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Title: Enough – Part 4 – Make it stop!
Author: Xanfan
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Pairing: mentions of B/R and Xander/Anya with a possible future slash
Summary: Xander confronts Buffy about her feelings for Riley.
Spoilers: After The Replacement, season five
Warnings: AU, possible M/M in the future.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The
original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the
owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: A day or two after The Replacement. Goes AU after that.
_________________________________
Riley smiled politely at the cashier as she handed him the receipt. He picked up his bags and headed out of
the supermarket. Anywhere else, he would have been asked by a bagger if he needed help to his car, but not
in Sunnydale. He had asked Buffy about that once, why the supermarkets made you bag your own groceries,
with a little help from the cashiers, why there weren’t bagboys. She had just shrugged and Xander had piped
up saying it was because ‘courtesy clerks’ went out to help with groceries after dark and never came back. The
stores didn’t find it cost effective to employ free vampire food.
Riley didn’t even feel a twinge at the thought of Buffy. Sure, it had only been a couple of months since ‘the
breakup,’ but he had been preparing for the end of their relationship long before Buffy said those fateful
words, “We need to talk.” They had both made an effort to remain friendly and while they would never have
sleepovers and braid each other’s hair, they had managed to build a friendship from the wreckage of their
relationship.
The only real problem they had was Buffy’s insistence that he needed to “get back on the horse” and start
dating again. He swore he could still feel the bruise from when she punched him for asking if that made her “a
nag.” Note to self, never compare a girl who could rip out your intestines to an aging horse.
He had just closed the back of his SUV after loading his groceries when he heard his name being called. He
turned and was startled to see Xander Harris running towards him.
“Riley, dude, you gotta help me,” Xander begged.
“What’s wrong?” Riley said, his senses going on alert to try and find the threat.
Xander skidded to a stop in front of Riley, almost running into him. Riley put up a hand to steady the younger
man.
“Make it stop, Riley, make it stop. They won’t leave me alone. Everywhere I turn, there they are,” Xander said
between pants as he tried to catch his breath.
“Make what stop? Who? What’s wrong?” Riley asked, alarmed.
“Buffy and Anya, they keep throwing women at me and trying to set me up on blind dates. They didn’t even
stop after one of the girls tried to sacrifice me to her ex-boyfriend-slash-demon to try and get him to take her
back. And tonight’s one is even more evil, five minutes after we said hello, she started talking about rings and
setting a date and meeting her parents, Riley, she’s evil. When I tried to run, she followed me. Luckily, I’m used
to running from scary things, but I think she’s still behind me somewhere. You gotta save me Riley, I can’t take
it anymore,” Xander said as he kept looking back over his shoulder in fear.
Riley just stared at Xander for a moment before he burst out laughing. He had to double over, he was laughing
so hard.
Xander looked at him with a hurt expression. “Hey man, this isn’t funny. I’m in a crisis here.”
Riley forced himself to stop laughing. It took several moments for him to calm down and be able to speak
normally without chuckling. “Xander, you have to admit this is pretty funny.”
“I don’t have to admit anything of the sort,” Xander said with a pout.
Riley rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak when all of the sudden, after a panicked look over his
shoulder, Xander grabbed him, said, “Just go with it,” and proceeded to throw his arms around Riley and kiss
the hell out of him.
A few moments of kissing later, Riley pulled himself together and pushed back from Xander when he heard
someone speak.
“Xander?”
They both turned to the petite brunette woman who had spoken. The girl moved to stand between the two
men, pushing Riley aside.
“Alicia, uh, I can explain,” Xander started.
The young woman’s lower lip started to tremble. “Xander, what’s going on? I really thought we had a
connection; we were getting along so well. Why did you run off, and why are you kissing this… man?”
“Alicia, I have to be honest, when you started talking about commitment and meeting your parents and
spending the rest of our lives together… I had an epiphany.”
“An epiphany?” Alicia asked doubtfully.
Over the woman’s shoulder, Riley mouthed, “Epiphany? What the hell?”
“Yeah, uh, an epiphany. You see, I… I realized that I did want all those things, the commitment and… forever
and meeting parents. Hearing how… wonderful you made it all sound made me want to tell the person I wanted
those things with, too… It’s just that… you inspired me to go tell that person how I felt,” Xander said hesitantly.
“Really?” Alicia asked. “I inspired you? Then why did you run off?”
“Because I just knew that the person I wanted to tell those things too was, uh, Riley. So, I had to come find him.”
“So… you don’t want to marry me?” Alicia asked pitifully.
Riley just stared at Xander in growing horror… and a little amusement.
“Alicia, even though the time we spent together, all thirty minutes of it, was very special to me, I just couldn’t, in
good conscience, string you along anymore. It has been hard, admitting to myself that I’m gay and in love with
another man. But the weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And it’s all thanks to you. Alicia, you have set me
free, and I can only thank you for that and hope that we can part as friends. You will always hold a special
place in my heart… and tell your parents I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to Christmas dinner, they seemed very
nice when you called them and introduced me over the speaker on your cell phone,” Xander said with as much
feigned sadness and sincerity as he could muster.
Behind Alicia, Riley was trying not to gape at the insanity of this moment. He was also trying not to break into
hysterical laughter. Even though hysteria seemed to be an appropriate response to the moment.
“Well, Xander, I certainly wouldn’t want to stand in the way of true love. I can tell how much Riley means to you,
and so I’ll walk away. I too will cherish our time together and look back on our relationship fondly. And I’ll be
sure to tell that nice Anya and her weird friend Buffy that they shouldn’t try to set up gay men with women
anymore! That just smacks of bigotry. There is nothing wrong with being gay. In fact, if you guys ever decide
to add another person, or just want someone to watch you guys go at it, let me know,” Alicia said earnestly.
Riley choked. Xander’s jaw dropped.
“Uh… thanks for the offer. We’re still a little new to this whole gay relationship thing, so we’re not ready for that
kind of stuff,” Xander said after he recovered.
“You’re sure? Oh well, if you change your mind, let me know,” she replied.
“Yeah… you’ll be right at the top of the list… And Alicia, if you could not tell Anya or Buffy about this… it’s the
kind of thing we should tell them ourselves,” Xander said warily.
“Sure, I understand. Well, I’ll let you get back to your hot guy on guy action,” Alicia said as she walked away.
Xander’s eyes followed her to make sure she was really gone. He studiously avoided meeting Riley’s very
intense gaze.
“Something you wanted to tell me Xander?” Riley said in amusement.
“Uh… well… it was the only thing I could think of… I was put on the spot. And you heard how crazy she was,”
Xander said in desperation.
The ex-soldier eyed him sternly for a moment before he broke and chuckled. “Did she really call her parents
and introduce you on the first date?”
“It was ten minutes into our first date, and they didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with it.”
“I concede, that woman was scary. But do you really think the kiss was necessary?” Riley asked.
Xander blushed. “It was the only thing I could think of,” he muttered.
“Yeah, it’s what they always do in the movies,” Riley admitted.
Xander nodded, then smirked. “But you didn’t have to kiss me back.”
It was Riley’s turn to blush. Desperate to change the subject and distract Xander, he asked, “Do you really
think she won’t tell Anya or Buffy?”
Xander paled. “Oh, I’m pretty sure I saw her reach for her phone before she turned the corner. They probably
already know.”
“Shit.”
“Right back at you, buddy.”
Part 5
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