First Date, part 1
Learning to Love
Circa 2003
Cowritten with Michelle. To Arrie, to help cheer her up.
* * *
Andrew and Xander had barely had a
moment alone with each other since the day of their first kiss. The following day an accident had happened
at the construction site and Xander had to go help put things back on schedule,
which kept him away during the day. Some more Bringers and other nasties had
been thrown at the Slayer and potentials, so the nights were mostly spent
fighting for survival.
Meanwhile, Andrew was spending his spare time
trying to earn the trust and approval of the Scooby Gang. He desperately wanted
to be accepted, to earn for himself what Jonathan had wanted so badly. In a
way, he felt that becoming part of the group would honor his friend's memory
and help make amends for killing him. The gang, however, was still not as open
to the idea as Andrew was.
The two men had spent the agonizing week and a
half sharing smoldering looks when no one was looking, "accidentally"
touching each other, and lots of other little ways to reaffirm their attraction
to each other.
After an agonizing week and a half, Xander
managed to get done with work early. He rushed to the Summers' home, praying he
would be able to get a few minutes alone with Andrew.
He arrived to find
Slayers-in-training littering the house and Andrew tucked uncomfortably in a
corner, trying to avoid all flying sharp objects. Catching the other man's eye,
Xander jerked his head and headed to the basement. It was the most private
place in the house, since Spike was sitting in the dining room talking to Dawn.
Xander hurried down the stairs and waited in the
dark to see if Andrew would follow him. He smiled as he watched the red-headed
man coming down the stairs, glancing over his shoulder every once in a while to
make sure no one was following him. Since it was dark, Andrew squinted as he
looked around the basement and tried to find Xander.
Xander smirked and, just
as Andrew passed by, grabbed him and pushed him against the wall. Their lips
met in a frenzy of movement created by attraction too long denied. They spent
several moments relearning the taste and shape of each other's lips before the
need for air caused them to part.
"God," Xander breathed heavily as he
wrapped his arms around Andrew's torso. "You have no idea how much I’ve
wanted to do this all week." Not leaving anytime for Andrew to answer, he
captured the young man's lips again. "You taste so good."
When Xander pulled away, Andrew licked his bottom
lip for a moment to savor the taste that lingered there. "Well, I did have
some chocolate chip cookies earlier," he said. "And I know what you
mean, it's hard living in a house with so many girls. There's no privacy."
Xander chuckled and ran
a hand through Andrew's hair. "I think we'll be okay down here, for a few
minutes at least. Here." Xander sat down on the bed and pulled Andrew down
with him. "All comfy?"
Andrew sighed and burrowed close to Xander.
"Mmm," he sighed. "Much better then watching the potentials
train. A lot safer, too." He took a few minutes to breathe in the other
man's presence. "How was your day?" he asked after he had relearned
Xander's scent.
Xander sighed. "Hell. But everything's
better now." He closed his eyes and kissed the top of Andrew's head.
"You? You haven't been hurt, right? I saw they were pretty rough up
there."
A warm glow took up residence in Andrew's heart
upon hearing Xander's concern. It was so nice to have someone who cared about
his well being.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Jade was getting a little
crazy with one of the crossbows earlier, but Spike took it away from her. Not
before she put a hole in the wall, although it did look a little big for the
size bolt she was using . . . Anyway, I hid in the corner most of the time, so
I was out of harm's way."
Xander hugged Andrew tightly to his chest.
"I’ve started to worry about you lately, when I'm at work." He
blushed and looked away. "I keep thinking that maybe they won't think
about the fact that you're there and one of them will hurt you, and then...
well, it's not good for concentration."
Andrew lifted his head to better look at his
companion, wonder evident on his face. "You - you worry about me? At work
and stuff?"
It was almost unbelievable to Andrew
that someone would actively worry about him. Being concerned was one thing, but
being distracted at work? He let it sink in, and found he rather liked it.
Xander smiled. "Of course I do. Er,
well, not at first, but lately I've been worrying. I sure don't know why. It's
all very, very sudden and sorta scary though." His face darkened.
"I'm a bit scared by how fast I'm… getting attached to you." He took
a deep breath. "I mean… it's all new to me, you know, the whole guy thing?
So, it's scary."
Taking a deep breath, Andrew took in that
information. He hadn't even considered the possibility that Xander might be
scared; the brunette was always so strong and brave. It had been a natural
assumption that Xander would be comfortable in a same-sex relationship, because
what could scare the heart of the Scooby Gang?
"I suppose it is," Andrew said
slowly. "But it's okay. There's nothing here to be scared of, especially
not me. I mean, what could I do? Besides," he added shyly, "this is
all new to me, too."
Xander bit his lip, smiling, as he lifted
Andrew's chin until their eyes were on the same level. "Then, we'll do
this slowly, but surely." He closed his eyes and captured Andrew's lips in
a tender kiss, barely brushing their mouths together.
The kiss ended too soon for Andrew's liking, so he
followed Xander when the other man went to pull away. A few more light and
tender kisses and he was temporarily satisfied.
"Slow is good." He paused as an idea
started to form. "So does this mean we're, like, dating? Slowly, of
course, but still . . . should we be trying to go out places?"
"I think we could say that we're dating. Not
out . . . yet, but yeah, we're dating." Xander replied, looking at
Andrew's pleading gaze. "Do you want to go out? I have nothing against it,
it's just that I wasn't sure with all that's going on . . . Or maybe we really
need to get out of here, so going places would be awesome. Where do you want to
go?"
Joy lit up Andrew's face. "I've been dying
to see Daredevil. Jennifer Garner looks like she's an awesome Electra, and Ben
Affleck in leather . . ." He sighed dreamily. "But Buffy doesn't let
me out of the house unless she's with me, so I haven’t had a chance. If you
were with me, though, she might not care." He tried batting his eyes,
hoping it would help sway Xander.
Xander thought for a second. "You know, you
and I are really a match. I've been dying to see that movie, too. And now that
you mention it, Ben Affleck in leather must be a nice thing to see. Don't worry
about Buffy, I'm sure she'll be relieved to know she won't have to look after
you for a couple hours." He smiled brightly at Andrew and kissed his
forehead. "Why don't we go look if it's playing tonight?"
Andrew jumped up off the bed and raced
for the stairs. "I last saw the paper in the kitchen, when Willow was
looking at it. I remember, because she commented on an article about the
vandalism of the high school." He paused halfway up the staircase, then
raced back down to kiss a bemused Xander once more before leaving the basement.
Shaking his head, Xander stood up and followed
Andrew up the stairs, albeit at a much slower pace. He was almost out of the
basement when he heard a startled shout.
"Watch out!" one of the
Slayers-in-training cried. A thud soon followed.
"Careful, girl," Spike growled.
"Save it for outside, where there's actually things to kill."
"Yes, please," Andrew said, slightly
shaken.
Xander's eyes widened and he ran up the
few remaining steps. He couldn't wait to get Andrew out of the house and away
from the girls. The potentials were starting to prove problematic for the two
men's budding relationship.
The end
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