Getting On...

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PART 8

It took a good ten minutes or so for Xander to be ready to really talk about it, but once he started he found that he couldn’t stop until it was all in the open—meeting Larry on site almost two years earlier, starting to see the other construction worker on the sly because Larry wasn’t out and had no interest in having anyone know how much he liked to ‘fuck that tight ass, you hot little slut’…

William cringed more times than he could count as Xander told him more about the man, the shamed tone of his lover’s voice telling him more than words ever could just how much Xander hadn’t enjoyed the way Larry had treated him. That was enough reason for things to end, he figured, but as the story continued he found himself furious on Xander’s behalf, his fingers digging deep into the solid waist as he gritted his teeth.

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Xander said softly, the painful grip on his skin somehow comforting rather than distressing. “I guess I figured gay guys were few and far between here; especially in construction. And we had a lot in common. I thought. Both gay, same job, both of us from California. So I convinced myself that we were… something we obviously weren’t, y’know? I thought…” He shrugged a little, shoulders moving sheepishly on the sheets. “I thought he cared. Hell, I thought I cared. Even when I suspected—knew—there was something wrong, I just ignored it. Until I couldn’t anymore.”

“You won’t mind if I beat him senseless, right pet?”

A smile tugged at Xander’s lips even while he shook his head. “Wouldn’t be worth it, baby. You’d be in jail if you did and I don’t think Texas allows conjugal visits for guys and their lovers. If we’re… I mean, after we…”

Blond hair moved softly on skin and William brushed his lips lightly across one small, dark nipple. “No worrying about that bloody test until we know there’s a reason, got it? Could be just fine, you know. I’ve never heard that being an asshole was contagious, after all.”

Fingers stroked wheaten hair even as Xander forced himself to continue.

“I started to notice things. Little things, Will. Bruises. Red marks that looked like they could have come from teeth. And then one night Larry came by really late.” He sighed, remembering. “He was drunk… and obviously on some sort of drugs. Whatever it was, it made him stupider than usual and when I asked him why he was here, he told me. He’d struck out at the bar. He was horny. He wanted me to fuck him and cum in his ass like all the other guys he’d been fucking for the whole time we’d been together… and then he wanted to fuck me. Without a condom. Just like he’d been doing with those guys in the bars.”

A snarl vibrated against Xander’s chest and he let his hand slide from Will’s hair to the long curve of his spine.

“It wasn’t something we’d ever done. The whole ‘unsafe’ thing, I mean. And I wouldn’t be worried now except… ah, hell Will. Larry… he’s a big guy, okay? He…”

“He forced you?” William was fully enraged. He sat up, glaring at nothing as his voice—cold and clipped—filled the air loudly. “That bloody fucking bastard raped you? I take it back. I’m going to kill him. Slowly. I…” It was only the hands on his arms, rubbing soothingly, that stopped his plotting.

“No… no, baby, no…” Xander babbled, pulling William between his legs to rest against his chest. “No… I would never have let that happen. He’s not that big, okay? It’s just…” He blushed, trying to think of how to put it. “He never let me… see him when he was… in me. He told me that night that he pretended to put on the condom sometimes and… Jesus.” He shivered. “I just thought… hell, I used to tease him about too much lube and it was probably that and his… and I can’t fucking believe he was such a shit! I…”

And that quickly, William went from furious to comforting.

He shifted, turning in Xander’s hold. One arm wound around the larger man’s neck while the other maneuvered his own bad leg into a bearable position. “Hush, luv… hush. Bloke’s clearly a piece of garbage and not worthy of your pain, right?” He held the man tightly, not even a little bit surprised when he felt tears on his shoulder. “Don’t understand how anyone could do less than treasure you, Xan,” he murmured, meaning every word. “Bloody hell, only known you a bit more than a week and I can’t imagine not feeling like you’re…” he swallowed hard, barely managing to swallow the word that echoed in his mind. ‘Everything…’

He didn’t know what Will was saying; mostly because he was focused on his own labored breathing. All that mattered was that William wasn’t pulling away, wasn’t trying to leave him now that he knew. And that being the case, Xander figured he owed the man the rest.

“Sorry,” he said, taking a deep breath and releasing it. “I just… never really talked about this before. Didn’t mean to get all… weepy.”

