**********

?So... um... let me see if I?ve got this straight,?  Willow gave her friend a brief, nervous smile from across their mega tall grande iced mochas.  ?You think that the reason Xander doesn?t want to go back to the hospital to visit Graham is because... Graham made a pass at him??

?Yep.?  Buffy said.

?Oh.  Okay.  And, why??

The blonde scrunched her nose.  ?Um... he?s not exactly my type, but, geez, Wil.  You of all people shouldn?t question why someone might find Xander attractive.?

Willow rolled her eyes.  ?No.  I mean, why did you come to that particular conclusion??

?Oh.  Well, it was just... there was something about the way Graham said his name.  And the way he said he would *never* hurt Xander.?  Buffy paused, a slightly dopey smile forming on her face.  ?He was so cute.  It?s got to be love.?

?Really??  Willow squeaked.

?Really.?  Buffy nodded solemnly.  ?Xander must?ve freaked.?

?It would explain why he was a Mr. Gloomy Pants last night.?  Willow let out an unhappy little sigh.  ?It?s such a shame.  I think he was really liking the time he spent with Graham, you know, as a guy friend.?

?Xander has other guy friends.?

?I mean guy friends his own age bracket.  Giles doesn?t count.?

?There?s Riley.?

Willow shook her head.  ?He?s Xander?s friend primarily because he?s your boyfriend.  Doesn?t count either.?  She frowned.  ?Graham... Graham could be Xander?s friend, just to be a friend.  You know, because he likes Xander for Xander.?

?Except Graham doesn?t want to be *just* a friend.?  Buffy pointed out.

?Poor Xan probably never saw it coming.  One second he was sitting, talking about some testosterone laden thing, and the next, bam!  He finds himself the object of unwanted affections.?

Buffy absentmindedly twirled a long golden strand of hair around her finger.  ?I wonder if Graham?s a demon.?

Willow scowled.

?Well, there *is* a precedent, you know??

Not even bothering to respond to that, the witch continued.  ?Anyway, now that we know what?s wrong we can figure out a way to fix it.?

?Fix it??

?Sure!  Like I said before, I think Xander really likes having Graham as a friend, and we need to make sure that all that isn?t ruined by something as silly a as a little crush.?

?Xan has seemed kind of... happier lately.?

?See!?

?Okay, I?m sold.  But... how exactly are we supposed to *fix* things?

Willow thought for a moment.  ?We need to open up a line of communication, and since Graham is still stuck, that means we?ve got to get Xander to go back to the hospital.?

?I?m thinking that?s easier said than done.?

?Maybe.  Or, maybe someone just needs to explain to him that he needs to get over it.  I mean, he and I even had the ?fluke?, but we?re still friends.?

?You have to admit that was a little different, Wil.  You?re a girl, and Graham is most definitely not.  And, we are talking about *Xander* here.  Mr. ?I?m a devout heterosexual? Harris.  Freaked is probably much too light a word for how he feels about the situation.?

?Well, that?s just too bad.?  Willow?s features slowly slid into ?resolve mode?.  ?Because Xander *is* going to go back to the hospital, and he *is* going to make things right with Graham even if *I* have to magically force him to do it!  Uh... I was just kidding about that last part... maybe.?

*****

Riley?s game was more than a little off that afternoon.  For some reason he just couldn?t seem to get it together.

After the fifth missed shot in a row, and another round of nasty looks from his teammates, Riley politely excused himself from the supposedly friendly game.  He had meant to go back home, take a shower, maybe clear his head.  But instead he found himself sitting down on a bench beside the court.  The bench.  He ran his hand over the wooden slats and remembered the day the previous fall when Graham had reappeared, right in that very spot.

Of course, any joy Riley had in seeing his friend again was overshadowed by the fallout from the problems with his health.  But Graham had rolled with the punches, literally, and they had both come out of the situation, and the one after that, and the one after that...

Graham was a friend.  A good friend.  A best friend.

Riley trusted him with his life, but... did he really know him?  Had Graham been hiding something all that time?  Pretending to be someone, something he wasn?t, just so...  Just so what, he wouldn?t get kicked out of doing something he loved?

