I love these boys in all their many guises, but adult, tentative, adorably nervous and incredibly brave might just be my favourite incarnation and you bring all those things to life wonderfully.

Many, many lines I could quote, but here are just a few that really got under my skin.

"Cowardice, at least, allowed for a pretense of possibility, the artifice of hope." I know this line is about Spike, but it could so easily apply to either of them, which is what makes them so fascinating together.

"There'd been nothing for it but to fall — it was how he was made." And that just sums him up.

"Don't do that," Harris said curtly. "Why do you do that? You're entitled to...troth. Um, I think. What is troth, exactly?" Love the way those few lines illustrate the way Xander can move from being so very strong and adult to being so unsure when he's nervous.

Anyway, before I c/p the whole thing, I should say that I loved it to pieces. As always you have a wonderful way with metaphor that gets us right under their skin, your voices and characterisation are spot on, and in this very short piece you make me want the whole back story and the whole story to come, while at the same time, I've immensely content with what you've given us.

Bravo, hon.