A small shrug and soft kiss were his only answer and Xander did his best to smile.

“So anyway, I kicked him out.” A small chuckle left him. “Pretty much literally. I think you can still see the dent in the wall on the stairs from where he, uh… ‘fell’ down them.” Another tiny laugh. “He was so wasted, he didn’t remember any of it the next day. I had to tell him what he’d said and… anyway. I got tested the day after that and came back clean. Then I did it again a few months later, and… same result. But there hasn’t been anybody for me since and no one even interested me until I met you so I figured I didn’t really want to know for sure, y’know? But now…” Xander swallowed and looked away.

“Now, you do,” William finished for him. “And that’s why you’ve never let me swallow you down, isn’t it? You trust me when I say I’m negative but you’re not so sure about yourself, yes?” The small nod was answer enough, but still… “What about that first night, Xander? You didn’t know anything about me then. I could have been the world’s worst slut, spreading it about for any bloke with a twinkle in his eye. But you sucked me off, pet. Swallowed me down, even. Can’t help wondering why that is.”

Even though Xander was blushing, he couldn’t hold back a wanton groan. “Fuck, Will. I had to. I… shit. There you were, looking like you look, and I hadn’t even touched anyone in like a year, and… I had to. Wanted to, even when I’d never really liked doing that before. I…” He blushed deeper still. “I didn’t even think about condoms until you were already cumming and by then I knew what you tasted like, and… I couldn’t help it, okay? I… it was you, William. I couldn’t resist you. Not even then. I… hell, I wouldn’t even if I could.”

‘And you think you’ve the bloody plague already,’ William finished in his mind with a small frisson of fear, ‘and if you do, luv, we’re buying stock in bloody Trojan because I’m not giving you up.’ The words that came out of his mouth were entirely different, though.

“I don’t plan on letting that change, either, pet. But just so you know ahead of time… the minute you come back clean, I’m going to swallow that bloody lovely shaft of yours. Over and over, Xander. Won’t need food for days, I’m going to be so full of you. Fair warning. Got it, luv?” He smirk grew just as quickly as Xander’s cock was doing against him. “Think you like that idea, Xan. Good thing, too. I can be rather… stubborn when I’ve set my mind to something.”

“Good God… the clinic had better be quick…”

“Better tell them to call us at my place too, pet. I’ve no intention of spending another night here when that right sodding bastard was welcome once.”

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As it turned out, the clinic was quick. Of course, William thought that might have had something to do with the rather sizable donation he’d offered on behalf of Aurelius Technology Systems. Angel probably wouldn’t even notice that ATS—in the person of his step-brother, though they never used the ‘step’ anymore—had gifted such a sum. It was just too far beneath his notice, after all.

Xander was nearly vibrating with nervousness as he sat in William’s living room. The call should be coming any minute but each second felt like hours to him. He wished he’d taken the time to be sure of his status before he’d even met the blond, but how could he have known? How likely was it really that he’d be driving down a dark road and accidentally run into someone so fucking right for him that a mere week and a half later, he’d be in… ‘oh, fuck. I love him?’

The realization was slightly hysterical, but he couldn’t bring himself to deny that it was true. He loved Will. Couldn’t stand to think of a time when they’d be anything but together. And maybe that was alright. Maybe. It all depended on what the clinic had to say, he figured, because there was no way he would ever make William stick around if he was going to get sick and…

“Stop it,” William snapped. “You’re brooding. I’m just as anxious to know what they’re going to tell us as you are, Xander, so just… stop.” God, he was going crazy. He’d been fine until Xander had gotten there, all sweaty and mussed and so bloody tempting. It was taking every ounce of willpower William possessed to keep himself at the other end of the couch, rather than on top of the other man, pressing down on him and feeling all that muck and muscle at his disposal. “Bloody hell,” he grumbled, glaring at the phone, “ring, already!”

As though it had been waiting for just that show of temper, the metallic chirp sounded, seeming unnaturally loud in the suddenly silent room.

“I… I suppose I’d better get that,” William said nervously, one hand reaching for the speakerphone button while the other groped across cushions and found the larger, also seeking hand.

Brown and blue met and locked, fear and hope warring in both sets of eyes even as William’s voice stumbled. “H-hello…?”

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tbc...