But that still didn?t explain why he couldn't have told Riley himself.  A private confidence between two friends.  Unless he didn?t think Riley would understand, or, even worse, that he wouldn?t approve.

The blonde vigorously shook his head, drawing strange looks from passing joggers.

No.  Graham knew him better than that.  Knew he wouldn?t pass judgment over something as trivial as who someone was attracted to.

Right?

Well, if he didn?t, he sure as hell was going to find out!

*****

?Wil??  Xander blinked at the sight of his witchy friend standing just outside the perimeter of the construction yard.  Feeling an inexplicable sense of trepidation, he tightened his hold on his lunch sack and slowly walked over to her.

?Hey, Xan!?  She said brightly, as she gave a little wave.

Xander stopped abruptly, then, forced himself to continue.  It was only Willow.  A suspiciously perky Willow, but still...  ?Uh... Hey.?

?I thought you and I could maybe have lunch together.?

?Oh.  Okay.?

?Or, since I didn?t bring any food with me, you could have lunch and I could-?

?Enviously watch me chew??

?No, and, ew.  I thought I could... maybe... talk to you a little.?  Willow put a firm hand on his elbow and began to guide him towards a little nearby park.

Xander raised an eyebrow at being manhandled.  ?Talk to me about what?  Oh, is it about that apocalypse thing?  Is that still on??

?Oh, yeah.  That.  Uh, far as I know, but, no.  I want to talk to you about Graham.?  Willow was jerked to a stop as the much larger Xander suddenly refused to budge.

?Look, I told you last night, everything is fine.?  His voice was hard as he shook her off.

Willow refused to give up.  ?Everything is not fine.?

?Can?t you just drop it??

?Can?t you just stop being such a big baby??

?I am not being a baby!?

?Yes, you are.?  Willow put her hands on her hips.  ?You?re being silly and immature, and if you keep acting like this you?re going to lose a really good  potential friend.?

?You don?t understand.?

?Xander... I know.?

?Good, so you know you don?t under-?

?No, I mean, I know the real reason you don?t want to go back.  You.  Graham.  I get it.?

Xander blinked.  ?But, how...?

?That?s not important.  What is important is that you get over it and get your butt back to that hospital.?

?Wait, you know, and you still think I should go back there??

?Yep, and I?m not done yet.  I think the only way you?re going to really get over all this is if you talk to Graham about it.?

?Okay, I thought I was lost before, but this is reaching a whole new kind of ?huh? territory.?  Xander shook his head.  ?You want me to talk to him about my... my...?

?Feelings on the matter?  Yes, I do.  I?m sure if you lay it all out and explain your take on the situation he?ll understand.?

?In what alternate universe??

?He?s not a monster, Xan... well, we haven?t given him the ?Let?s see if Spike can hurt him or not? test, but I?m almost positive that he really isn?t one.  Besides which, hello, broken leg.  Graham couldn?t jump on you if he tried.?

?Yeah, but what happens after the cast is off, and he has full use of all his limbs??  He asked doubtfully.

?Nothing will happen because the two of you are going to clear this up long before then.  And,?  Willow put on her most innocent face.  ?If worse comes to worse, you can always threaten to sic Buffy on him.?

Xander couldn't help but smile.  ?And you??

?Oh, I?ll have my ickiest spells at the ready.?  She grinned.  ?Seriously, though, you like him, right??

?Kind of a duh question there, Wil.?

?Then do you really want to flush an entire friendship away over some stupid little crush??

Xander thought for a moment, letting her words sink in.  ?No.  No, I don?t.?  He took a deep breath.  ?You?re right.  I can?t just ignore this.?

?Oh, Xander.?

?I?m gonna go march right into that hospital-?

?I am so proud of you.?

?And tell Graham that I have feelings for him.?

?You go Bo...?

?Like you said, I?ll lay it all out, then, we?ll clear the air, he?ll reject me, and we can go on with our lives.  It won?t be easy, but...?  Xander smiled at his friend and gave her a tight hug.  ?Thanks, Wil.  What would I do without you??

