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Consumeby WesleysGirlRating: PG Giles/Xander For Soft_Princess' birthday. Xander's sitting in front of the fireplace, feeding the flames small sticks one by one, when Giles comes in and sits down on the couch. "Figured it was the right kind of night for it," Xander says, talking about the fire. "Yes, it's unseasonably cold, isn't it," Giles says. It is -- it's only late September, but is was cold enough that morning that Giles had had to find a hat for Xander before he left the house. He's used to the rain by now -- it seems like it's always raining in England -- but the cold was a surprise. In Sunnydale it never got cold until way later in the year. They both sit there for a while, Giles doing whatever he's doing on the couch -- Xander doesn't turn around to see -- and Xander watching as the fire slowing consumes one splintered piece of wood after another. "Are you all right?" Giles asks finally. "Yeah," Xander says. He puts another stick onto the fire, experimenting with how close he can put his hand to the flames before it hurts. Another minute, then Xander hears Giles move. He doesn't know what he's doing until Giles is suddenly sitting right behind him on the rug. "This is proof of how much I love you," Giles says. "I'm too old to sit on the floor for just anyone, you know." "You're not old," Xander says automatically. He's said it before, and at this point he's not sure if Giles is just teasing him or actually needs the reassurance. The thought that it might be the second is disturbing somehow, because Giles is supposed to be the secure, confident one. Not like there's any chance Xander's ever going to manage to fill that role. "What's wrong?" Giles asks, one big hand wrapping around Xander's upper arm. Xander sighs and closes his eye, gripping the stick he's holding until he can feel the wood pressing hard into his skin. "Nothing." "You're a very bad liar," Giles says. He sighs again, but Giles just waits quietly. "I don't know." "Do you want to talk about it?" "I think that would require actually knowing what 'it' is," Xander says. Giles' arm slides around Xander's chest, pulling him back against Giles' body, warm and solid. "Well, if you change your mind... you know where I am." Xander nods. "Yeah, I do." And at least that's something. End.
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