A
Different Kind of Happily Ever After
Giles/Xander
FRM
(for lots of alcohol)
Word
Count: 855
Spoilers:
Hells Bells
Summary:
Giles shows up for the wedding that wasn’t.
Distribution:
Want, take, have. Just let me know where it’s going.
Disclaimer:
Not mine, no infringement, etc.
Feedback:
is love and love makes the world go round.
Author’s
Note: Written for maleslashminis Giles Round. Scarletfiction asked for First
Time, h/c and a great deal of alcohol. I hope she doesn’t mind my
interpretation of first time.
Giles
had tried his best to get there on time, but weather, delays, and half a dozen
other things had conspired against him, making him arrive at the church late.
By the time he walked through the doors everything was already in chaos. Anya
had locked herself in a room, her sobs clearly audible through the door. Buffy
was dealing with the demons while
When
she’d finished, he was confused, angry, and sad. Why hadn’t Xander called him?
He got up, brushed the wrinkles from his suit and left to find the boy. It
didn’t take him very long to find out where Xander had gone. A clerk at the
corner market had dealt with a customer matching Xander’s description, said
he’d bought a lot of alcohol. Giles took his rented sedan to Xander’s
apartment.
In
the five minutes it took Giles to get there, he had calmed down, more concerned
than angry. He suspected that Xander was going to attempt to drown his sorrows
and after having seen the boy’s family, he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. He
knocked on the door, waiting patiently for an answer. When he got none, he
tried the doorknob, unlocked. Hadn’t any of them learnt anything? He opened the
door gently, peering around to see if Xander was in sight. Nothing.
“Xander?”
No
answer. Giles entered the apartment and closed the door behind him. He admired
the small space, proud that Xander had been able to afford it now he had a
steady income from the construction job. He walked into the living room, still
searching for Xander. He could see a head barely above the top of the sofa.
“Xander?”
He
was still in his tuxedo; tie undone, boutonnière lying crushed on the floor. He
was surrounded by the empty remains of a six-pack of what laughingly passed for
beer in this country, half a bottle of Jack Daniels and various other spirits
Giles couldn’t quite identify. Xander gulped from a bottle of something clear,
then wiped his mouth. He looked up and saw Giles. Surprise lit his eyes.
“Giles.
You came. Sorry to say, no one got married. Though I guess you know that by
now.”
He
took another swig from the bottle and Giles winced. He sat on the sofa, moving
several bottles in the process. It was a wonder Xander wasn’t sick by now,
drinking that amount of alcohol in such a short span of time. He picked up a
cheap whiskey and took a swig for himself.
“I’m
sorry Xander. I wish you had called me, I could have helped.”
“S’okay
just wasn’t meant to be, Giles.”
They
sat there in silence, Xander continuing to drink. Giles wanted to take the
bottle from him, but decided to allow him this. Besides, the hangover he would
have in the morning would be a better deterrent than a lecture. Then Xander
turned to him and asked him a question.
“Why
can’t it be easy?”
“What?
Love?”
“Exactly.
I suck at love. Cheated on Cordy, snuck around with Will, nearly got killed by
Faith, now this. And let’s not forget mummy girl and insect lady.”
“Xander,
its just coincidence that….”
“Lie
to me.”
“I
beg your pardon?”
“Lie
to me. Buffy said you’re really good at lying.”
Giles
paused, confused until he remembered a night four years ago, standing over the
grave of Buffy’s friend, Billy.
“Ah,
yes.” He removed his glasses, giving them a quick polish before donning them
again. “It’s quite simple, Xander. There is someone for everyone. One day you
will find the perfect woman for you; you’ll get married, have a large family
and live happily ever after.”
Giles
half expected the same reply he’d gotten from Buffy. But all he got was
silence. Xander sat there, bottle in hand, before turning to face him. Then he
got up on the sofa to sit beside him.
“Why
does it have to be a woman?”
Giles
just sputtered, reaching for his glasses again as he struggled for something to
say.
“Why
can’t it be the guy of my dreams?”
“Well,
um…Xander…I, uh, didn’t think you were…”
“Gay?
No. I don’t think so. Maybe. I’m just saying there should be that choice.”
“Um,
have you ever thought of…?”
“Being
with another guy? Sometime, yeah.”
“Oh,
I see.”
“Sometimes
it was you.”
Giles
just stared at Xander, green eyes locking with brown. Then Xander moved closer,
leaned in and pressed his lips to Giles’. It was soft, hesitant and thoroughly
unexpected. It wasn’t that he hadn’t kissed other men before; it was just that
this was Xander, he was still a…well no, Xander had become a man. Then the lips
were gone. Giles opened his eyes, waiting for Xander’s reaction.
“That
was nice.”
Then
he promptly passed out, falling on to the sofa cushions with a soft thump.
Giles smiled softly. He got up, went to the bedroom to find a blanket to cover
Xander. He then started to clean up the bottles. He would stay, be there to
take care of Xander when he woke up. There would be time for a discussion then.