?Uh...?

*****

?Well, what did you say??  Buffy anxiously tapped her foot.

?Nothing.  I mean, what could I say??  Willow shrugged.  ?Oh, Xan, I wasn?t talking about you having a crush on Graham, I was talking about Graham having a crush on you??

?That could?ve worked.?

?Yeah, yeah, whatever.  Excuse me for being a little...?

?Shocked??

?Surprised.  And, hey, you know, I did accomplish my objective.  Xander is going back to the hospital.?  Willow sounded pleased with herself... for a moment.  ?Even if it?s not exactly...  You don?t think I maybe shouldn?t have said anything, do you??

Buffy ignored the question, and posed one of her own.  ?So, Xander likes Graham??

?Yep.?

?And, Graham likes Xander??

?Yep.?

?And neither one of them were willing to admit it to the other??

?Yep.?

?What a couple of morons.?

?Big yep.?

*****

Graham was in a huff.  A full, all out, huff.  Not so as anyone would notice, but still, internally, he was very, very huffy.

He supposed he should have known.  Whenever he got within twenty feet of a Scooby something like this would happen.  Those people didn?t just defy logic, they warped it beyond recognition.

That was all right, though.  Graham was fairly certain he knew the solution.  He couldn?t get away from his new position as Scooby Gang/U.S. government liaison, not since he had practically gotten down on his knees and begged... well, okay, maybe not physically, but Graham was certain that's what he had conveyed with his tone of voice... or lack there of.

Anyway, he couldn?t just up and leave his new post, but he didn?t have to spend extra time with Buffy and her merry band of lunatics either.  Normal people.  During his hours off he would surround himself with normal people.

Nice, normal people with their nice, normal hobbies, and their nice, normal friends.  People who didn?t swing troll hammers around willy nilly and break other people?s legs.

And, he would have normal thoughts.  He would think about car payments and grocery lists, and he wouldn't think about soft, warm brown eyes... or long, thick eyelashes... or the way Xander?s hair kind of flopped over onto his forehead in this really adorable little way...

Damn.

No, that was okay.  Graham knew that setbacks were to be expected.  And he had the awful suspicion that he was going to be having a lot of setbacks... especially if the person he was so not going to think about *ever* insisted on popping his head through the doorway.

?Hey.?  Xander smiled nervously.

Graham waited a beat, then responded.  ?Hello.?

The younger man eased his body into the room.  ?Um, h-how are you doing??

?Fine.  Thank you.?

?Right.  So, I, uh, guess you were probably wondering where I was yesterday.?

?Not really.?

?Oh.?  Xander?s eyes dropped to the floor.

For a moment, Graham almost relented.  He almost told Xander that, yes, he had wondered, and worried, and terribly missed their usual meeting.  Then, the moment passed.  Graham?s mouth stayed shut, and his steady blue eyes continued to calmly regard the forlorn Slayerette.

Xander ignored the nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach and pushed forward, needing to get this over with.  Because, of course, the sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could go home, crawl into bed, and hide under the covers with a six pack of Hershey bars.  ?Well, I?m going got tell you anyway ?cause that was the opening statement of the little speech I had prepared, and you just can?t skip over the opening statement because everything else just sort of hinges on that and if you don?t have one it?s much too easy to have everything slip into chaos.  Random, babbling chaos... kind of like now.  Do you mind if I sit down??

Graham, mildly amazed that Xander didn?t even appear to be the least bit winded from that (and ruthlessly telling his imagination to ?shut up?, ?SHUT UP?, concerning other activities in which a good set of lungs and endurance were pluses), said,?  No.  Go ahead.?

?Cool.?  Xander sat.  ?Maybe I should stand.?  He stood up.  ?Do you think I should stand??

?Uh.  Up to you.?

