Giles parked his car with a sigh of relief. The traffic leaving LA had been brutal, as usual. He pulled himself out of his car with a groan and stretched, trying to loosen up the stiff muscles in his back. Then he spent the next five minutes trying to get his car door to close and stay closed. With a rather ominous thunk, the door finally caught.

Giles wearily turned towards his apartment, thankful that he'd have at least a couple of hours before the girls descended on him and started asking questions he wouldn't have any answers for. Of course, God didn't like him that much, as he quickly found out.

The first thing he saw when he opened the front door was Buffy. His Slayer had perched herself on the table facing the door and was glaring at him. Her poise and attitude brought to mind a rather obnoxious cat his mother had kept when he was young. The infernal beast would perch out of sight and wait for some poor unsuspecting soul to wander by. Then it would pounce. Claws extended, snarling like a fiend from Hell.

Giles fondly remembered performing an exorcism on the beast, then shuddered as he remembered his mother's reaction to her Baby's untimely demise. In fact, Buffy's expression was all too disturbingly reminiscent of his mother at her worst. And his mother wasn't a Slayer. This could, and probably would, become unpleasant.

"Buffy. I see you felt free to let yourself in. But, please, do get off the table. I have to eat there." Giles congratulated himself on his inspired nonchalance.

Buffy, of course, didn't bother to pay him any more heed than she usually did. "That wasn't very nice, Giles. A note? You waited until we were stuck in class and skipped out on us. But leaving the note on our door was a nice touch." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and glared, "I thought we were going to go together?"

Giles shoved his hands in his pockets just to keep himself from polishing his glasses, again. "I have completed my schooling, Buffy. Quite some time ago, in fact. You, however, need all the time in class you can possibly manage."

Buffy winced, but didn't back down. "Whatever. Being able to conjugate verbs doesn't do me a lot of good when it comes to staking vamps. Now cut to the chase. What did Xander say?"

Giles ignored her, or tried to, and went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. The time honored ritual of making tea had always soothed him. Buffy, naturally, had no sense of tradition. Grabbing the kettle from his hand, she slammed it down on the counter. "Talk, Giles. Now."

Giles sighed, again. "Very well. I found Mr. DiBlasi's house with no little effort. Xander and Mr. DiBlasi were engaged in washing a vehicle, Xander's I believe. Xander saw me standing at the gate and ran. Mr. DiBlasi made his feelings about me rather plain. It seems, that waiting a month to attempt to contact Xander has not induced overly generous feelings in the man."

Buffy stared at him with glazed eyes, "Huh?"

*****

Xander yawned and cracked open one eye when he heard Tony chuckle. "What?"

"I'm a pervert," Tony said, still chuckling under his breath.

Xander yawned again, "Knew that."

Tony glanced over at him with a smile, "Not what I was talking about. I was talking about the fact that you look like you're about three years old when you're sleepy."

Xander looked out the window at the sunlight barely breaking through the darkness of the night, then closed his eyes and scrunched down in his seat again. "It's still dark outside, Tony. Of course I'm sleepy. If you would have waited until the sun was up to drag me out of bed I'd be able to keep my eyes open."

Tony chuckled at the grumpy sound of Xander's voice, "It's going to take us most of the day to get to the cabin. And we have a couple of stops to make on the way. If we'd waited any longer to leave we wouldn't get there til tomorrow. Besides, leaving in the middle of the night makes it really hard for someone to stop us."

Xander snickered, "Good point." Both men were silent for a moment until Xander asked, "What do we have to stop for anyway?"

"Toys," Tony replied with a smile in his voice.

That single word finally managed the impossible, Xander opened his eyes and sat up. "Toys? What kind of toys?" Then he shook his head, "Oh no, you pervert. I am not going into the sex shop with you. I'll wait in the truck."

Tony cracked up laughing, "Not the sex shop, Xander. I packed all of those toys. No, these are the real toys. Big boy toys. We're picking up an ATV and a Jet ski."

