mouth.

Xander was flirting back!  Graham managed to resist
the urge to do a victory
dance.  He smiled and scooted closer Xander.  ?Would
you like to try
exploring some of the new nightlife??  He winced.  He
always ended up
sounding cheesy when he tried to be coy.

The color deepened on Xander?s face, but he held
Graham?s gaze.  ?I haven?t
gotten a chance to do much exploring lately,? he said.
His expression
became a little naughty.  ?And most of my interaction
with the local
nightlife involves pointy objects.?

Graham laughed.  ?Ain?t nothing wrong with pointy
objects.?  He sobered a
little as he said earnestly, ?We could start exploring
with something small.
  A movie theater maybe?  Or a restaurant.?

Xander grinned at him.  ?I think that could be a lot
of fun.?

?What could be a lot of fun??  Spike?s voice was loud
in Graham?s ear.

Graham swore and took a few steps back, thoroughly
startled by the abrupt
interruption.  Spike took advantage of his startlement
and eeled his way
back to stand beside Xander.  Graham glared mutinously
at Spike and refused
to answer.

?Hurrying up and taking care of these demons so I can
sleep.  If we finish
quickly I?ll be able to sleep for six hours!  That
sounds like fun to me.?
As he spoke, Xander glanced over at Graham and the
blush stayed on his
cheeks.

Graham grinned at him.  Xander was willing to keep
their date a secret and
he was looking forward to it.  He caught Riley?s gaze
and shot him a
surreptitious thumbs up.  Riley grinned, sharing in
his triumph.

As they neared the place that Xander had identified as
the demons? location,
Graham calmed down and focused on the fight that was
coming up.  All of them
readied themselves, pulling out weapons they?d brought
with them.  The
building the Glidernts were hiding in was little more
than a one room shack
and Graham didn?t like the idea of being hemmed in so
closely with the
demons.  ?Maybe we could lure them out??

?With what?? Riley asked.  ?Tell them that we?re the
take-out they ordered??

?No way,? Spike muttered.  ?Glidernts have taste.?

Graham and Riley both turned on the vampire, but
Xander was there in between
them.  ?Let?s focus on getting the bad guys before we
turn on each other,
all right??  He looked at Spike.  ?Do you speak their
language??

?Not much,? Spike admitted.

?Enough to say something about their mothers??

?I could imply that they have mothers.  That should be
enough to bring them
out here.?  Spike looked toward the shack and yelled
in a language that was
mostly gargling.

The response was immediate.  Two demons came crawling
out of the shack,
shrieking at them in the same gargling language.  They
scuttled forward on
four legs, waving another pair in the air as they
charged the men facing
them.

Graham hoped his face wasn?t twisted up as much as he
thought it was.
Ick-face wasn?t especially an attractive look for him,
but those things were
*nasty*.  He blasted away with his zap gun without
hesitation, not wanting
the damn things to get to close.  After a few rounds,
he noticed something.
?Shooting them only pisses them off!?

Spike sneered at him.  ?Guess I?ll have to take care
of things the
old-fashioned way, then.?  He pulled a long knife out
of his boot and
gargled out a few more insults.

Graham pulled out his own knife and moved to help
Spike.  He knew Riley
could take care of himself; his friend was slicing
away at the second demon
with a definite look of disgust on his face.  Ignoring
Spike?s snarls, he
helped the vampire stab the Glidernt, learning its
weak spot by trial and
error.

Just as it fell lifeless to the ground, Graham heard
Riley?s shout for help.
  He turned and watched as the second Glidernt caught
Riley with its front
legs and heaved him into the air.  Xander abandoned
his own efforts at
slicing and dicing and tried to help Riley, only to be
knocked down hard to
the ground when Riley fell against him.

