Long Winter's Nap
After an almost continuos eight days on the road, Xander was tired, cranky and in need of a shave. To shave properly - and eight days worth of beard needed to only be shaved properly - he needed shaving cream. And apple juice. The apple juice wasn't for shaving; it was for the after shaving party. It would go best with the homemade gingerbread the mother of the last potential Slayer he'd dealt with had given him. One of his bright perks on this trip.
Two in the morning wasn't the optimal time for his brain to be working but it did do well for shopping. All night grocery stores were, he was sure, a sign of a truly modern civilization. He was fairly certain there wasn't going to be any all night anything where Giles was going to set them up. The now Head Watcher had said something about the Scottish countryside. Xander was sure he would end up with a kilt, if only because Buffy and Willow would think it funny.
Kilts however were not in evidence at the Kroger's grocery store, at least not in this Kentucky branch. There was an aisle marked "Juices" though, along with "Canned Fruit and Vegetables" and that would fit the bill. Especially now that he had his shaving cream tucked under one arm. He wandered down the aisle, alone but for one guy staring at the canned tomatoes intently.
Xander paused and looked over the curious cans. "What are you making?"
"Homemade spaghetti sauce."
"I'd go with the Cento crushed tomatoes myself. I think they work pretty well for sauces," Xander said.
"Thanks."
"No problemo," Xander replied before starting on to the juice section.
Then he paused and looked back. The guy was looking his way, eyes wide and surprised.
"Oz?"
Oz looked shocked but was smiling, a yellow can of Xander's recommendations in his hand. "Yeah. Xander."
"Yeah," Xander said, heading over. "I think we are so manly enough to hug now."
Oz chuckled as they hugged. "Trust you to remember that."
Xander grinned and checked Oz out. There were thin, black lines along the exposed edges of his collarbones. "Trust you to remember the remembering. You've gained tattoos."
"You," Oz frowned, "lost an eye."
"It wandered off. I'm doing the Snake Plissken bit now," Xander said with a shrug.
"Minus the mullet."
"Completely minus the mullet. What are you doing in...? Oh God, I don't even know what town I'm in anymore," Xander said, looking around.
"You are in Lexington and I am making spaghetti sauce," Oz put the can in his basket. "You've been on the road or abducted by aliens?"
"Road and way too long. No aliens yet," Xander couldn't keep the smile off his face. "You often make homemade sauce at 2:00 a.m.?"
"Only after the bar's closed," Oz tilted his head to the side and Xander could see the decision being made. "You have a room someplace yet?"
Xander sighed. "Not yet. Just got off the highway and into a store."
"Good, then you're staying at my place. It's better than a hotel."
It was better than a hotel and not only for the company involved. Oz's place was small but full of comfortable places to sit and lay down. It had all the requirements of an apartment: a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen visible by a bar counter and just beyond the bathroom, a bedroom. There were tapestries on the walls, a guitar and bass at the end of the couch and an odd collection of animal carvings on one bookshelf. Xander was turning a rabbit over in his hand.
"Netsuke," Oz supplied as he set a cup of coffee on the bar.
"Nifty," Xander said as he put it back and took a seat at the bar. "Ah the hard stuff. I will now be up for hours. Or die from caffeine overload."
Oz chuckled and went back to stirring the sauce. "Awake is good, death tends to put a damper on dinner."
Xander watched Oz cook, studying each conservative movement. Where Xander felt he'd almost oozed outward, Oz had distilled. Concentrated into pure Oz, all compacted and toned form. The thin tattoo lines continued around the back of Oz's neck and disappeared down under his shirt. Xander found part of his mind trying to place a pattern across Oz's back as the rest of it wandered.
Somehow, he'd always expected to run into Oz again. He just thought it would be someplace exotic like Carnival in Brazil, some dim tea house in Shanghai or even on a rickety stage in the East Village. Hell even Red Bank, New Jersey would've made more sense. He could easily picture Oz behind the counter of Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash, selling comics while Walt dealt with annoying fanboys. The canned vegetables and juice aisle of a twenty-four hour grocery store? Not in Lexington, Kentucky.
He bit the bullet. "So seriously, Kentucky?"
Oz shrugged as he stirred. "My aunt opened a pottery business in Berea and I came to take a look. Ended up here for now. You?"
"New Slayerette... which I am told is a disservice to them so Slayer... in Tennessee. I drove north until my eyes started drooping. I am supposed to catch a flight out of Cincinnati whenever I can."
Oz shot Xander a questioning look. "New?"
"Oh! Sorry, I forget you..." Xander blew out a breath. "Okay, the short form is Sunnydale is an actual hole now because Buffy and all the potential Slayers we could get our hands on saved the world again. To do that, Willow had to make potentials actuals so now we have lots of Slayers. Lots. Spike helped."
Oz set his spoon down and turned to study Xander. After a long moment he spoke. "Spike helped?"
"An even more convoluted tale that I so don't want to get into. Suffice to say he ended up a good guy. Ish. He closed the Hellmouth hence the hole," Xander slumped in his seat, all the weariness of the past couple of years seeming to catch up at once.
