Title: Like Old Times
Summary: Riley gets drunk, and Graham gets some unexpected information about Xander
Rating: R
Spoilers: Out of My Mind, Family, No Place Like Home
Disclaimer: They?re not mine
Series: Part 2 of ?Baser Instincts?
Archive: Any archive of a list that receives this
Date: November 30, 2000
E-mail: Saone@yahoo.com
Notes: *This series starts after ?Out of My Mind? then veers into an AU.
**Thanks again, Charles :)

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Graham slowly sipped his beer as his eyes wandered around the less then reputable establishment. ?Interesting place. You come here often??

Riley snorted. ?I swear, if the next words out of your mouth are ?What?s your sign?? I?m gonna belt you.?

?Sorry, Ri, but you?re not exactly my type.? Graham smiled wryly at the thought. No, Riley wasn?t his type at all. He was too tall, his hair and eyes too light. And, the stick shoved up his ass probably wouldn?t allow for anything else to work its way in there. Riley wouldn?t be any fun. . . but he would serve a purpose. ?D in covert ops? guy had a plan.

?No, really,? Graham turned a questioning gaze on his companion. ?I?ve heard stories about this place. Don?t you think it?s kinda like walking into the lion?s den?? In Graham?s peripheral vision he noticed another patron enter the room. Its iridescent scales reflected the light in a really very lovely way.

?They?re not gonna hurt me.? Riley said, eyes fixed on the refilled glass in front of him. ?I?m the Slayer?s boyfriend.?

Graham?s eyebrows rose at the amount of contempt he heard in the other man?s voice. He frowned, and hoped that the whole exemption thing also covered the guy sitting next to the Slayer?s boyfriend. ?Things not going so well on the Buffy front??

Riley?s eyes narrowed. ?You?d like that, wouldn?t you??

?Of course not.? Graham said, lying through his teeth. ?But you don?t exactly sound like. . .?

?Like what??

?Like you used to.?

Riley smirked. ?I changed. We all did. There?s nothing wrong with that.?

?Your liver might disagree with you.? Graham said as he watched his companion down another shot.

?Gee, Graham, If I had known there would be a ragging on me portion of the evening, I think I would have bowed out of this little get together.?

?Not ragging, just observing.? Graham said calmly.

?Oh.? Riley rolled the empty glass in his fingers. ?And what exactly have you observed??

Graham studied him for a moment. ?You look like shit, Ri.?

?Thanks.? Riley motioned to the bartender.

?Look, I know we aren?t exactly best buds right now, but. . .? Graham shrugged. ?I?m trying here, man.?

?And I?m not?? Riley stared at his former friend, then bowed his head. ?Yeah, I?m not.? He ran his finger around the edge of his glass, his eyes lost in the amber liquid. ?I guess, being around you, it?s easy to remember how things were. Sure, we were lab rats in a giant government experiment, and we were indirectly involved in a plot that would destroy life as we know it, but we were happy. Ignorance is bliss and all that.?

Graham nodded. ?But, you?re not happy now??

?I don?t know what I am.? Riley said quietly. ?It?s just. . . one of the reasons I felt so okay about leaving the Corps is because I thought I was gonna have a place here. I thought I was gonna belong.?

?And now you don?t?? Graham cocked his head. ?What, her friends don?t accept you??

?No, no, her friends are great. Really.? Riley smiled. ?They?ve actually made me feel welcome.?

?Even that other guy?? Graham asked carefully, hoping he conveyed nothing more then friendly curiosity. ?I would think that there would be at least a little tension, you know, with you honing in on his territory.?

Riley frowned, confusion marring his features. ?Um. . .Giles isn?t really like that. He?s British, you know??

Somehow Graham resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ?No, I mean the younger guy. What?s his name??

?Oh. Xander. Interesting guess, but, no way. Xander?s really nice to me. And besides, the guy?s a total goofball. He?s harmless.? Luckily Riley was too caught up in his upcoming diatribe to notice Graham gaping at him. ?No, this is all about Buffy. And, I know that she?s having trouble dealing with that thing with her mom, but still. . .? Riley woefully shook his head. ?It?s like, I?m this prop or something. Someone for her to drag out when she needs to be coddled, or reassured, or when she?s horny. I get a lot of attention then. But, other times it?s like-?

Graham continued to occasionally nod as Riley droned on. . . and on, but the brunt of his mind quickly became occupied with something else.

Goofball?

Helpless?

Was there more then one Xander in the Slayer?s little circle, ?cause there was no way in hell Graham could associate the words goofball and helpless with the man who had forced him to his knees and fucked him senseless. The man who had made him moan, and whimper, and more sexually satisfied then Graham had been in a very long time.

There was something there, something inside Xander that had the soldier obsessing over the encounter long after the time most of his sexual escapades fell by the mental wayside. It wasn?t just the fighting, or the fucking. It was the silent determination inside the younger man. The resilience mixed with a healthy dose of lust that finally had him mastering the soldier. Xander knew what he wanted, he didn?t give up until he got it, and he never once opted to take the easy way out. One word, and Graham would have backed off, but he knew Xander never even considered saying no to anything. Oh, he didn?t like being pinned to the floor with a finger up his ass, but he wasn?t *that* opposed to it either.

And that was the real reason Graham was still thinking about the encounter two weeks later, the reason he was back in Sunnydale again. He had latched on to the very delicious possibility that, in Xander, he had finally found a man with a sexual appetite to match his own.

So he was sitting in Willy?s bar with an increasingly intoxicated Riley Finn, trying to pump him for information about the brown eyed young man. . . not that that plan had really worked. Except, maybe, to tell him that Xander was certainly more than anyone expected him to be. Then again, Riley was never that observant anyway. But, he was probably going to realize that Graham wasn?t fully into the conversation.

With that thought, the soldier snapped back to the present just in time to hear Riley say-

?What do you think??

Years of practiced staidness helped Graham avoid the ?deer caught in headlights? look. He took a swallow of beer, then smoothly said, ?I think I?m gonna have to agree with you there.?

Riley nodded triumphantly. ?I knew it was a good idea.?

Slightly apprehensive over what he may have just encouraged, Graham simply gave him a wary smile.

Riley smiled back. ?You know, this has been nice.? Riley fiddled with his empty glass. ?I?ve missed stuff like this, Graham. I?ve missed you. . . and Forrest. I don?t want to have to keep choosing.? His voice faltered for a moment, then came back, sure and strong. ?So, I?m not. There?s this meeting thing at the magic shop tomorrow night. Why don?t you come??

Graham stared into Riley?s eyes, pinned by the earnestness he saw there. He ached to say yes if for nothing else then to ease some of the hurt in this man he once considered to be like a brother. However, honesty won out over altruism. ?I don?t know if that would be such a great idea.? Graham said carefully. ?I doubt Buffy would be too pleased to see me.?

?Even better.? Riley looked a bit startled at his choice of words. He blinked a few times. ?You know, it might be the large quantity of alcohol I consumed, but I?m feeling kinda vindictive.? A slightly malicious grin stretched across his face. ?Come on. It could be fun.?

Graham decided that there might be hope for his former commander yet. He thought about the considerations involved in visiting the Slayer?s headquarters. While he really didn?t want to want to see Buffy again. . . ever. . . it would be a nice, not too contrived way to get close to Xander.

And, with that last thought spreading a warm tingle through his belly, Graham smiled. ?Okay. I?m there.? After all, he had a promise to keep.

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