Xander was flipping through his magazine for the third time already, not reading it, but not caring either.  He was more or less thinking about the time.  If everything had been conventional, then Cole should have been home no later than two or so.  It was now almost 4:30 AM and he still wasn't snug in his bed.  Let's see, the odds against it being tonight was about three-to-one in Cray's book.  So, Tynell, Lon and Shawna were all going to have to pay up.  Karen was going to kick Ty's ass over making more bets like this, but that was his problem.

Their house was actually two separate apartments that shared a kitchen.  It had worked well for them since the kitchen was on the first floor, and the stairs leading to the upstairs apartment was right off of the kitchen.  Xander had the downstairs, and Cole had the upstairs.  They normally each had their privacy, but still had the companionship of living together.  Normally Xander let Cole have his privacy, but there was no way he was letting his darling brother get away without 'fessing up tonight.  Xander sipped his coffee and grinned when he heard the key in the lock.  The grin faltered slightly when Cole walked in.

He had seen Cole look grim before.  He had seen him after leading norm soldiers on maneuvers through hostile terrain with no sleep and little food.  Seeing him walk through the kitchen door, he looked worse.  That was either a very good, or a very bad thing.  Xander finished his coffee and hoped for the best.

"Hey bro," he greeted Cole.  "That must have been one mean…uh…score."

Cole's eyes met his coldly.  For a moment Xander was actually scared of him.  There was no emotion at all.  "Fuck off," Cole muttered, and then turned to go upstairs.

 Following directions not being one of Xander's stronger points, he got up and followed Cole anyways.  "What the hell happened to you?" he asked.  Or what didn't happen, he wondered to himself.  The guy looked like he'd just been through hell.  Twice.  On a rug of sharpened spikes.  With clowns on either side of him.

"Fuck off," Cole snapped more firmly this time.

"Oh, I get it," Xander said sarcastically.  "That's what she said, right?"  He got a cold stare as an answer, before Cole turned and headed up the stairs.  Cole had never once refused to tell him if he did or didn't strike out.  What the hell?  He took his life in his hands and followed Cole upstairs.

Cole was taking off his tux jacket, and Xander bit back a smile.  Something happened between them tonight.  There were only so many ways to get a hickey on your neck, and Cole wasn't the type to use a vacuum cleaner.  "You going to tell me what crawled up your ass and died or what?" he asked.

Cole glared at him.  "Most people interpret being told to fuck off as get the hell out of my face."

"But it's so much more fun to piss you off," Xander replied sweetly.  "You slept with her.  Was it that bad?"

The oddest look flashed across Cole's face.  Xander knew how he'd interpret it, but that wouldn't work right with Cole.  Cole wasn't like that.  Cole didn't get…the way he was getting now.  Cole stood, and strode to Xander menacingly.  He had four inches on Xander, and used every one of them to intimidate.  "I'm going to tell you this once," he said with deadly calmness.  "Stay the fuck out of this.  I don't want to talk and I don't want to hear any shit.  And I will personally remove the spine of anyone who makes a wager on it."

It hit Xander what was wrong.  Cole liked Janice.  That was obvious.  That was the only reason there was wagering going on.  Cole liked her.  It had been so long since he had been around a woman and acted like he had been, like a kid with a crush.  He'd been such a dip lately that it was funny as hell.  Xander had gotten used to Cole coming home after having sex with some chick that had thrown herself at him, just knowing she would be the one to capture his cold heart.  They never did.  He had been so different with Janice, but still he was home.

"You fucked her and left, didn't you?" Xander asked, the slightest bit of disgust leaking through.  If you cared about a woman, you didn't leave afterwards.  That was just common sense.  Cole didn't say anything, but the guilt on his face was evident.  "Damn, Cole, why?  There's nothing wrong with liking someone, wanting to have a relationship with her.  Hell, Ty got married.  You're not that much different."

"It's not your problem," Cole said heatedly, turning away and sitting heavily on a footstool.  "And don't give me any shit about her being one of your agents and that making it your business."

"She can take care of herself," Xander replied in the same tone.  "You're my brother, so that does make it my business.  What the hell is the matter with you?"

There was no response.  Why would Cole be so freaked about being with someone?  It wasn't like he'd never had a real relationship before.  That thought mentally froze Xander for a second.  Oh hell.  No.  No way.  He wouldn't have even known of it, except for the fact that Cole had only told him about her two years before.

"The last time you actually spent the night with a woman was Dana, wasn't it?" Xander asked accusingly.

Cole was on his feet in a flash.  "You do not even want to get on that topic with me," he snarled.  Most people would have backed down right then and there.  Xander was not most people.  Cole was normally very good at keeping a blank face, but the agony in his eyes was so plain a blind man could see it.

"Christ Cole, you were sixteen when she died!" Xander yelled.  "You've had thirteen years to get over it.  She's dead.  She's fucking dead and nothing is changing that."  He had more to say on the subject, but fury gave Cole an edge of speed, and the next thing Xander knew, he was flat on his back, blood spurting from his nose.

Neither of them spoke for a second, both of them too shocked for words.  A little knife fight among siblings was to be expected, but none of them had ever broken anything intentionally before.  Cole's mouth opened once, and then snapped shut as he spun on his heel and stormed into his bedroom. 

Xander got to his feet unsteadily.  He pulled off his t-shirt and used it to catch most of the blood that was still pouring from his nose.  It was pretty common for them to use each other to get some aggression out.  He knew that Cole needed it sometimes.  He hadn't counted on a broken nose.  Painfully, he went downstairs to the kitchen to call Shawna for some medical attention and to get an ice pack.  Xander knew he had pushed the line, but not crossed it entirely.  Therefore, Cole was going to have to pay.  Oh yes, he would pay.