Title: Sleeping Arrangements
Author: Moonloon
Email: maryavatar@gmail.com
Website: Amused and Abused
Feedback: maryavatar

It wasn't so much the unaccustomed weight next to him as it was the whimpering that woke him up. Giles turned his head blearily and saw Andrew curled up in bed beside him. "Andrew?"

"Bad dream. Bad stuff. Anya and… things. I'll be quiet. Can I stay? Please?" Andrew wasn't quite crying, but he was shaking and looked like he was ready to fly apart in all directions. Giles had woken up alone like that too many times to deny a little comfort, even if it was to Andrew. He nodded his head.

"Thanks," Andrew whispered, and burrowed under the blankets to wrap himself around Giles. 

Giles sighed. Andrew, it appeared, was a cuddler; and why he was surprised by that was a mystery. Fluffy blond hair tickled Giles' chin as Andrew rested his head on his chest, and he managed not to twitch when one of Andrew's legs slid over his. Giles was regretting his decision to skip the pajamas and sleep in his boxer briefs: there was something about being draped in attractive leggy boys that got to him every time. 

"Do you have nightmares?" Andrew murmured into Giles' chest.

"I thought you were going to be quiet?" A little annoyed, and still tired. Always tired these days.

"Sorry."

They lay in silence for a while. "Yes," Giles said at last.

Andrew looked up. "About Sunnydale?"

"And other places. Other demons, other memories. Sometimes I even have the ordinary run-of-the-mill nightmares about being chased by cheese or catching the bus naked."

Andrew snickered, which was promising. Or it would have been in someone who was slightly less emotionally fickle. Giles had never met anyone who could go from doom and gloom to perky so fast.

"Your naked dreams are nightmares?" Andrew rested his chin on Giles' chest and grinned up, eyes sparkling though long eyelashes.

Giles felt his groin twitch and his dormant libido sit up and take notice. Bad idea. Very bad idea. "The naked dreams on the bus are nightmares. The other naked dreams aren't… normally."

"Wow, you still get the fun naked dreams? I thought you were supposed to grow out of those."

"Not really, no," Giles said dryly, trying to glare, but Andrew had an innocent little half smile on his face. A smile that Giles suspected was actually not as innocent as it looked. "You do realize we're in bed talking about naked dreams?"

Giles wasn't sure, since the light was too low, but he didn't think Andrew was blushing. Andrew actually seemed to be wriggling closer. And one of those long legs was sliding upwards, dangerously near to the erection that seemed to have popped out of nowhere.

"Andrew…"

"Uh huh?"

Giles opened his mouth to tell Andrew that this was very inappropriate, he was old enough to be Andrew's father, despite certain… indiscretions with Ethan, strictly speaking he wasn't gay, and numerous other reasons why it wasn't going to happen. Then Giles' mouth snapped shut as a little voice labeled 'Ripper' reminded him that they'd just lived through something that had come uncomfortably close to being the end of the world, and why the hell not?

"Fuck it!" Giles rolled over on top of Andrew and prepared to let out his wild side.

"Erk!" Andrew looked startled, and for a moment Giles thought he'd made a horrible mistake. "You're a librarian, librarians don't say 'fuck'!"

Giles couldn't help laughing. He rolled back off Andrew and held his hands over his face, shaking in helpless spasms. He couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed; it had been so long ago. After a while he realized he wasn't laughing any more, just shaking, and Andrew was stroking his side and murmuring nonsense. 

"Really sorry. Just scared and stupid. I didn't mean it. Well I did, 'cause… um. But that doesn't matter. Please stop shaking. I'm really, really sorry. Are you okay? Mr. Giles?"

Giles pulled his hands away from his face, Andrew looked miserable again. "I'm fine, I was just having a… moment." Giles felt like he should be polishing his glasses on something, but they were folded up on his bedside table, and he'd feel odd picking them up just so his hands had something to do.

"A moment, huh? I get those, usually when I think about what life would be like if George Lucas had died as a child." He shuddered. "Doesn't bear thinking about."

"You are a very strange boy, Andrew."

"Hmm, I guess. Anya was the only person who thought I was sort of normal." Andrew slowly laid his head back down on Giles' chest. "I really miss her. If I liked girls I think I'd have loved her." He sighed. "Probably a good thing I'm gay, huh?" 

Giles rubbed the back of Andrew's head. His arousal had calmed down a little, and now that he'd got over the 'this is inappropriate' knee-jerk reaction, he actually felt quite comfortable and drowsy. Andrew's hair was soft under his fingertips, and he was draped warmly over Giles' side.

"You did know, right?"

"Um? Oh yes. The mooning after Xander and Spike was rather obvious." Not that either of them noticed, or would have appreciated it if they had, Giles thought. 

"I didn't moon!" Andrew giggled suddenly. "That came out wrong. But I didn't do that either." He sighed. "They loved Anya and Buffy. All the good ones are straight. The only guys ever interested in me turn out to be psychopaths or… something. It's getting annoying."

Giles was curious. "Psychopath? That would be Warren?" Andrew nodded. "And the 'something'?"

"Um, guy in Mexico. He liked me to dress up as a sad clown." 

Giles couldn't help it, he chuckled. "It could be worse: when I was your age, I was involved with someone who liked to raise sex demons."

"Oooh, the red ones or the blue ones?" Andrew was grinning and seemed to be bouncing, even though he was still pressed against Giles' side.

"The red ones bite too much."

"Yeah, but they have much bigger… not that I ever… well once, but that was just because I'd broken my wrist and I've never been good with just one hand." 

"I rather think that might be more information than I wanted to know." The mental image of Andrew being fellated by a red… wait, why would he need one with a big… Oh. OH! Giles blushed for the first time in decades. He could hear Andrew chattering away, but it wasn't really registering. 

The hand on his crotch registered though. It registered a lot. "Andrew…"

"Can we just not talk or think or anything for a while?" Andrew nuzzled at one of Giles' nipples. "Just forget about stuff? That's the good thing about the dark: the real world doesn't seem so real."

Giles thought about it. It was tempting; there was a part of him that wanted to roll Andrew over and slide in deep. Rocking into that firm young body would, no doubt, feel wonderful. The aftermath would be messy and complicated though. Andrew was clingy and needy, and Giles really didn't want the human equivalent of a half-trained puppy following him around. It would be best to send Andrew back to his own bed. 

Giles pulled Andrew's hand away from his underwear and twined their fingers together. "Go to sleep, Andrew. Just… go to sleep." Andrew opened his mouth to protest, but Giles pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead. "Shhh, go to sleep."

Andrew sighed, nodded, and did just that.