Graham wasn?t quite sure how he crossed the distance
to reach the second
demon; one moment he was standing over the dead body
of its pal and the next
he was stabbing it vengefully, one thrust for Riley
and the next few for
Xander because no one hurt Xander while he was around.
He was vaguely aware
of Spike at his side, spewing curses and tearing the
creature apart with his
own blade.  The Glidernt soon collapsed in a lifeless
heap.  Graham took a
few steps back, panting a little from the exertion.

?Damn.?  Riley stared at the ruined pile of flesh.
?Damn.?

Maybe he went a little overboard with the killing.
Then he looked at
Xander, who was rubbing the back of his head with an
expression of pain and
changed his mind.  He wanted to kill the demon all
over again.  He moved
toward Xander, but Spike beat him to his side.  Graham
managed to ask his
question first, though.  ?Are you all right?  Are you
hurt anywhere??

?Riley?s no light-weight,? Xander admitted, letting
Spike help him to his
feet.  ?But I think I?m OK.  I bumped my head a
little.?  He stared in
horrified fascination at the dead Glidernt.  ?Wow.
Did it yell something
back about your mothers??

Graham kept quiet and ignored Riley?s too-mild
expression.  He was going to
hear about this later, he knew it.  All his protective
instincts were
over-active where Xander was concerned and Riley
wasn?t going to pass up the
chance to tease him over it.

Spike seemed to want to ignore the question as well.
?Let?s get you home,
eh??

?You?ll be able to sleep,? Graham added.  The way
Xander looked at him with
a hidden smile told him that Xander hadn?t forgotten
their earlier
flirtation.  The flicker of warmth inside him grew.
He fell into step
behind Xander, keeping Riley quiet through judicious
use of death glares.
The teasing was going to have to wait until they were
alone.  He didn?t want
to take any chances.

Xander invited him and Riley up to the apartment to
wind down and have
something to drink.  Graham accepted immediately, but
Riley came along
willingly.  Graham knew Riley was getting to like
Xander more; by spending
time with him without Buffy being a factor, Riley was
becoming Xander?s
friend, instead of just being his friend?s boyfriend.
Plus, it pissed Spike
off every time they came up.

When they were all sitting down and supplied with
something to drink, Xander
looked over at Riley.  ?Um, have you seen Buffy at all
yet??

The smile faded from Riley?s face.  ?No.?

?You should, man.  You two need to talk.  There was
too much going on when
you left, too many distractions that you couldn?t get
past then but I think
now you might have a chance.?

Riley stared down into his glass.  ?I want to think
that, Xander.  I do.  I
just can?t talk to her.  I?m not ready yet and
I?m...I?m under orders.?

Xander nodded in immediate understanding.  ?That
sucks.  Just think about
it, ok??

Riley nodded.

When Spike stood abruptly, Graham braced himself for a
scathing comment that
would compel him to help Riley kick the vampire?s ass.
Spike surprised him,
though.  Instead of attacking Riley?s relationship
with Buffy, he looked at
Xander.  ?I?ve got to make a blood run.  I?ll be back
in a few.?  He walked
out without any further explanation.

Graham couldn?t believe it.  Not only had Spike
ignored a chance to make
Riley crazy, he was also leaving Xander alone with
them!  He watched as
Spike left, then shared a confused look with Riley.
What the hell was going
on?

Never one to waste an opportunity, Graham got up and
moved to sit beside
Xander on the couch.  He noticed that Xander looked a
little confused as he
stared at the door.  ?Are you all right??

Xander looked at him.  ?I?m fine,? he said quickly.
He blinked again and
seemed to realize that Graham was sitting beside him
for the first time.  A
small smile touched his lips.  ?I?m fine,? he said in
a more normal tone.

?And how?s your head??

?Hurts,? Xander admitted.  ?And having all two hundred
pounds of Riley land
on top of me didn?t help matters.?

?Hey!? Riley objected.  ?That remark is going to cost
you a beer.?  He got
up and headed for the kitchen.

Graham vowed to put up with Riley?s teasing later
without complaint.  His
friend was trying to give him some privacy.  He
shifted so he facing Xander.
  ?Have you given any more thought to joining me on an
expedition??  Hey, it
might be cheesy but it seemed to work with Xander.

