*****
Pulling back the shower curtain, Xander jumped a little in surprise when he saw Oz standing over the sink, shaving. "Dude. You scared me."
"Sorry," he said simply.
As he stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel that was lying bunched up on the tank of the toilet, Xander asked, "Where's Dev?"
Rinsing out his razor, Oz answered, "The Bronze. Some meeting. The owner wants to see if the Dingoes want to be the house band or something and since Devon's the only manager type person we have. . ."
"That's cool. Would you guys get paid more?"
Oz set down his razor and inspected his smooth jaw. "Yeah, plus we'd be guaranteed gigs for like four nights every week, more if they can't find other bands."
"That's cool!"
"Yeah, but we have to see what Devon thinks. He doesn't look it, but he can be a shroud businessman." Turning to Xander, Oz watched as the younger boy dried himself off. "He really likes you, you know."
Xander looked up. "Devon?"
"Yeah."
"Well I should hope he likes me. He fucks me like five times a day."
Oz shook his head. "No, it's more than that, Xand. He's writing songs about you."
Xander threw the towel back at the toilet and said, "Huh."
"Don't say 'huh'. I say 'huh'. Xanders don't say 'huh'; Xanders say. . . well I don't know what they say, but it's something a little longer than 'huh'."
"I don't know what to say. I'm glad that he likes me. No one's ever written songs about me before, but he hasn't said anything to me about it."
"He wouldn't. That's not Devon. Devon doesn't go around explaining his feelings to everyone, you just have to figure them out."
Xander moved out of the bathroom, waiting for Oz to follow him. "And you figured out that he really likes me?"
Oz watched Xander from behind as they made their way into the room they shared with Devon. "He doesn't write songs about the slope of someone's back just for anyone. It wasn't hard to figure out."
"The song's about my back?" Xander asked as he raised an eyebrow. One side of his mouth turning up into a smile.
"And your arms and your neck."
"Wow." Xander plopped down on the bed and smiled happily when Oz plopped down next to him.
"Yeah, he likes you."
"He writes songs about you, doesn't he?"
"Not typically."
Xander sat up and looked down at Oz with a furrowed brow. "Are you mad?"
"About what?"
"Him writing songs about me and not you."
Oz shook his head and pulled Xander back down then rolled onto his side, supporting his head with his hand as he studied Xander. "I'm not jealous if that's what you mean."
"You're not? I mean, he was yours before. . ."
"Devon's never been mine, Xander," Oz offered quietly. "Devon and I are kind of like two magnets that are just drawn to each other but who can never really connect because there's that invisible barrier that ends up pushing us away from each other."
"Huh?"
Oz smiled and let his hand wander over Xander's chest, playing with the few stray strains of hair by his left nipple. "I love Devon and he loves me but we aren't in love. We've known each other for too long for that. I know everything about him and it's like he's a brother."
"Then isn't what you two do a bit incestuous?"
Oz smiled and gave Xander's nipple a little pinch. "Are you trying to be difficult?"
Groaning a little, Xander closed his eyes. "No. I'm trying to figure out what's going on between the three of us. You and me are like soft and gentle. And Devon, with me he's like a fuzzy bunny, you know, warm and soft and sweet. But you and Devon are like. . .different. You guys aren't soft with each other."
"We were but then I started dating Willow and Devon didn't like it. He and I weren't exclusive because god knows that he had his groupies, but he didn't like that I'd fallen in love with her." Oz's eyes fixed on the far wall. "Well, what he didn't like was that it didn't include him. My relationship with Willow didn't include him at all." Drawing his eyes back to Xander, he saw that the younger boy was now looking at him again. "So now when we do anything, all the emotion is taken out of it. Because Devon, when he falls for someone, he falls hard and he doesn't like to admit it."
"Wait." Rolling onto his side, Xander looked Oz straight in the eyes. "You just said that you and Devon weren't in love and now you're making it seem like he's in love with you."
"He's not and we're not. Not now, but he really liked me, like he really likes you, before I met Willow. But in his mind, I chose Willow over him and that lead to complications."
"He was jealous?"
Oz shook his head. "Not jealous. Hurt. You know that song 'Pain' that we play all the time?" Xander nodded. "He wrote that about me. The first time we played it was the Valentine's Day dance at the Bronze."
"I remember. Willow was all groupie girl and Cordelia dumped me. Trust me, I remember it."
"Xander?" Oz asked in soft voice.
"Yeah?"
"I like you a lot too. Devon and I are real happy with you." Xander smiled. "And while this isn't the main reason we like you, it's a big thing. You help me and Devon. We're closer now because of you."
Xander smiled wider and lightly placed his hand on Oz's hip, pulling the other boy closer. "I like you guys too," Xander whispered, as his lips moved towards Oz's. "I feel like I belong for the first time, you know? There's a place for me here."
Their lips brushed against each other's in a soft kiss. They pressed themselves closer together and as their hardening erection met, the kiss deepened. Their hands clutched at each other's bodies, pulling and tugging at each other.
Their hips thrust together as their lips continued to tangle together. Suddenly, Xander pulled back, "Oz?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"I don't believe you."
Oz's brow creased. "What?"
Xander shook his head. "I don't believe that you're not in love with him. I don't believe that he's over being in love with you."
"Xander," Oz started.
"No. I see you, I watch you two. You guys are like. . .married people."
"That doesn't mean that we're in love."
"Duh. I just mean that you two wouldn't be together still if you didn't.. . ."
"Xander, look. . ."
"No," Xander said simply. "I don't believe it. If you weren't in love with each other, how could you two share me like you do."
"Damn, you make yourself sound like you're just some thing that Devon and I pass back and forth."
Shaking his head, Xander sat up. "No. That's not what I mean and I think that you shouldn't change the subject."
Running his hands through his hair, Oz sat up to face the younger boy. "Fine. I am in love with Devon and have been since I met him in Mrs. Klemner's kindergarten class, okay? But Dev and I can't ever just focus on each other. He doesn't have the attention span and I don't have the strength to love him completely while he doesn't feel the same about me."
"Whose idea was it to bring me into all of this?"
"Both of ours. I'd wanted you for a while and Devon, well, he's always liked my taste, so he approached you." Oz smiled a little. "You know, if Devon was here we wouldn't be talking this much."
Xander smiled. "He does like the unspoken expressions best, doesn't he?"
Oz laid back down, happiness coursing through him as Xander laid back next to him. "Xander, I'm glad you're with me and Devon. You do have a place with us."
~end~