Title: The Best Day of My Life
Author: nina (lilac_1one@hotmail.com)
Feedback: Do I even need to say it?
Rating: R, for implied sexual situations.
Pairing: Xander/Graham
Disclaimer: None of it's mine.
Distribution: Jen can have it for Finnatics. If anyone else wants it, ask and ye shall receive.
Spoilers: None, really. Season 4 happened.
Notes: My muse is back, apparently only for Graham and Xander songfics. This one was inspired by Dido's "Thank You."
Dedication: This is for Otsoko, beta extraordinaire. If this is any good, it's because of him. This is also for my buddy Sharon, who needs to her computer fixed so I can get my Sharon fix.

//My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why I got out of bed at all.
The morning rain clouds up my window and I can't see at all.
And even if I could it'd all be grey, but your picture on my wall
it reminds me that it's not so bad, it's not so bad.//

Xander started awake, the radio blaring through the room. He slammed the snooze button and fell back, his eyes closed before his head reached the pillow. Even through the haze of first awakening, he realized that something was off. Something was wrong with the bed. No deadweight by his side, no warm mountain completely buried in the covers, blocking out the first early rays of the dawn, the sound of the clock radio. And the apartment smelled wrong - no coffee brewing in the kitchen, its tantalizing odor usually incentive to haul himself out of bed. Then the pieces fell into place - no Graham.

Xander rolled over, smothering his groan in his pillow. Damn, he hated waking up alone. He understood Graham's desire to visit his sister up in San Francisco and didn't make a fuss when he left because he'd always sworn he'd never be a clinging, pathetic, dependent boyfriend. So he'd put on his supporto guy face, helped Graham pack, and sent him on his way. After he'd made love to him until walking in a straight line was a challenge for both of them. It was only for a week, not forever. And he'd be home tomorrow. No big. Xander knew he could make it through one more night. Tara and Willow, in a moment of friendly compassion, had invited themselves over that evening for dinner and a vidfest. Willow had even offered to come over before he got home to get a head start on cooking so the meal would be ready as soon as he got cleaned up.

//I drank too much last night, got bills to pay, my head just feels in pain.
I missed the bus and there'll be hell to pay, I'm late for work again.
And even if I'm there, they'll all imply that I might not last the day.
And then you call me and it's not so bad, it's not so bad.//

Work. Xander glanced at the clock at the same time the radio clicked to life. He had just enough time to shower and make it to the site on time if he didn't shave and skipped the coffee that wasn't made. Shortly after they had moved in together, Graham had purchased a top of the line coffeemaker that was far to complicated for Xander to figure out. Each night before bed, Graham added the beans and the water and set the timer. In the morning, the machine would grind the beans and brew them so Xander would have fresh coffee for the walk to work. It was Graham's gift, he always said, since he was unlikely to wake up himself at the barely dawn hour when Xander was required to arise. After leaving the Initiative, Graham had enthusiastically embraced the very unmilitary practice of sleeping in.

As Xander dragged himself to the bathroom, he bemoaned the absence of coffee on this morning. The previous night he had drowned his loneliness in far too much beer while watching ESPN. His head was muzzy and pounding, his mouth felt like a cotton plantation, and his stomach was not pleased. He downed a couple of aspirin, adjusted the shower to as hot as he could stand it, and climbed in.

As he attempted to scald himself into alertness, Xander couldn't help but smile as he thought about their morning ritual. The last thing Xander did before leaving each day was to go in and kiss Graham good-bye. And no matter how sleep-addled, Graham always asked Xander if he had his coffee. When Xander replied that he did, Graham inevitably responded, "A working man needs something hot in the morning. Sorry you had to settle for coffee."

Xander finished washing up with the grin still in place. As cheesy as it was, he loved how just the thought of their little game lifted his mood. Then, hustling to try to get to work on time, he quickly dried off, dressed and headed out the door into the light drizzle, grateful his current job on the site was inside.