Xander nodded.  ?I think that I?d like that a lot.  Of
course, to cut down
on Hellmouthy interference, it might be a good idea to
try doing something
in the daytime first.?

Graham?s mind immediately flashed to Xander working on
the construction
site, arms flexing as he positioned each piece of wood
before cutting it
down to the right size.  ?Daylight can be good,? he
agreed quickly.
?Anything in particular you?d like to do??

?Hey, this is your expedition,? Xander said, laughing.
?Just so long as
it?s not a fun-filled tour of Sunnydale?s purveyors of
junk food, anything
will be good.?

?What??

Xander blushed a little.  ?I used to see you at my
jobs a lot,? he
explained.  ?I figure you must be a fan of the fried
variety of cuisine.?

It was Graham?s turn to flush.  Now or never; holding
back wasn?t going to
gain him anything.  ?It wasn?t the junk food,? he
admitted.  ?It was the
cute guy behind the counter serving the junk food.?

Xander stared at him, shaking his head a little.

?It?s true,? Graham said.  ?I?m really not that big a
fan of the hot dog.
I?m just a fan of you.?  He held his breath, hoping
that Xander wouldn?t
decide he was a stalker and make a run for it.

Lips parted, Xander laughed quietly.  ?I used to
pretend that,? he said
quietly.  ?You know, that you?d come to see me.?  The
blush was back on his
cheeks.

Graham couldn?t resist, not with Xander blushing and
looking at him with
honesty and nervousness and the flickering beginnings
of heat.  He leaned
forward, moving slowly so Xander would have every
chance to stop him.
Meeting with no resistance, he gently pressed his lips
to Xander?s.  The
barest brush of mouth on mouth and he leaned back,
checking Xander?s
reaction.

Brown eyes slowly drifted open and Xander licked his
lips before moving to
repeat the kiss.  Soft lips on his own and Graham was
lost, leaning against
Xander and reveling in the warmth of his skin and the
scent of him, so close
and finally there to be touched.  He sat back after a
few more moments, not
wanting to push Xander.

Xander smiled up at him.  ?Wow.?

Wow?  He rated a wow?  Not that he disagreed.  The
kiss had seriously
short-circuited his vocabulary, but he thought wow
pretty much summed it up.
  ?Wow is good.  I can take wow.  Does wow mean that
you?ll be going out
with me??

?I?ve got a few weeks of half-days coming up soon.  I
think I could fit you
into my busy social calendar.?  Xander sat back a
little as Riley came back
into the room.

Graham decided to let up as well.  There was no
telling when Spike was going
to return, either, and he wasn?t looking forward to a
fight.  He knew there
would be; the vampire was too protective of Xander to
ever let anything like
this go.  Maybe once Graham got a little closer to
Xander he?d be able to
figure out what kind of hold Spike was trying to gain
over Xander and then
he could protect Xander from him.

He reached out and touched Xander?s arm.  ?Do you want
anything more to
drink??

?Another Coke would be good.  It might help with my
head.?  Xander moved to
get up.

Graham beat him to it.  ?Let me.?  He had to get out
of the room for a
moment before Xander or Riley caught sight of the
lunatic grin he could feel
stretching across his features.  He couldn?t help it.
He?d kissed Xander.
Xander had kissed *him*!  It was grin like an idiot or
do a touchdown
shuffle, and the grin was easier to hide.  As he
pulled another can out of
the fridge for Xander, he steadfastly ignored the bags
of blood.  He could
pretend that he?d never seen them just fine, thank
you.  He turned around to
head back for the living room just as the door to the
apartment opened and
Spike walked in carrying a cooler.

Spike set the cooler down on the counter.  ?You still
here??  He spoke
generally, but his eyes were on Graham.  ?Past your
bedtimes, isn?t it??