Xander rolled his eyes, "Tony, you've got two ATV's in the garage at home. And I know for a fact that you have a couple of wave runners stored down at the marina. Not to mention a sailboat, an outboard and God only knows what else. Why do you need new ones?"

Tony grinned maniacally, "He who dies with the most toys, wins. And I plan on winning."

Xander hated to burst his bubble, he really did, but that wasn't going to stop him from pointing out the obvious. "Uh, Tony? He who dies with the most toys? Still dies."

Tony shook his head and sighed sadly, "I have so much to teach you, Xander. This is going to take years."

*****

Xander repeatedly glanced over his shoulder at the bright yellow ATV and Jet ski riding on the trailer they were towing. When they'd arrived at the dealership, Xander was stunned to learn that these toys weren't for Tony, they were for him. Tony even bought him road gear with built in pads for the ATV. Not to mention a really cool helmet, a wet suit, and a waterproof and shock resistant watch.

Then they'd come across the winter wonderland of toys. Snowmobiles, snowcats and cold weather gear. Xander didn't even try to fight it. Their matching snowmobiles and a snowcat would be delivered to the cabin within a week.

Xander turned back to face the road and threw Tony a grin. "Okay, I'm starting to get the whole toys thing. But there's one thing we forgot to buy."

"Really? What?"

"Food. I'm starving," Xander said piteously.

*****

Xander carefully navigated the sharp turn in the narrow gravel road. After lunch, he and Tony had switched places and he'd been driving ever since. It was still light, but not for long. Xander reached over and turned up the heater another notch. The higher they'd climbed into the mountains, the more the temperature had dropped. And with night coming on, it was really getting cold.

Tony came out of the light doze he'd been in when the extra heat reached him. Stretching as much as he could in the confined cab of the truck, he looked out the window, smiling when he saw familiar landmarks. "You did good, Xander. We're almost there."

Xander glanced at the map he'd taped to the dash, "I need to take the next left, right?"

"Yeah. And take it slow. About ten yards after you make the turn, you're going to run into a really wicked curve. If you miss, we're going to be trying out the jet ski sooner than we'd planned."

Xander nodded and turned on his headlights just in time to see two large deer jump across the road directly in front of him. "Whoa! Where did they come from?"

"There are deer all over the place up here. It's not unusual to see them down by the lake this time of day." Tony pointed and said, "There's the turn."

Xander slowed down until he was barely crawling and eased into the turn. A few seconds later, he understood why Tony had warned him. The curve following the edge of the lake was hairy, to say the least. The road switched back on itself so fast and so many times that Xander lost track.

Tony patted Xander on the shoulder, "You're doing really good, Xander. There's a bridge at the end of the next curve. Stop before you get to it."

Xander nodded, not taking his eyes off the road. When the bridge came into view, Xander slowed to a stop and put the truck in park, finally looking up. This was the moment Tony had been waiting for.

"Holy Shit! That's not a fucking cabin!" Xander exclaimed as he stared up at Tony's mountain retreat. The cabin was two stories tall, built of wood and glass. Porches and veranda's surrounded the exterior, providing a clear view of the lake, the mountains and the surrounding forest. Stone chimneys gave evidence of multiple fireplaces, and Xander could barely make out a small satellite dish on one corner of the roof.

Xander looked at the delighted expression on Tony's face and grinned, "So, Tony. If this is a cabin, what does your idea of a mansion look like?"

Tony sniffed, "It's made out of logs, it's in the middle of the woods, there's no one else around for miles, what else would you call it? It sounds like a cabin to me."

Xander nodded, "You're right, it's a cabin."

Tony laughed, "Go ahead and drive across the bridge, there's a driveway on the other side that leads to the garage."

Xander started across the bridge, "Right. The cabin has a garage. Makes sense."

Tony smacked him lightly on the shoulder, "Shut and drive, smartass."

It didn't take long to get across the bridge and park next to garage. Tony jumped out and hit a switch next to the garage door. The door swung open silently, revealing a couple of jet skis and an ATV. Xander shook his head and got out of the truck. "Do you want me to pull inside?"