?Right.  Okay.?  He sat back down again.  ?Here we go.  The reason I didn?t come by yesterday is because I didn?t think I could stand to look at you anymore.?  Xander paled.  ?Oh that sounded so much more explanatory and less rude in my head.  I mean, I didn?t want to look at you anymore, but not in a bad way.   I mean, it?s not like I think you?re ugly or anything, in fact I think you?re a very... It?s just, I couldn?t, with you lying there, and... Whoo boy.  Even with the opening this isn?t going so great.?

?Xander.?  Graham had folded his arms across his chest and his annoyance at not being able to understand one iota of the conversation thus far tinged his voice.  ?Whatever you want to say, just say it.?

The younger man nodded once.  ?Graham, I... Do you know how much longer you?re going to be in traction??

?About a week.?

?Oh good.  That?s not the best of a head start, but hey... I?m attracted to you.?

When there was no immediate yelling or cursing or objects being hurled at his head Xander felt safe enough to continue.  ?That?s why I didn?t want to come back here.  I thought that if I stopped seeing you every day I might stop wanting to... uh... well, that part?s not really important.  What is important is that someone helped me to realize that it was wrong to just try and ignore this.  I like you, Graham.  I mean, beyond the whole finding you attractive kind of like.  I like you as a, you know, friend.  And, I thought that if we got this whole thing out of the way now, we could maybe stay friends... maybe... hopefully.?  But that hope slowly dissipated as big, brown eyes stared at the as ever unresponsive form in the bed.

?Okay.?  Xander?s gaze dropped back to the floor.  ?I?m just gonna go.  Let you absorb.  And, maybe I?ll see you... around, or something.?  He rose, and unconscious of the drag in his steps, began to walk towards the door.

Something inside Graham, a tiny part that had not been struck senseless with the implication of the one and only clearly stated line in Xander?s little monologue, seized control of his vocal cords and demanded, ?Say that again??

Xander turned back towards the bed, wondering if Graham actually wanted a word for word recitation, or if a recap (Willow?s an idiot, but I?m a bigger idiot because I actually listened to her, and I don?t supposed *that* could be the only thing you could retain from this conversation?) would suffice.  ?Say what again??

?The part about you...?  Graham swallowed.  ?You said you...?  He looked up, hoping that Xander would take pity on him, and not make any more words attempt to exit his mouth, not while his brain was still trying, rather vainly, to wrap around what had happened.

Xander was immediately entranced by the pair of pleading blue eyes that turned up at him.  Whatever he had been expecting, certainly wasn?t what he was seeing.  Something began propelling him back towards the bed, back towards Graham, who looked almost relieved that Xander was coming closer and not bolting out the door.

When Xander got within arm?s length Graham immediately held out one of his hands, palm side up, hoping that this gesture could compensate for the words that still refused to come out.  He was indescribably gratified as Xander reached out also.  Warm, strong fingers curled around his own, and squeezed.

?So.  I?m just gonna go out on a limb here and...?  Xander licked his lips, and feeling the steady pressure around his hand, leaned in over the bed.

Graham, pleased that in this case actions had spoken louder than words... well, any words that he might have come up with at any rate, tilted his head, closed his eyes, and waited for that first, sweet push of lips against lips.

Of course, if kissing Xanders was that easy everybody would be doing it.

?Graham.  We?ve got to tal-?  Riley had started speaking a split second before he even entered the room, convinced that his nerve wouldn't be able to stand making eye contact first.  So his voice was already booming, strong and sure by the time he saw what was happening inside.  His cheeks flamed, and his mouth open and closed guppy-like.

Xander had already completed his initial reaction to such an interruption, namely yelping and horizontally jumping four feet away from the prone best friend of the large, combat trained, having-full-use-of-all-his-apendages, former Marine.  Hoping to take advantage of lingering shock, Xander decided that a hasty retreat was in his best interests.  ?Okay,wellI?mjustgoingtoleaveyoutwoalone. Lotsofcatchinguptodoandallthat.Bye?   He darted past a still gaping Riley and was out the door.

Disbelievingly, Graham watched Xander disappear.  He shook himself  from his anticipatory haze, and barked,  ?Riley!  If you do not want grievous bodily harm to come to you, you will get him back here, NOW!?

