Author: BmblBee
Rating: Adult overall
Paring: William/Xander
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story
Summary: Xander has a crush. William has a secret
Xander didn't know what to say.
He fought against the instinct that screamed "say it back"
He wanted to buy candy and flowers.
He wanted to stand under William's window and sing to him.
He wanted to hire a hot air balloon and...... well, point made.
But he didn't..
By now the silence was echoing in the room and bouncing off
William's eardrums.
The water in the tub had cooled and the good mood seemed to have
popped with the last bubble.
William eased himself off Xander and out of the bath.
Wrapping the towel around himself like a shield that could protect
him from the hurt he was afraid was coming, William started
backing away towards the bedroom.
"I'm sorry, Xander. I didn't mean to make you
uncomfortable. I shouldn't have spoken so. It's all right if you
don't feel the same. I was just over taken by the moment."
Xander felt like a total ass.
He felt like he had just kicked the kitten Willow was always
threatening to buy.
Grabbing his own towel he rushed into the bedroom behind Will.
"No, Baby, you didn't say anything wrong. You only said what my
heart has been wanting to say since last night."
William's face lit up, but just as quickly dropped as Xander put
his hands up and continued.
"I just think maybe we are moving too fast. You have been through
a hell of a lot, and I don't want you thinking you feel one way now
then find out later it is only gratitude or just the stress of the memories.
Willow said....."
William began searching through the bed covers and piles of dirty
clothes that were strewn around the room.
"Will, what the hell are you looking for?"
William stopped what he was doing and with his hands on his
naked pink hips gave Xander the sternest look his face could manage.
"I'm still looking for Miss Willow. I didn't realize she was
in this room or this relationship with us.
I'll have you know, Xander that I am very well aware of what love is.
I was much loved as a child. My Mother, My Grandmum and Grandda,
Mrs Wilcox, and even Mr. Harvey.
As bad as the "after" was it could not erase the "before". My Grandda
told me what to look for in a man, and Mister it is you."
William was now wagging a slim delicate finger under Xander's nose.
"Now if that doesn't set well on your plate you will just have to learn
to live with it, because I love you and will not accept any argument."
With that William turned and walked away to dress. Xander stood
speechless.
He watched as the sweetest little butt cheeks in the world bounced
away and he realized he had just been bitch slapped.
He smiled.
Deciding the day had been stressful enough William and Xander
both dressed in sweats and settled in for a quiet afternoon.
William poured the tea that Willow had made and Xander fixed
some soup and sandwiches.
Surprisingly the conversation at the table over lunch was relaxed and pleasant.
It appeared the Gods of peace and quiet had finally smiled on them.
The Gods smiled for about ten minutes before the knock came at the door.
Jumping up and racing from the kitchen Will called back "I'll get it"
Xander dropped the dishes in the sink and followed after.
Opening the door, Will's eyes lit up.
"Larry. Please come in, Xander will be right here."
Larry tried to check the pleased, surprised look on his face, but
failed completely.
"William? Well, looks like you found a use for that phone number."
William blushed "I can't thank you enough. Xander is just wonderful."
Coming in on the tail end of the conversation, Xander stopped next to
William, put his arm around Wil's waist and laughed.
"So, Larry what do you need to see me about and make it quick,
I'm busy being wonderful."
Larry's eyes scanned William then settled on Xander.
In a matter of seconds an entire unspoken conversation passed between
them and an understanding was reached.
Although both knew Larry had, in his own way, been in love with Xander
for years it wasn't something that either wanted to face or discuss.
It would never have worked and would have destroyed a great
friendship, and that wasn't something either of them wanted to risk.
Just as quickly the mood changed as Larry explained why he had
come, and he fished a sheet of paper from his pocket.
Handing it to Xander he knew the air in the room was about to
change, but he needed to get to the real reason for his visit.
"We got trouble on the site. Big trouble. As you can see from
that lumber invoice Lindsey has stopped ordering first grade lumber.
He has ordered us to use all seconds.
Anyone who questions him is threatened with being fired.
You know these are good men, Xan, but they all got families to
feed and can't do that without a job.
Even if they did quit, Lindsey says he can make sure no other
contractor will hire them. I don't think he has the clout to do
that, but nobody wants to take the chance.
Shit, Xander, If you were the boss, the men would
follow you anywhere."
Furious, Xander quickly scanned the paper then balled it up
and threw it to the floor.
"That fuckin' asshole! Putting up an unstable building like
that anywhere is asking for trouble, but here in California
near half a dozen fault lines and it's not if, but when
will it turn into a death trap.
It's bullshit that he is doing this to save money. I could
think of half a dozen cost cutting steps we could take that
would be both time and cost effective.
He has got to be doing this to steal from the project accounts.
Where the hell are the inspectors? Where is OSHA?"
"I think they are being paid off. Since all these changes they have stopped coming around.
That's not all. The investigation into your accident has also apparently disappeared.
What we need, Xander is to find a way to expose Lindsey's undercover dirt.
If only there was another construction company that could take over the job and give the workers jobs, we would all walk off the site.
Standing there silent and attempting to process all the
information, Xander didn't noticed that William had picked
up the crumpled invoice and was staring at it.
"Xander."
"In a minute, Will" Xander turned back to Larry
"Do you think Lindsey's uncle knows what is going on with his company?"
"Shit, man, Who knows I think....."
"XANDER!!"
"What?" That's when Xander finally turned and saw that Will's
face was white as a sheet.
Handing Xander back the invoice William quietly whispered
"That's the same handwriting. He wrote the note."
The look of blind fury that passed over Xander's face startled
both Will and Larry.
Then just as quickly it was gone.
Kissing the top of his head, Xander aimed Will towards the kitchen and
gave him a little nudge.
"Will, Sweetheart, go make us a pot of coffee. The three of us
have some planning to do.
Once in the kitchen, Will grabbed for the phone and checked the speed
dial numbers till he found the one he needed.
"Xander, Sweety, is everything o.k?"
"It's me Miss Willow. Sorry to bother you, but there is trouble on Xander's job.
Larry is here now, and I think we need all the help we can get. Can you come over?"
"10 Minutes Will. You did the right thing to call."
After hanging up, William sat down at the table and again picked up the phone.
After taking a deep breath, he sat up straight and started dialing.