"It'll be fine for tonight. Let's just grab our bags and get inside. I'm beat."

*****

Xander took their bags up to the master bedroom while Tony rummaged through the frig to find them something quick to eat. Xander didn't bother to unpack yet, he wanted to take a look around. What he'd seen so far had amazed him. If he could have designed a house for himself, this would have been it.

Everything just seemed to fit, from the fireplaces to the open beamed ceilings to the heavy overstuffed furniture. Xander wandered into the kitchen, still in awe over the house.

"So? What do you think of it, Xander?" Tony asked as he assembled their sandwiches.

Xander sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island and grinned, "This place rocks. If this was my house, I'd never leave."

Tony chuckled quietly, "I've thought about it, believe me."

Xander looked at him curiously, "Why don't you? Stay, I mean? I know you can do a lot of your office stuff from the house."

Tony handed Xander his plate and led the way into the main room. Stopping long enough to light the fire, Tony settled next to Xander on the couch, taking a bite of his sandwich before answering. "This place is my sanity. When I get too stressed out, I come up here. Everyone knows that the world better be ending before disturbing me here. This is the one place where I don't have to worry about the company, or the competition. I can relax and just have fun for awhile. Vo comes up when she can, but you're the first person I've ever brought up here. I didn't even let my wife come here. This place almost sacred to me. If I started working from here, well, then it wouldn't be as special."

There wasn't really anything Xander could say to that without sounding like an idiot, but God he wanted to. He wanted to know why Tony had brought him here when he wouldn't even let his wife come here. Not knowing what else to do, he kept quiet, so they finished their dinner in silence. Xander took their plates into the kitchen, turning the lights off on his way back through. When he reached the couch, he stood for a minute before straddling Tony's lap. In their time together, Xander had never initiated any sexual contact. He still had trouble looking Tony in the eyes when they were in bed together. The very idea of initiating sex with Tony embarrassed him, but for some reason, tonight felt like the right time and the right place.

Xander rested his forehead against Tony's, staring down into his eyes. "Hey."

Tony smiled and wrapped both arms around Xander's waist, then Xander put his fingers over Tony's lips before he could say anything. Tony raised a brow in question, but didn't try to speak. Xander smiled tentatively, then reached down to unbutton Tony's shirt.

Tony didn't actively help, letting Xander set the pace. Once his shirt was gone, Xander's soon followed it. Then Tony had to force himself to be still, but it wasn't easy. Xander was ghosting his hands across his chest and shoulders, the touch so light it left goosebumps in its wake. One curious digit dipping into his belly button made all the muscles in his stomach tighten up. Xander smiled, pleased with Tony's reaction to his touch.

It made it a lot easier for Xander to reach for the snap on Tony's jeans. Xander felt Tony's hands slip down to his thighs and tighten their grip as he slowly lowered the straining zipper.

Sliding off Tony's lap, Xander went to his knees. Reaching down, he carefully untied Tony's shoes, slipping them off the older man's feet then tugging off his socks. Forcing himself to look Tony in the eye, Xander said quietly, "Stand up."

Tony would have liked to believe that he was being nonchalant when he arose, but he knew better. He came off the couch like he'd been shot from a canon. Xander's face twisted and Tony knew he was trying not to laugh. Cursing himself for ruining the moment, he said, "Xander..."

Xander shook his head, "Ssshhh," then reached up and eased Tony's jeans down until they puddled at his ankles. "Sit down." Tony obeyed with gratifying speed. Once the jeans had joined their shirts, Xander stood to remove the rest of his own clothing. Not trying to be seductive or coy, Xander pulled a couple of packets of lube out of his pocket, kicked off his sneakers and removed his jeans and boxers, throwing them on the chair with the rest of their clothes.

Tony was assuming that he'd receive a lap full of warm, naked Xander, but that wasn't what Xander had in mind. His face even darker red in the light of the fire, Xander sank down to the floor, resting his back against the square ottoman between the fireplace and the couch.

It was painfully obvious that Xander was feeling terribly self-conscious when he bent his knees and put his feet flat on the floor, completely exposing himself to his lover.