Oz took a deep breath, sighing it out almost musically. "I don't want to get deep into this..."
Xander didn't have to ask which "this" Oz was talking about. Who would want back into the mess of a world the Scoobies had now? He started nodding before he realized Oz was continuing.
"... But I wondered what had happened to Buffy. I saw a girl maybe four months ago fighting some vamps. Faith and some other hunter were there too. They had it under control so I got out of there. I could tell the other girl was a Slayer and I really didn't want to know how or why Faith was around." He looked at Xander apologetically. "That's all."
"One more long story short: Faith's back on the side of good now, the guy was probably her boyhunter, Robin," Xander said. "And I get it. If you ever want the unabridged edition, let me know."
"Boyhunter Robin?"
"Seriously! That's his name! I am not making this up," Xander protested Oz's amused raised eyebrow laughingly.
"Uh-huh," Oz turned around and poked a spoon into one of the pots. "And it's dinner. Or really early not-breakfast."
"Whatever you call it, it smells damn good so let's have it."
Two days, seven meals and one tin of gingerbread went by much faster than Xander wanted. Oz had quietly insisted that Xander turn in his rental car and drove him to the airport. Xander had laughed that the supposed Cincinnati airport was actually in Northern Kentucky. Then Oz told him good-bye at the curb and Xander watched him drive away.
It, in a word, sucked.
Still, once he got through customs on the other side of the Pond, he'd been ready to get back into the swing of things. Giles had updates for him, Buffy had gossip and Willow and Kennedy had rosters and training ideas. Somewhere between London and the castle in Scotland - which boggled Xander - they all switched roles at least three times. Giles' gossip had been particularly juicy though, so Xander didn't complain.
Not until he had to figure out the European wiring system at the castle at any rate. Keeping a growing number of girls in working outlets for hairdryers, computers and cellphone chargers kept him busy most days and figuring out the layouts for situation rooms and radio protocols kept him busy most nights. He lost weight and feared for his hair.
"You are not going bald, so stop fiddling with it," Giles admonished him one morning. "Trust me I know hair loss."
Xander barked out surprised laugher. "Okay, but let it be known I wasn't going to say a word about your still virile mane."
"Mmm yes thank you... here you've got some mail," Giles responded dryly and handed Xander an envelope.
The envelope was thin and the postmark New York. Xander opened it to find a page from a street map with a block circled and a scrawl across the bottom on the page.
Come spend Thanksgiving/ Christmas/ New Year's/ Whatever in New York. I promise more gingerbread. - Oz
There was a phone number and an address as well. Xander checked the multiple time zone clocks on the wall and figured he'd wait until tea time.
"Good news?" Giles asked.
"Yeah. Pretty darn good," Xander tucked the envelope into his back pocket. "I think I'm going out of town for the holidays."
Xander stepped out of the taxi and got his bags from the trunk. As he turned to look at the building he heard his name. He looked around until he heard it again, followed by a little laugh. Looking up he saw Oz leaning out a window.
"There you are."
"Here I am. Be right down."
Xander moved to the stoop and waited until Oz opened the door. "You got in just in time. We're expecting a big snow."
"I am finally known for my timing, will wonders never cease," Xander said, hooking up a bag while Oz took the other.
"Hope you don't mind three floors of stairs."
"Not in the least. Did I mention the castle has no elevator?"
Oz led him up the three flights and into his apartment. Xander whistled. "Bigger place."
"Rent controlled."
"How'd you swing that?"
Oz grinned as he took Xander's bag to the bedroom. "It was my uncle's place. He got it from his uncle."
"An heirloom apartment, sweet. Just how much family do you have?" Xander shrugged out of his coat.
"Enough to keep me in places to live for another few years. I would've come and gotten you from the airport, you know," Oz looked up at him.
"I know but it's easier to cab it in New York I have learned," Xander grinned down. "Tell me I smell spaghetti sauce."
"You smell spaghetti sauce."
"Brilliant."
There were turkey sandwiches, a parade and huge balloons for Thanksgiving and they went to Rockefeller Square to see the gigantic Christmas tree get lit. They even ice skated, Xander wobbly at first. They took in the Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall; window shopped and roamed the crowded aisle of FAO Schartz. A highly enlightened and very funny cabbie took them on a very expensive taxi ride to see some of the tackiest and brightest neighborhood displays of holiday lights, including a menorah that was three stories tall. There were taller, they were assured but none better.
Plenty of times, though, they simply wandered neighborhoods on their own, trying new coffee shops and markets. Or Xander slept in when Oz went to work part-time at a record store. Xander couldn't imagine him doing anything different.
He didn't have to, Xander found out. The uncle left Oz more than the apartment when he passed away and Oz lived how Xander thought Ozes should live - free to comb old record stores that he didn't work in for more wax or spending hours in odd bookstores reading out of print books. It was like all those late 1800s stories of gentlemen whiling away bachelorhood.
They had tons of comfortable silences and Xander started to relax, even answering his phone calls from Scotland with good cheer. No, he wouldn't tell them when he would be back. Some time after New Year's Day was as close as he would say. Buffy pouted, even sending a picture of the same said pout, but Xander knew she understood. He'd taken one summer off since he'd met her and no one really complained. Especially since he sent presents.
