*****
Sleep wasn't coming on this particular night. Riley knew it was late. It had to be around 4 A.M. since they hadn't gotten in until after two. The girls went right to sleep. Of course he knew why, when they had each brandished a bottle of wine each. Buffy couldn't hold her liquor for anything and that usually made him smile. She was a cute drunk, silly and very touchy. But she hadn't been touchy tonight, which oddly, relieved him.
Xander shifted restlessly. Anya snored delicately, attesting to her overzealous consumption of wine. He pondered the fact that drinking made most girls all clingy and sensual, but Anya hadn't touched him at all since she'd swayed down the gangplank with Willow and Buffy on her arms. Anya flung an arm across his midsection, snuggling closer to him in her sleep, and suddenly Xander felt suffocated.
Riley sighed heavily as he stared at the ceiling. Buffy had rolled to her side with her back to him, clutching most of his bedroll in her arms. Under normal circumstances, he'd have cuddled up to her and held her all night. But his mind wrapped around what happened on the dock with Xander and his emotions spiraled until eventually, he found himself aroused more than anything else.
Xander wriggled out from under Anya's arm, turning on his side, facing away from everyone. He fought the urge to dwell on what had happened on the boat dock, yet his mind wasn't falling into step with that idea, and he felt an unwelcome stirring in his boxers.
Admonishing himself with the fact that there were several other people in the room and no real room to do anything about it, he began reciting the multiplication tables to himself. Listening to the different breathing patterns in the room, Riley plucked Buffy's out easily. No matter what, her breathing was always long and steady. He listened even closer and decided that the feminine snoring had to be Anya, and the third, the one not his own... Riley groaned heavily and found his hand instinctively descending under the blanket and into his shorts.
His hand circled his length, his fingers circling underneath. Riley tried to stifle a groan at the mere warmth of his sweaty palm. Riley stopped for a moment and considered his options. He assumed by the breathing in the room that everyone was asleep, thus keeping his little indiscretion safe.
Xander's eyes flew wide open, almost like window shades as he heard the stirring over on Riley and Buffy's half of the room. He listened intently for any feminine whispers or moans, but only heard Anya's snoring and a delicate breathing which was easily distinguishable from Riley's harsh rasp. He lay still, afraid to make any sound, but his mind flashed pictures of Riley and what he must be doing.
Riley loosened his hand, but did not break the contact with his own burning skin. He took several deep breaths, as he scolded himself for the complete loss of control. His fingers worked themselves tighter once more and he continued, doing his best to keep down the sounds that were rising in his chest.
Xander couldn't refrain from turning and confirming his own errant thoughts. His eyes searched the dim for Riley's prone form, widening as he registered what he saw. He tried hard for some shock, but the welling desire he felt effectively dampened it. His tongue stole out, licking suddenly dry lips as he watched.
Riley wouldn't know for sure until later, but he felt it. He felt a pair of eyes on him, watching him. He turned his head towards his sleeping girlfriend, knowing that she hadn't moved at all, but still needed to confirm that fact. He then turned his eyes back to the ceiling. He wasn't going look. Or finish. He gently tore his grip from his painfully hard cock and then raised both of his hands over his head.
Xander flipped back over, unwilling to play the voyeur anymore, but there was a nearly painfully swollen reminder of what he'd witnessed, and he realized that sleep was going to be an elusive mistress that night. Giving into the inevitable, but unwilling to expose his own mental machinations to Riley, Xander rose as quietly as he could manage and moved toward Giles' bathroom. He'd take care of his problem, and then he'd go back, sleep and put the whole crazy night into some sort of perspective.
Riley heard the quiet stirring and quietly whispered to himself, "Fuck." His eyes followed the sound and he watched Xander pad off in the the direction of the bathroom. "Fuck," he whispered again, slightly more agitated this time. He had been watching. Riley knew that it had been Xander watching him.
Xander leaned against the sink, basking in the blessed relief of releasing his erection from the confining boxers. Images drifted through his mind as he began moving his fist, lost in the thoughts of the noises that Riley had made, and dreaming that they were for him. He'd been half hard all night, ever since they'd kissed, and Xander knew that he was only a few moments away from finally releasing all his pent up frustration.
Riley tried to lay still. He tried to just lay there and do nothing but part of him was angry that Xander had watched him. Sure, he had been doing it out in the open in a room full of peoople but, dammnit, they were supposed to be sleeping. Xander was supposed to be sleeping.
It didn't take too much for Riley to pick himself up and get to Giles' bathroom. It took even less effort for him handle the door knob, turn it, and open the door, all the while feeling an odd sense of relief that Xander hadn't locked it and then anger at his own relief. "What the hell were you doing?" He asked, unabashed and totally insensitive to the boy, standing there with his dick in his hand.
Xander's mouth opened and closed and opened again without words ever escaping him. He looked down at his still moving hand, which had apparently taken Riley as a manifestation of his fertile fantasies. However, he realized fairly quickly that his fantasy Riley wouldn't be standing there with a sleepy scowl on his face.
"Um, I could ask *you* the same thing, Mr. I Like To Masturbate In Front Of The Entire Living Room."
Riley was almost seething but he had no defense to the statement. "You were all supposed to be passed out!"
Xander tucked his deflating erection back into his boxer shorts and faced Riley with his hands on his hips. "Well, would it have been so hard for you to check and make *sure*?" He realized his faux pas as soon as it left his mouth, colouring red while he continued to glare at Riley.
"Oh yeah, sure, what was I supposed to do? Start asking if anyone was awake? Or wait, better yet, I could stumble around the dark living room with my raging boner to make sure all eyes were closed. Yeah, that works."
"Well, it's not *my* fault that you can't restrain your hormones long enough to get to sleep. And it's *certainly* not my fault that you didn't have enough consideration to stagger to the bathroom!"
Riley opened his mouth to retort but then closed it again. Sure, he coulda restrained his hormones long enough to sleep and then woke up and had to deal with his boner in broad daylight. So maybe, this was just the lesser of the two evils. "Well, aren't you just Mr. Courtesy, tonight? Watch me then stagger your way into the ba-" Riley clamped his mouth shut suddenly as his eyes met with Xander's.
Xander's eyes dropped, suddenly finding the fluffy grey rug immensely interesting. "At least I staggered into the bathroom alone. I didn't ask you to come lumbering in like some sort of fantasy -" Xander snapped the words off, and carefully looked anywhere but at Riley.
Riley slapped his hands over his ears in an attempt to drown out the ringing of Xander's voice. He then turned on his heel towards the door so that he could leave. Instead of leaving, however, Riley leaned his forehead against the door. "Fuck," he whispered again. This wasn't going to go away. "Let's just forget the whole thing."
Xander nodded before realizing that Riley didn't see it. He didn't even recognize his voice as he simply said "Yeah." Too late he realized that the anguish he felt at forgetting the whole thing permeated the word in a way that made it speak volumes more than one syllable ever should.
Riley thumped his head against the door, feeling Xander's voice, the utter resignation, rip into him. And why? "Fuck," he said yet again but then quickly added his own, "Yeah." Riley backed off the door, and without looking at Xander, opened it quickly and stepped out...
Xander slumped against the sink, the tension that had filled the room departing along with Riley. "Its for the best." Xander repeated it to himself in a whisper, as he fought off the overwhelming sense of loss.
~end~