The firelight alternately cast flickering shadows and light over Xander, occasionally highlighting the gold rings decorating his body, but allowing only fleeting glimpses of his face.

Tony clenched his fists and his breath hastened when Xander reached up and tugged on the gold rings dangling from his nipples. And he could almost feel the shudder that passed through Xander's frame when he ripped open a packet of lube and squeezed the cold gel onto his own stomach.

Tony had been seduced by experts, men and women who were willing to do anything to get what they wanted from him, he'd done threesomes and toys of every description and style. But the sight of one teenaged boy hesitantly pushing one lubed finger into his own body had Tony tied in knots.

Tony could do nothing but watch, completely mesmerized, as a second finger eased its way into Xander's ass. Now Xander's other hand came into play, occasionally tugging on his nipple rings, then slowly jacking his cock.

Tony finally came to realize just what his physics professor had been trying to explain when they were studying the theory of relativity. Only minutes had passed since Xander had begun, but it felt like years had passed since he'd been able to kiss his lover, or hold him close. And the few feet separating them might as well have been miles once Xander started whimpering under his breath, his body curled into itself as he worked his fingers in deeper and faster, his other hand squeezing and tugging on the swollen head of his cock.

Tony literally braced himself for the inevitable conclusion. Xander was moaning constantly, covered with sweat and shaking uncontrollably now. Then, without warning, he stopped with a whimper of pure need. Tony almost whimpered himself.

Xander just sat there for a minute, his chest heaving and sweat running down his face. Then he clenched his teeth tightly as he pulled the fingers that had been giving him such pleasure from his body. Still trembling, Xander rolled onto his hands and knees and slowly moved across the floor towards the couch and his lover.

Reaching out, Xander ran his hands up Tony's legs and literally crawled into his lap. Tony was basically numb by the time Xander reached back and held his long neglected cock steady so he could sink onto it.

Inch by incredible inch, Xander moved slowly downwards until they were fully mated. But he wasn't done surprising Tony yet. Xander reached out and grasped Tony's hands, pulling his arms around his body. Once embraced, he cupped Tony's face in his hands and kissed him. A short sweet kiss that said more than words ever could. But the words were spoken anyway. "Love you," Xander whispered, looking Tony in the eye.

Tony didn't know whether to laugh, cry, shout for joy or just fuck Xander into next week, but he did know one thing. "I love you, too. More than I ever thought I could."

Then, the time for words was past.

*****

Buffy leaned on the buzzer, as if strength alone would make someone answer her summons. Willow fidgeted nervously next to her friend while Giles just stared into space, unwilling to try to reasoning with Buffy again.

The Slayer was on the verge of going over the gate when a low-slung silver car pulled up beside them. Giles was flabbergasted. "My word, a Gull-Wing."

The redhead driving the car exited the vehicle just in time to hear him, "Yes. A 1965 Mercedes-Benz Gull-Wing to be precise. Now, who are you and what are you doing at my house?"

Buffy stepped forward, so frustrated by this point that she was ready to beat the answers she wanted out of this woman. But when Buffy reached out, the woman turned to her and lifted a single, elegant brow, looking down on the Slayer disdainfully. "Yes? Was there something you wanted?"

Giles cleared his throat, "Um, yes actually. We're friends of Xander's and would like to speak with him please."

The redhead looked them over, her expression making it plain that she thought they had crawled out from under a rock. A particularly dirty, slimy rock. Giles flushed but stood his ground, however unwillingly.

"I'm afraid that's impossible at the moment. But I'd be more than happy to pass any messages along for you when I speak with him."

Buffy snapped at that point, getting right in the woman's face she growled, "I don't know who you think you are, but I want to see Xander and I want to see him now."

The woman had the unmetigated gall to laugh in Buffy's face. "I'm Voracity DiBlasi. And I'm the woman who's going to make sure that you suffer for the way you treated Xander. Now, remove yourself from my property before I have you removed."

Surprisingly, Buffy believed her.

TBC

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