It was during a trip to the Metropolitan Museum that Oz first took Xander's hand in his. They were looking at a statue of Hatshepsut and Xander felt Oz's hand close over his. They stayed that way until they got to the Tomb of Perneb. Inside, just before a group of kids rounded a corner, Oz tugged him down and kissed him. It was short and sweet but Xander floated on it the rest of the morning.
He debated kissing Oz in the taxi on the way home but took his hand instead. That earned him a small smile. When they got upstairs, Xander didn't wait for Oz to get his coat off before dipping down to kiss him deeply. Oz broke it with another small smile and stepped away to shrug out of his winter gear.
"This is some sort of plan isn't it?" Xander asked, shedding his own heavy coat.
"Plan?" Oz looked confused.
"To get your futon couch back," Xander indicated where he'd been sleeping in the living room.
Oz looked at it for a moment. "The bed is more comfortable."
"Really?"
"Yup," Oz nodded. "I plan on showing you."
Xander moaned, fingers tugging at Oz's hair. Not five minutes ago he'd had his clothes on, he was sure of it. Oz had led him into the bedroom and, somehow between all the kisses, their clothes had found their way to the floor. Then he was on his back and Oz was sucking and biting his way down his body until heat enveloped Xander's cock.
It wasn't as if Xander had never had a blowjob before but never one this insistent, this hard and possessive. It was like Oz was trying to work his mouth and Xander's cock into submission. And yet, every time Xander got close to coming, Oz clamped his fingers tight around the base of Xander's cock and tugged at his balls.
"Oz, please, I really need to come," Xander whined.
Oz mumbled something around Xander's cock and the vibrations seemed to travel all the way up Xander's spine. They fanned out over his body and he came, a warning choked out at the last second. Oz sucked at him until another spasm bent him almost double and Xander was fairly sure he'd mildly concussed himself when his head slammed back onto the bed.
After a long while laying there, gasping until he could see, Xander gave Oz's hair another tug. Oz slid up next to him, flushed and smiling.
"What?" Xander croaked.
"I said 'okay'."
Xander stared and then laughed. "You... you... evil orgasm guy, you!"
Oz grinned and kissed Xander, tongue swirling the remaining taste of come and spit come around his mouth. Xander returned the kiss, greedy as Oz had been possessive. He broke it quickly, though, turning his head to yawn.
"Well that was embarrassing," Xander said, cheeks turning pink again.
"You need a nap?" Oz asked, fingers brushing along Xander's chest.
"Aahhh... um yes. But I can wait," Xander finished quickly. "I swear. I am a strong supported of post-sex naps. Long ones. And then wake-up sex."
"So sex, nap, sex?" Oz asked as he reached up to get something off the headboard's shelf.
"Yup, sex, nap, sex and possibly food. All things in a carefully rationed... whoa hey!" Xander pulled a leg up involuntarily.
"Perfect," Oz said as he rubbed a very slick finger around and around Xander's hole.
"G-glad I could ohgodohgod...help," Xander finished weakly as Oz pressed the finger in.
Oz murmured to him, rubbed his stomach and legs and kept on stretching him with his finger. Then his fingers and Xander was stunned at how quickly the time passed again. Until Oz pushed his legs further up and shifted between them.
"Oh boy," Xander breathed out.
"Yeah," Oz said and pushed his cock slowly in.
Xander arched, sure it wasn't going to work. Oz was too big and he was fairly certain he was babbling something close to that effect. Oz ignored him and kept pressing, slick and hard, until Xander thought he was going to scream. Then Oz was leaning down and kissing his chest and Xander laughed shakily and wrapped his arms around Oz's shoulders.
"You've done this before, I take it."
Oz nodded and sucked up a red mark on Xander's chest.
"Good," Xander said. "One of us should've."
Oz answered with a thrust and Xander's vision when white, eye stinging hot. He shut it and held on, gradually moving his hips to Oz's rhythm.
He wanted to put words to it, slick things like 'oiled' and 'smooth' but it was sweat and a dark bruised feeling that made him shiver despite the heat between them. Oz held him tighter, pushing the shivers away with another kiss and sending them rushing back with a soft growl.
That was when he knew he was going to come again. Oz was going to pull another orgasm out of him leashed to a growl. It was shockingly too soon and Xander fought it, nails digging at Oz's skin. He wanted this part to last, wanted the fear and deliciousness of sex to wait just a little bit more.
It wouldn't though, not with Oz rolling his hips and nuzzling every inch of skin he could reach. Xander cursed, laughed again and came with a sob, hips juddering up unevenly. Oz followed shortly, and Xander did his best to keep going until Oz held him down and begged him to stop.
"Ha," Xander said weakly, raising a triumphant fist. "I made you beg this time."
Oz snorted against his chest. "Yup. You ready for that nap now?"
Xander yawned hugely. "Mo-o-ore than ever. A long one."
Oz nodded and pulled out, Xander wincing at the sudden loss of what felt like everything. "Nap."
"Towel then nap."
Oz grunted. "Nap."
"Fine. Nap."