The blonde jumped at the force behind Graham?s words.  ?Right!  Right!  Okay.?  He hurried towards the door.  ?By the way, just want you to know, I love and accept you for who you are.?

?Gee, thanks.  GO!?

*****

Xander had just sullenly pushed the down button beside the elevators when he noticed Riley rushing towards him.  He jabbed at the lighted green arrow a few more times.

The former Marine reached him just as a little ding signaled the opening of the automatic doors.  A strong  hand closed over Xander?s shoulder, preventing him from scooting inside.

?Whew.  Good thing I caught you.?  Riley grinned.

?Look, I-?

?And, since you're already here, there?s no reason for me to stay, right??

?Uh.  There?s what??

Riley used his free hand to keep the elevator doors from closing.  He then let go of Xander, and maneuvered himself inside the car.  ?You know, that whole two?s company, three?s a crowd thing.?

Xander stared at him.  ?Oh.  That.  Right.?

?Oh, and one more thing,?  Riley finally let the insistent doors start to close.  ?If you hurt him, I?m borrowing Willow?s shovel.?

*****

Graham glared with open hatred at the brightly decorated plaster surrounding his leg.  He should have been the one to chase after Xander.  If Riley didn?t bring him back...

At the soft sound of a throat clearing, Graham?s head turned towards the door.  The thunderous expression on his face was instantly transformed into one of eager hopefulness.  ?Xander.  Riley caught you.?

?Yeah.?  The younger man shuffled back into the room.  ?It wasn?t exactly the confrontation I was expecting.  Though, he may have been a bit out of it.  He mentioned something about gardening with Willow.?  Xander shrugged and flashed a lopsided grin that had Graham?s insides melting.

?Come here.?  He growled out.

Xander actually gulped, not because he thought the unusually rough note in Graham?s voice was caused by anger.  No, it was the sudden desire emanating from every pore of the Marine?s body that had the brown eyed man?s knees gong weak.  So, it was on lust shaken legs that he once again approached the bed.

?Wait!?  Graham?s voice was like a shot.  ?First, close the door, and put the chair up against it, then come here.?

Xander didn?t think he had ever moved so fast in his life.  He was back beside the bed within moments, the huge gin on his face mirroring the one on Graham?s.  Needing no more words, no more instructions, he began to lean in, slowly, deliberately taking his time, loving the way those normally sky hued eyes were darkening to a tempest swirled ocean blue.

Graham, for his part, was also entranced by a beautiful pair of eyes, though, these were colored a deep, rich, burnt caramel.  Little lights danced inside Xander?s irises, even as his rapidly dilating pupils threatened to overtake them completely.  Then, long lashed lids fluttered down, breaking the spell.  Graham?s own eyes closed and he leaned forward slightly to finally sever the distance between them.

Mouth met mouth for the first time in a slow, sweet, tender kiss, belying the desperate urgency both men were feeling.  But, they continued their agonizingly sedate pace.  It was as if they knew this was the beginning of something great, and that it deserved to be savored accordingly.

Hands reacher up and gently stroked down jaw lines, and cupped cheeks, and tangled possessively into thick, dark hair.  Soft sounds of utter contentment worked their way past the occupied lips.  When breath was needed it was gathered quickly so participants could once again delve back into their thoroughly enjoyable, and long awaited, task.

Finally, Xander had to pull away, afraid that if they didn?t stop then and there, not even Buffy would be able to pry them apart.  Sometime during the exchange he had eased a hip onto the bed, and now he sat there, staring wide eyed and panting at the equally affected Marine.

?That was...?

Graham nodded.  ?Let?s do it some more.?

Xander blinked, then started snickering.

Slightly affronted at the nature of the reaction to his proposal, Graham asked,  ?What??

?It?s nothing.?  Xander cracked up a little more.  ?But, I have to say, I never would have suspected Mr. Stoic Reservedness was such a horndog.?

Graham smirked.  ?You have no idea.?

Xander sobered slightly, a small smile still playing around those delightful lips.  ?But, I will, right??

?Count on it.?

**********