Graham wanted to argue with him, but he knew Xander
was tired and hurting.
He didn?t want to start a fight that would ruin the
happy little buzz he was
feeling, either.  He glared at Spike.  ?I guess we?ll
be seeing you
tomorrow, then.?

?Guess you will.?

Ignoring Spike?s matching glare, he walked past the
vampire into the living
room.  He handed the Coke to the dark-haired man.
?See you tomorrow,? he
said, his smile under control but still huge.

Xander grinned back up at him with hidden warmth in
his gaze.  ?Definitely.
And thank you.?  He took the soda, fingers lingering
as they brushed over
Graham?s.  ?Good night.?

Yes, it certainly had been.  ?Good night.?  He didn?t
bother to look at
Spike as he and Riley left.  He did keep an eye on
Riley, though, timing how
long his friend would be able to keep his peace.
Riley managed to hold it
in down the stairs, out onto the street, and even into
the vehicle.  Graham
made sure to take the driver?s seat; he didn?t want
Riley be distracted
while driving.

Riley made it until they were about a mile down the
road before erupting
into laughter.  Graham waited for him to get it all
out, not wanting to
interrupt and make it last any longer than it had too.
Finally, Riley got a
hold of himself, although laughter still rumbled up
out of him every so
often.  ?I thought dating Buffy was bad.  I never had
to use tactical
maneuvers just to talk to her!?

Graham grinned.  ?But they worked!  Thanks, man.  I
owe you.?

?You owe me big time, if what I heard from the kitchen
is any indication.?

?What did you hear?? Graham demanded.

?Nothing.?  Riley winked at him.  ?That?s what makes
me think it went well.?

Graham stared resolutely out the windshield for a few
moments before he
couldn?t hold it in anymore.  ?I kissed him,? he said.
?I kissed him and he
said he?d go out with me.?  He had to say it out loud
and make it real.

Riley laughed.  When Graham glared, he held his hands
up defensively.  ?Hey,
I?m glad it?s working out for you.  Congratulations on
finally being able to
do more than just stalk your crush.?

Reminding himself that without Riley?s help he never
would have been able to
talk to Xander at all, Graham decided to forgive Riley
for laughing.  ?It?s
not a crush anymore,? he admitted.

Riley sobered immediately.  ?It?s serious??

?Yeah.  I didn?t know him before.?  Now he did, and it
was all over.  He
knew Riley would understand - the same thing had
happened to Riley when he
finally gotten to know Buffy.  He went from liking her
to loving her
powerfully.  Graham had fallen into the same trap; now
that he knew Xander,
he wasn?t going to be able to walk away from him.
?But now I do, and I?m
going to get to know him better.?

Riley just sat there and smiled at him.  ?You do have
it bad.?

?It?s only going to get worse,? Graham warned.  He was
going to take Xander
out and give him the chance to fall as hard as he
himself had.  He was going
to earn Xander?s trust and his love.

He was also going to figure out what Spike wanted with
Xander.  He knew that
look Spike had given him was a challenge.  He wasn?t
going to let Xander be
hurt in one of the vampire?s schemes.  He winced a
little as his thoughts
wandered as he considered the vampire.  He couldn?t
think about Spike
without picturing him in his mind, and he couldn?t do
that without feeling
the lingering traces of lust.  He?d noticed Spike when
he was imprisoned
within the Initiative and had stared at his image on
video monitors and
through the shatter-resistant plastic shield that
sealed his cell.  Even
exhausted and desperate, Spike had moved with an
innately sexual grace that
had drawn Graham in despite knowing what Spike was.
Graham couldn?t quite
trust himself when it came to Spike, not with lust
clouding his judgement
about the other man.  The best he could do was focus
on his love for Xander
and trust in that to help him keep to the right
course.

His thoughts back on Xander, Graham settled himself
down for the ride back
to base.  He?d have to endure Riley?s teasing and a
quick debriefing, but
then he?d have the rest of the night to remember what
it felt like to hold
Xander and finally know his kiss.

*****