**********
July 3rd
*****
Graham carefully checked over his appearance in the bathroom mirror. He grimaced as he tugged at the tie around his throat. It had been a long time since he'd had to wear an official uniform and he had all but forgotten how stiff and constricting the material was. But, like most things about the trip, it was a necessity, though at least he could get away with leaving the dress blues in the closet a little while longer. Not like some other aspects of his life which were going to be harshly thrown out into the light of day and most likely poked with pointy sticks.
Pointy sticks. Graham sighed. Even three thousand miles away from Sunnyhell his analogies were still suffering residual effects... not that they'd ever been *that* great to begin with, but...
A low, appreciative wolf whistle from the doorway intruded into his rapidly expanding shroud of misery.
"You are definitely being all that you can be."
Graham sighed. "That's the Army slogan, Xander."
"Yeah, I know, but I couldn't think of anything lecherous about 'The Few, The Proud...." He gave his lover another thorough leer. "And, believe me when I say; you, in that outfit, requires lecherous."
Graham grinned in spite of his remaining apprehensions. "Thanks." He patted his tie down one last time, then turned to his boyfriend. "I'm glad I'll look presentable for the firing squad."
"Oh, come on. It won't be *that* bad."
Graham raised an eyebrow.
"Will it?"
The Marine let out a long exhale of breath. "Nah. They're probably just going to make me give a detailed summary of the Initiative's activities for the past six months, and then tell me they're cutting our funding."
"At least you?re keeping your hopes up. That's the most important thing."
"Uh huh. So... have you decided what you're going to do today?"
Xander scratched his unbrushed hair and stifled a yawn. "Being Non-8AM-Meeting-at-the-Pentagon Guy, I am going to crawl back to bed and sleep for at least two more hours."
Graham sighed again at the completely delectable image those words conjured. Spending a lazy morning in bed. The whole being next to Xander thing would just be icing. And, if he could just stay in the hotel room it might alleviate the not quite right feeling that was skittering up and down his spine.
"Are you sure you really want to go out today? I mean, you could just stay here until I get back. They have cable. You can order room service... or, um. Hey, pay-per-view?"
Xander scowled. "Don't tell me you're starting up again, *Angel*."
"Hey, I am not as bad as Angel."
"No, you're not." Xander agreed. "You know, I'm surprised he untied us in time for us to catch our plane."
"I'm surprised he didn't try to stow away in the luggage compartment. Although," Graham?s expression softened somewhat. "I can understand why he's a little worried."
The younger man rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to say nothing's going to happen, because, well, we all know it's wrong to say *that*-"
"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"
"-No. But, come on. We're miles away from the Hellmouth, on the other side of the country, no, wait, the other side of the *continent*. That makes it seem further away. And, I know a major holiday is coming up tomorrow, but I really don't think we should worry." He put his hands on the broad, uniformed shoulders in front of him.
The Marine moved closer to him. "I know, it's just..."
"I'm gonna be fine. Hey, born and raised on the Hellmouth, here."
"Yeah, but..."
"I've looked into the eyes of creatures that bounded straight out of hell, and seen Buffy before she's had her morning grooming."
"It's a little different-"
"Sides, how the hell am I supposed ot get into trouble when Willow has so carefully planned out every single breath I'm taking." With that Xander once again whipped out the non-governmental itinerary for the trip.
When the other Scoobies had caught wind of the not quite vacation, they had jumped at the chance to offer their own suggestions on ?must see? locations. Each of them had written down a detailed listing of everything Xander and/or Graham just *had* to experience while they were in the nation?s capital. The spots ranged from the Library of Congress (Giles), to the piranha feeding at the National Aquarium (Spike), to the Treasury Building (Anya - ?I know that?s not where they actually make the money, but that place has some kind of association with it. Go there. I mean it.?). Not to mention Willow?s contributions...
Xander began to read down the redheaded witch?s list. ?The National Geographic?s Explorer?s Hall, the F.B.I building, the National Air and Space Museum. the National Museum of Natural History-?
?Wait, isn?t that where they keep the Hope Diamond??
?Um...? Xander rifled through a few more pages. ?Maybe. Yeah, I think so.?
?Okay, if I can?t convince you to stay in the room, can I at least have your promise that you?ll stay away from any openly cursed objects??
?You?re just no fun.?
*****
Three hours after Graham left for Arlington, Xander found himself in the hotel?s lobby giving the clerk behind the desk his most winning grin. ?Hello. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the nearest Metro station??
The hotel clerk, who was always nice to tourists (especially cute ones with big brown eyes) smiled gamely. ?Sure,? he said. ?there?s one about two blocks south of here. Just take a right when you exit the building.?
?Thanks.?
?No problem. Here?s a map to the system and how the stops relate to museums and stuff.? The clerk held out a thin white brochure. ?You know, the zoo, Union Station, the White House...?
?Oh, great. Though,? Xander frowned slightly, thinking of his to-do list. ?none of those places are really on my itinerary.?
?You?re in D.C. and you?re not planning on going ot the White House??
?Do you think I might see anybody from the West Wing??
?You mean the President and his cabinet??
?No, the t.v. show.?
The clerk blinked a few times. ?Oh... probably not.?
?Harrmph.?
?Well, what about the Capitol building? You really should tour the Capitol.? The clerk thought fast. ?You might not see any actors, but there?s a chance you might see a ghost.?
Xander leaned heavily against the marble topped concierge desk. ?A what??
?A ghost.? The hotel clerk replied gleefully. ?Oh, yeah. They?re all over the place. Did you know that a lot of people consider Washington D.C. to be the United States?s most haunted city??