*************************************************

Xander sat alone in the corner of the half-built building with his lunch on the ground next to him. One nice thing about this job was its proximity to edibles; several fast foot places were just across the street, so he always had a choice at noon. Today it was tacos. He wished it were dry enough to eat outside, but the drizzle from the morning had turned into a light, steady rain. Some of the other guys had invited him to join them for lunch, but he was in no mood to be sociable. His loneliness from the morning had caught up with him, and he had neither the inclination nor the energy for small talk and inevitable ribbing about his hunky boyfriend. After coming out to his friends, handling a bunch of construction workers had been a breeze.

On his birthday, the gang had come by to take him out for lunch. Buffy and Willow had come onto the site to get him, so he knew there would be plenty of questions when he returned. He was well aware of the appreciative stared garnered by his two best friends and the speculative glances thrown his way by his coworkers. After lunch, Will and Tara had headed to the magic shop. Riley had his Jeep to take Buffy to the mall, so Xander and Graham had hitched a ride, Graham to campus and Xander back to his job. At the site, as soon as he hopped out of the car and closed the door, Graham had called him back. When Xander stuck his head in the window, hyper-aware of the attention of most of the site who who were craning their necks for another peek at the girls, Graham had grabbed his boyfriend's face in his hands and kissed him ferociously. Knowing full well what his lover was up to, Xander returned the kiss with equal fervor, drawing strength from the contact to face the imminent confrontation. With catcalls echoing in their ears, Graham whispered, "I love you."

They had been dancing around labeling their feelings for each other until then. It was the first time either had said the L word. As the car started to pull away, Graham had hung out of the window long enough to hear Xander reply in kind. Grinning like an idiot, Xander had returned to work knowing he'd be able to tolerate anything his colleagues dished out. And they had surprised him. Maybe because it was California, maybe because Xander had proven himself dependable and competent on the job, but for whatever reason, they gave him a round of applause before allowing him to get back to work. No one had hassled him. Well, that wasn't quite true. A couple of men started to avoid him, several of the guys had practically begged for Buffy and Willow's phone numbers, and one had even told Xander that if he ever broke up with Graham, he'd love for Xander to introduce him to his ex.

Xander's cell phone chirped, bringing him out of his reverie. "Hello?"

"I miss you," Graham's voice held a hint of the longing that had been haunting Xander all week.

"Graham." He knew he sounded like a lovesick puppy, and was relieved no one was around to witness it.

"Is this an okay time?"

"Yep. Lunch. Alone."

"By choice?"

"Yeah, just felt like eating by myself," Xander struggled to keep his voice even. He didn't want to spoil Graham's fun by revealing how much he missed him.

"Everything all right?" Graham asked, concern creeping into his voice.

"Fine." Xander forced his tone to be cheerful. "Our favorite witches are doing dinner and videos at our place tonight. Should be fun. The Buffster and Ri may even swing by after patrol. I just hope the girls remember that even though I'm gay, I'm still into guy-flicks and not chick-flicks."

Graham's chuckle sent a chill down Xander's spine. "That's definitely one of the perks of dating guys. The movies always have explosions no matter who chooses them."

"Yeah, well," Xander teased, "That was definitely the deciding factor in my dating you."

"And here I though it was my devastating good looks," Graham said wryly.

"Didn't even notice," Xander almost managed to keep a straight face.

"God, I miss you, Xand," Graham choked out through the laughter.

"So come home." Shocked that it had slipped out, Xander hurriedly tacked on, "Tomorrow. Yep, tomorrow is the time to come home. So, how's your sister?" He scrambled to change the topic.

Graham decided to let Xander's comment slide, since he was trying so hard to sound like a tough guy. "She's good. Disappointed you couldn't come up. I've talked about you so much, she's really looking forward to meeting you."

"She does know I'm a guy, right?" Xander joked, but Graham was well aware of the truth to the question.

Graham laughed, "I can't believe you're back to this again. She lives in San Francisco. She's extremely aware of the existence of gays. She really doesn't care what gender you are, so long as I'm happy."

