TITLE: Maybe He's Canadian, 6: Moments of Truth *
AUTHOR: Otsoko
E-MAIL: otsoko@hotmail.com
SUMMARY: Graham and Xander each make anouncements which startle the other.
RATING: PG-13
CONTENT: SLASH: Graham/Xander. People think bad words, the guys drink some beer; if you object to beer, pretend it's root beer, it won't affect the story
SPOILERS: All of seasons 1-4, especially one and four.
CATEGORY: Maybe's He's Canadian #6
FEEDBACK: you betcha! If you flame me, I will just assume that you are a really ugly closet case with no life, and feel really sorry for you.
DISTRIBUTION: any place slash-friendly that lets me know
*DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Wheedon, Fox and the WB. I am just playing.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
1. If you haven't seen all of season 4, large parts of the story will make no sense, but it will nonetheless spoil it for you.
2. Despite all my efforts to Americanize it, there are still probably Canadianisms in the story.

Maybe He's Canadian, 6: Moments of Truth In which Graham makes a decision, and Xander makes an announcement that surprises Graham.

Graham is sitting in his room at Lowell House. He looks at the scrap of paper torn from a page of one of Buffy's notebooks. D in Covert Ops guy dropping by Buffy's room and copying the number from the list posted next to the phone. He's memorized the number long ago. But he keeps checking. OK, he's flirted with Xander, and Xander seems not to mind, but that's not the same as him being ready or willing or able to get together with another guy. Or, more to the point, get together with him. OK. I'm gonna call. And if he says 'yes' then I'm gonna put it on the line. Find out if I have a shot. He picks up the phone and dials.

Xander is sitting in the basement when the phone rings upstairs, and he gets a shout from his mom "Alexander, it's for you."

Xander bounds up the stairs two at a time -- whoever it is, it's got to be better than spending yet another late evening watching the cartoon channel.

Xander picks up the phone: "'lo"

"Hey."

"Hey, Graham, what's up?" Guy said he'd call. He called.

"Beer?" Laconic ex-commando guy at work.

"Yeah, sure, why not. Meet ya at The Pub?"

"Great."

When Xander arrives at The Pub, Graham is already there, in jeans and a T-shirt, muscles very evident. He's at the same booth, pitcher and two glasses in front of him. Xander sits and Graham pours him a glass.

Graham smiles at him, suppressing a laugh.

"What?" Xander demands.

"'Alexander'?" Graham says imitating Xander's mom's voice.

"Hey! Only my mother calls me that. Besides, what kind of name is Graham anyway? Sounds like a metric weight."

Graham grins, "Touché" They clink glasses.

"So", Xander says taking a swig, "What are you doing now that you have joined the ranks of the teeming unemployed? Being slacker guy?"

"Still enrolled at the university."

"How ya gonna swing the tuition and all?"

"GI bill."

"So you're ex-commando grad student guy."

Graham grins and nods. "You?"

"Sort of job-of-the-week, living-in-my parents- basement guy."

"Slacker guy?"

"Well, yeah."

Graham sees that Xander definitely wants to change the subject. "Wanna hear something weird?"

"Sure. I'm always up for wierd."

"Night after the big battle, I had this dream."

Xander's head snapped up. "What kind of dream?"

"Bunch of us Initiative types standing around, waiting for you to . take a leak. Weird, huh?" Graham had almost said: 'Waiting for you to pull your thing out of your pants." But he had caught himself just in time.

"Yeah, weird." Xander was a bit freaked. How much of his dream, their dream, had this guy seen? He asked carefully "Anything else happen?"

Graham shook his head, "Basically, you noticed us and left. But you did say something.

"What?"

"You looked at me and said you were a 'conformador' or something Spanish like that.

"'comfortador'?" Xander suggested.

"Yeah! How'd you.?" Graham was genuinely puzzled. But inwardly, he smiled: 'comfortador', he liked the sound of that word.

"I'm a good guesser.. Tell me, was there a guy with cheese slices in your dream?" Xander still didn't have that one figured out.

Graham looks at Xander like he's only slightly demented and shakes his head. He raises an eyebrow and repeats "*Cheese slices*?"

Xander shrugs it off with a laugh "Never mind." Graham found himself laughing along with Xander. Guy had a peculiar sense of humor, but he definitely had a sense of humor.

Xander looks at him, liking his laugh. Why does looking at Graham make him think about having sex? Ok, ok, looking at *linoleum* makes him think about having sex. But when he looks at linoleum, he doesn't think about having sex with the linoleum; whereas when he looks at Graham, he does think about having sex with Gr.. Xander gulps. OK, he did *not* just think that. Not that he's got a problem with the whole gay thing.

Xander looks around the pub. He decides to show how much he does not have a problem with the whole gay thing. He nods to his left. "Hot guy, 5 o'clock."

Graham slowly turns his head as he takes a drink of beer. He nods. "Good eye," Graham says to Xander approvingly, still looking at the hot guy. Graham also notes with approval that Xander made the translation from his point of view to Graham's in giving him the o'clock in the heads up. He's not sure why that pleases him, but it does.

"So you on the prowl tonight, G-man?"

Moment of truth. Not gonna lie any more. Not gonna hide it any more. Lay it on the line. Take Xander's response like a man. Graham returns his gaze to Xander. "Only guy I want is sitting at this table."

Xander picks up his glass and drains his beer. He puts the empty glass down. He looks up at the commando guy, meeting his gaze. Graham's eyes are boring into him. Xander sees the vulnerability in them. Shit!, this big macho guy is scared. Maybe almost as scared as he is. Xander realizes suddenly that he can't lie to this guy, or blow him off with a jokey comment, not now.

Xander swallows hard. Then he looks down at his empty glass, studying it with intensity. Xander says, in a voice just above a whisper, "It wouldn't be my first time with another guy."

There is a full minute of silence as Graham figures out the implications of that statement.

Very deliberately, so there is no misunderstanding, Graham asks, hoping against hope, "Is that a 'yes'?"

Xander hesitates, thinking about it, and then says with as much surprise as he feels, "Yeah.I guess it is." He slowly raises his head and looks at Graham. Xander's face betrays the surprise he feels about what he has just said.

Graham grins, 'Yeah?" Was that his optimistic ear hearing that?

Xander nods, "Yeah." He gives Graham a slight smile, one that grows into a grin mimicking the growth in Graham's smile.

Graham takes a deep breath, and slowly lets it out. He practically jumps out of his seat. Standing at the table, he chugs the rest of his glass of beer. He puts the glass down with a bang. "Let's go."



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