?Oh... goody.?
*****
Graham took a sip of beer, then glanced at his watch. It was just a little variation on the normal pattern of glancing at his watch, then taking a sip of beer that had developed over the past ten minutes.
Xander was late.
Xander was ten minutes late.
That was okay, though. There were all sorts of plausible, non demonic related reasons why he might be ten whole minutes late. His watch might have stopped (or someone might have mugged him and taken it). One of the trains he was taking might have been delayed (because it crashed into the Potomac). He might be stacked up in the city morgue (because Graham should have never, ever, ever, ever, ever let him go out by himself-)
?Hey.?
Graham?s eyes snapped up as Xander plopped down into the seat across from him. ?Thank God! Uh... I mean, hi.?
Xander eyeballed him. The Marine smiled weakly.
The younger man snorted and opened his menu. ?So, how were your meetings??
?They made me me give a detailed summary of the Initiative?s activities for the past six months, and then they told me they?re cutting our funding.?
?Damn.? Xander thought for a moment. ?Now we know which side of the family Dru takes after most.?
?Yeah.? Graham brought the bottle back up to his lips and took another swig. ?Too bad I can?t use her method of solving things, and just pull their intestines out and string them up in the... uh, yeah, we need a few more minutes. Thanks.? Graham grimaced.
?Way to convince our waitress you?re a psycho killer.? Xander nodded approvingly as he watched the young woman swiftly retreat into the kitchen.
?Right. So, how was your day? Get anything on the list done??
?Quite a bit, actually. Though, I gotta say, Spike would have been incredibly disappointed. The food they feed the piranha is already finger sized. There wasn?t even hint of a bloody frenzy. Such a let down. Oh, by the way, did you know that a demon cat haunts the Capitol building??
?What?! A demon... Dammit! I really didn?t want to have to kill anything on this... What? Oh, uh, we?ll take a basket of cheese sticks for an appetizer. Thanks.?
Xander waited until their now rather pale waitress was once again out of earshot. ?Think all this talk of death is going to help the service any??
?Xander.? The solider growled. ?This demon cat, did you see it? Do you know what it wants? How do you think we should stop it??
?Whoa, hold on there.? Xander held up his hands. ?No, I haven?t seen it. In fact, the only times it comes out are during a national tragedy or when there?s a change in the power of the government.?
?Oh... um...?
?Oh, do you know who else haunts the Capitol??
?Uh. Who??
?President James Garfield. There?s also marble staircase that still has bloodstains from this gunfight that happened back in the 1890?s.?
?Gunfight?? Graham cleared his throat. ?Um... I... don?t... Are *you* okay??
?Me? I?m great! Would you like to hear about who haunts the White House??
?Not right now.?
?Okay. I bet you didn't know we?re going to spend Independence Day in one of the most haunted cities in America, did you??
?I know this is a working vacation, but, come on.? Graham mumbled. ?Okay, what are we supposed to do??
?Nothing.?
?Nothing??
?That's right.? Xander smiled at their waitress, who shuddered and quickly dropped their basket of cheese sticks on the table.
?Nothing?? Graham repeated again. ?We?re going to do nothing??
?Well, we can?t exactly go up to Abraham Lincoln and tell him to stop haunting his bedroom, can we??
?Good point.?
?Look,? Xander popped some fried cheese into his mouth. ?Near as I can figure, most of the transparent citizens are more welcome here the solid ones. The living and the dead seem to get along with each other, for the most part.? He shrugged. ?Why mess with a good thing??
Graham thought about this for a moment. ?And, my budget did suffer some pretty serious cuts... Okay, I?m sold. No ghostbusting this trip.?
?Great. Hey, think we might see anybody famous among the ranks of the pulse impaired??
?Look, the only dead person I?m interested in seeing anytime soon is the one we?re sleeping with... Oh, hey. Yeah, I?m ready to order...?
>**********
July 4th
*****
Xander entered the hotel room, his sneakers still swishing into the carpet. ?Okay, who the hell thought of having an open air celebration in the middle of a monsoon??
?Ah, it wasn?t that bad.? Graham hopped on one foot, struggling to remove a wet sock. ?I mean, we did get to see the fireworks.? He straightened, his bare toes digging into the dry carpet. ?Among other things.?
?Yeah, who knew that old Honest Abe could get down and boogie. And, that other guy, by the bandstand, that was Thomas Jefferson, right??
?Hmmm. I don?t know. All the ones in wigs kind of look the same to me. Besides, I was a little too busy watching you.? Graham?s cheeks dimpled. ?Do you know how unbelievably sexy you look completely drenched??
Xander tugged at his soaked, form fitting tee shirt. ?The wet look works pretty good for you too.? He grinned in anticipation as Graham?s own shirt was slowly peeled away from his body. ?So, you?re free tomorrow, right??
Graham finally got the soggy piece of material over his head. ?Yep. My next meeting is on Friday. Why? Already planning our day??
?Maybe.? Xander licked his lips as Graham pushed his shorts down. ?I was thinking we could head up the road to Baltimore and see Edgar Allen Poe?s grave.?
The Marine paused in the act of removing his boxers. ?Uh... no.?
?Oh, okay. Then, maybe, we could head down the road to Richmond to see Edgar Allen Poe?s birthplace.?
The now naked Marine began to slowly advance on the still clothed and slightly shivering younger man. ?I don?t think so.?
?Fine.? Xander lifted his arms as Graham relieved him of his shirt. ?Or, I guess we could always call Angel and indulge in some phone sex.?
?That?s more like it.? The Marine murmured against Xander?s neck. ?Wait. That?ll be a collect call, right??
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