Xander tried to lighten the mood. "That's me. Make-Graham-Happy guy."

"Yes it is you," Graham reassured his partner. "And now I've gotta go. Uh, Xander, I love you."

"Yeah, I love you , too."

"I miss you."

"You said that already."

"Bye."

//Push the door, I'm home at last and I'm soaking through and through
Then you handed me a towel and all I see is you.
And even if my house falls down now, I wouldn't have a clue
Because you're near me.//

After Graham's phone call, the rest of the afternoon crept by. Five minutes after Xander started the walk home, the downpour that had been threatening all day broke. With no shelter near, he ran the rest of the way home, grateful for the grueling runs Graham frequently dragged him on. He may be soaked through with oceans in his shoes, but at least he wasn't out of breath.

Heading down the hallway, Xander smelled good things to eat. He was pleasantly surprised to find that they were coming from his apartment. He let himself in to find Willow and Tara busy in the kitchen, as promised. The table was covered in a cloth they must have brought themselves, since he was pretty sure dining linens weren't part of his or Graham's dowries. There were 2 places already set.

Willow looked up from the stove when she heard the door open. "Wow Xander, you're drenched," she greeted him, unusually loudly.

"Yes, Captain Obvious, I am. It's raining cats and dogs out there, and where, exactly does that expression come from? I mean, have you ever seen rain that looked like cats and dogs. Although this is Sunnyhell. I'm sure it's rained lots worse. And why are you yelling?" Xander babbled, stripping off his sopping shirt.

"Helloo, Xander. You do know we're here, right? You're not gonna get, uh, you know, n-n-naked?" Tara stuttered as Xander kicked off his shoes and began to unbuckle his belt.

From behind him, a deep voice resonated in his soul, "Actually, Tara, he is gonna get naked, but not out here. So don't worry."

Xander spun around and threw himself into Graham's arms. And started shivering. Graham swiftly wrapped him in the oversize towel he was holding and lead him into the bedroom.

"Surprise?" he whispered, then drew his lover into a soft kiss. Without breaking contact, Graham closed the door and gently pushed Xander until he was leaning against it. He showered kisses over Xander's face while his hands finishing undoing Xander's dripping pants. Xander stepped out of them and pulled Graham close. They stood for a moment, just holding each other, reveling in being together.

A knock on the door, followed by a giggle, broke the spell. "Okay, you lovebirds. We're leaving now. Dinner's in the oven keeping warm. It should be okay for about a half hour before it gets all dried up and icky. We'll lock up behind us," Willow said.

"Thanks, Will and Tar. You two are the best," Graham replied with a grin.

"Bye," Tara called. A second later they heard the front door slam.

Xander returned his attention to the man in front of him. "Not that I'm not thrilled you're home, because believe me, I am, but what are you doing here?"

"I live here, don't I?" Graham cracked. The expression on Xander's face prompted him to add, "Jennifer wound up having to work today, so I didn't see the point in staying. I mean, I've spent the past week at the bathhouses, and it was getting kinda old." His teasing tone belied his words.

"Didja meet any hot guys?" Xander went along with the gag.

"There are guys in San Francisco? I didn't notice," Graham answered sincerely, once again capturing Xander's mouth with his.

Xander pulled away. "As much as this is, um, perfect, I'm freezing. I really need a hot shower and I'm starved. How long do we have until dinner is ruined?

Graham glanced at the clock, then back at his lover, "About 25 minutes."

Yanking off Graham's shirt, Xander gently shoved him towards the bathroom. "Let's see, I need about 5 minutes to wash up and 5 more to get dressed. That gives us about 15 minutes extra. Think we can figure out something to do?" Xander asked, his voice husky with desire. He turned on the shower.

"I got a couple of ideas," Graham whispered, pulling them both into the stream of hot water.

Xander ran his hands over the firm, slick chest of his lover, then nibbled his way up his neck as his fingers trailed down Graham's back. Pressing their bodies together, he hesitated with his lips brushing Graham's and whispered, "Welcome home."

//And I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life.
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life.//



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