FIC: Just the Way You Are Pt. 1 a (Giles/Xander) PG-13

[cheetahanabel.livejournal.com]

 Sorry for the uber-late posting.  RL bit me in the ass today, anyhow, here you go!

 

Rating:  Currently PG-13

 

Pairing:  Xander/Giles with a Xander Graham friendship (also mentions of X/OMC and G/OFC)

 

Spoilers:  Begins after Xander gets back the summer after Season Three

 

Disclaimer:  No they don’t belong to me.  If they did I’d probably never leave my apartment…wait a second, I practically never leave my apartment now.  Hm.  Well, if I owned them there would be a lot more noise coming from my apartment.  (All belongs to Joss and his many cohorts and companies.)

 

Author’s Note:  So I was watching The Freshman the other day, and when I got to the Xander-Buffy conversation (the only part I actually like about the whole show) I noticed for the first time that Xander implied he’d been back in Sunnydale for considerably longer than the week I had for some reason always thought he’d been back for.  That got me thinking.  The question that kept going over in my head was, ‘What was Xander up to in Sunnydale without the girls knowing he was there?’  This story is my answer to that question.

 

 

 

 

 

Just the Way You Are

 

 

Chapter One:  Same Time Next Week

 

Xander drove into Sunnydale in a daze.  Events from the night before were whirling through his head.  Catching himself starting to think about Paolo again, he put a quick end to all of his thoughts.  That way lay madness. 

 

Part of Xander just wanted to forget the night had ever happened, but the other part, the part Willow liked to call his thinking brain, realized that the best idea would be to talk it out with someone.  He needed to get some perspective from someone who hadn’t been there—someone who hadn’t experienced the hands, the hands in new places.

 

But who could he talk to, other than Jerry Springer.  Who could one Xander Harris—member of the Buffy Summers’ cheerleading squad and Sunnydale High Survivor’s Association—confide in?

 

There was Willow of course.  No matter what, Xander knew that he could always tell Willow anything.  But the problem with Willow was she would get ‘worried Willow’ face if he told her what was going on with him now, he just knew it.  Also there was all of that unresolved angst over “The Kiss” and he didn’t want Oz to think even worse of his actions than he already did.

 

Hm…Oz.  Now there’s a thought.  He could definitely tell Oz.  He could tell Oz anything.  Oz helped him deal with an identity crisis already.  He could tell Oz that he was having naughty thoughts about m--  About me--  C’mon about—goldfishes, yeah goldfishes.  <Sigh> Well if he couldn’t even think the conversation in his head he obviously couldn’t have it.  When you came right down to it Oz was kind of hard to talk to.

 

 Unlike Oz there was Buffy.  He could talk to Buffy all day.  Now Buffy he could tell.  He could definitely tell Buffy.  Buffy, I think like men.  Of course Buffy could be pretty dense.  She’d probably just say, Yeah.  I like men too.  Like you and Oz and Giles…Xander, are you feeling okay?  Yeah and then he’d have to say something like, No Buffy, I think I like men.  I think I like men in the sweaty, groiny, want to do the horizontal mambo with them kind of way.  And then Buffy’s nose would scrunch up, or maybe wrinkle, and she would say, Ewww, Xander, TMI.  Yeah, definitely not Buffy, she wasn’t old enough to deal with the info.

 

Thinking of someone older, his first thought was his parents, which sent him into a fit of hysterical laughter.  His mother—even if he told her as soon as he pulled into the driveway at quarter to eleven in the morning—would be too blitzed to hear a word he said.  He would tell her, I think I like boys.  And she would say, That’s nice sweetheart.  Now pass mother the vodka.  His father, well thinking about telling his father caused the laughter to stop and an uncontrollable shudder to set in.  The least Xander’s father would do was kick him out of the house.  He’d likely also attempt to kick some sense into his son on the way out the door.  Obviously being adult didn’t necessarily translate to being wise.  Too bad he didn’t have a cool uncle.  About the only uncle he spent any time with was crazy uncle Rory, and Xander really doubted between the whole owning a taxidermy shop thing and being a member of the NRA thing that uncle Rory would be the person to tell. 

 

In all honesty, the closest person Xander had to a cool uncle was Giles.  When it came right down to it Giles would probably be the right person to tell.  He was in with the alternative lifestyle, at least if you looked at his life with squinted eyes.  After all he was involved with the whole demon cult thing.  And there were always rumors floating around about boys’ schools in England.  Really the worst reaction Giles could have would be wiping his glasses, which he did all the time anyway.  And if those weird looks Ethan Rayne had sent Giles meant what Xander thought they meant, well maybe Giles would even be able to explain some things. 

 

Before he could second guess himself, Xander turned his car around and headed back to Giles’ apartment.  The drive seemed to go incredibly fast, and as he turned the corner to Giles’ street his palms began to sweat.  Xander parked his car across the street from Giles’ apartment, noticing an unfamiliar car in the spot he would usually have taken.  Forcing himself out of his car, Xander noted with detachment that his heart seemed to be racing.  He felt this intense nervousness wrapped in an utter calmness that made him move his legs woodenly to Giles’ front door.  He knocked, then knocked again.  Hearing no answer he decided to try the door, and finding it open made his way inside. 

 

Just inside the doorway he froze, hearing the sounds that were unmistakably sex.  Oh my god.  Sex.  Giles is having sex.  A shiver went up his spine.  The woman was moaning, saying, “Rupert, god yes Rupert,” over and over again.  Giles murmured something to her and suddenly she started crying out, “Please.  Please more.  Rupert.  God yes.”  And then he could hear the bedsprings.  Creeaak…Creeaak…Creeaak  Creak  Creak  Creak  Creak  Creak-Creak-Creak-Creak-CreakCreakCreakCreakCrkCrkCrkCRKCRKCRKCRK  Next thing he knew mystery woman was screaming and Giles was moaning and Xander was standing in Giles’ entryway with a giant hard-on. 

 

And then Xander was running.  Well, it was actually more of a waddle than a run considering his, hr hrm, problem.   Oh my god.  Giles had sex. I heard Giles have sex.  I got an erection from hearing Giles have sex.  I almost came from hearing Giles have sex.  It was at that point that Xander decided Giles just might not be the person to talk to about his sexuality.  Especially since he doubted he’d be able to be in the same room with him without sporting major wood for the next, oh about forever.  Getting in his car he started driving, not really thinking about where he was going.