A/N: Guys, with the passing of Slim Pickings...we have been corn with this...interesting creation. Here we go.

WARNING: This is a sequel. Slim Pickings Lead to Drastic Propositions in the first story, and can be found on my bio. This story CAN NOT stand alone. That said it is yaoi, slash, gay romance, whatever you would prefer to call it. This is and same sex based story.

"Xander? Baby, you have class in an hour." Alex sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and glancing at the alarm clock beside their bed. One-thirty.

Alex sighed and stood up, walking over to the door and opening it, seeing the sight of his beautiful boyfriend standing there in an apron. Alex smiled sweetly up at him. "Good morning Aaron." He murmured, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's tall shoulders and kissing his mouth.

Aaron wrapped his arms tight around the smaller male and kissed him hard. "Five years, and I don't get how good you feel." He murmured against his lips.

Alex chuckled lightly, pulling away. "I'm going to shower, will breakfast be done?" Aaron laughed and headed back to the kitchen.

"If you mean lunch, then yes." Alex rolled his eyes but headed towards the bathroom none the less.

Five years. Alex sighed and leant against the bathroom wall as the warm spray covered my skin.

Aaron and he, after talking on the bus ride, became fast friends. They even switched dorms the first two years so that they could be together. Then got together shortly after their freshman year started. And during their junior year, they moved to student apartments. And, even though Alex was in graduates school, and Aaron was working on his law degree, they kept the same apartment kept the same apartment.

And the funniest part? Everything Aaron knew was a lie.

Alex…or Xander for the past five years, was now a spoiled rich kid from Kentucky whose parents were still very much alive. And, of course, very rich and very pleased.

And Aaron…well, don't get him started. He was older, 28 to Alex's 21, and that was something Christina never failed to give him shit about. He was from a poorer family, and spent three years back-packing through Europe with his saxophone and clarinet. He was an artist, and some of his pieces hang in some of the most famous European galleries. He was loving, sweet, a great cook and a very dedicated law student.

Alex was very, very fond of him.

Along with Aaron, there were many, many wickedly cool people he'd met here. Like, Clayton. He and Alex shared majors, and in biomedical engineering…well…lets just say it's a fairly small graduate program. He's the one Alex kept trying to hook Christina up with.

And then Penelope, Aaron's good friend, who was a Psychology major who thought she was a hippie. Peasant skirts, long beads…the works. With her, she brought the art majors, science major and other various people. Like Gladys, a woman's rights major...Alex swears she was convinced she was a guy.

Then, Christina of course, but she didn't go to school. In fact, Alex didn't know where she was. But, somehow she always managed to call him every night. After five years, he'd stopped asking. She was the only link to his previous life that he allowed, and even she was forced to call him Xander.

Alex sighed at his fairly double life and scrubbed down quickly, wrapping a towel around his slim waist and walking out of the bathroom with his glasses on over to the kitchen that was radiating good smelling…stuff.

"What are you cooking baby?" He asked, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist. Even despite the three inches Alex had grown since his five-eight at sixteen, Aaron still towered over his height at six-four.

Aaron smiled down at him, "Just bacon and eggs this morning babe. That's what happens when you wake up late."

Alex stuck his tongue out at him and processed to make a plate of the simple, but ultimately delicious food. "Your class is at five right?" He asked, all but inhaling the food in front of him.

Aaron nodded, filling up his plate and coming over to sit. "Yep. We're going over loop-holes in contracts…again." He sighed slightly to express his unhappiness.

Alex had never heard his say as much as the word 'dang'. "Sounds exciting." He smiled up at him.

Aaron grinned back. "Of course. I don't know what it is, but it's the beginning of the year yes, but we already went over this in Pre-Law." He shook his head at his teacher and leaned over to kiss Alex's cheek as Alex finished his breakfast. "You better get going Love." His soft voice informed, just before a loud banging sounded at the door.

"Xander! Hurry the fuck up!" Clayton's voice sounded from the other side, making Alex jump into the action of running to the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He shouted back, opening to door to his naturally blond friend. "Oh shit, just lets me grab my-" Aaron dropped his backpack in his hands and dropped a kiss to his forehead.

"Have a good day babe." Alex smiled up at him.

"You too."

"Xander, we're going to be late!" Clayton grabbed Alex's arm and pulled him down the hallway. "Bye Aaron!" He shouted over his shoulder before he and Alex broke into a dead sprint through the stair doors, down the stairs and out of the complex. "Damn it Xander!" Clayton cursed as they ran across campus.

"Less screaming, more running." He breathed, taking a right at the library and heading towards Auditorium C. They were getting lectured there by some big-shot biomedical engineer, something about making advancements on the pace-maker and artificial limbs.

And, only five minutes late, they managed to get in the auditorium, as their regular professor was speaking. "Ah yes, my star pupils." Professor Yardley's voice projected. "Dr. Tretyakov, this is Alexander Jacobs and Clayton Greenburg, they are quite possibly America's next great inventors." He introduced, grabbing both students by the shoulder and all but shoving them towards the Russian guest.

The older man scoffed lightly. "America's finest? Ha! They can't even show up on time." He accent was thick, so most of what he said was swallowed by the long consonances.

Clayton glared slightly, breaking away from Professor Yardley and plopping in a seat next to Teresa West with a grumble.

Alex merely shrugged, sitting by Clayton and whispering a quick 'sorry'. before they both took out their notebooks and listened as the Russian doctor took the podium.

"Now, as you are all graduates, I expect you to all take this career path gravely serious. This includes, among many things punctuality." This word was empathized with a sharp look towards Alex and Clayton. "But alongside that, comes intense perseverance, pride in what you do and the honest to God caring nature to not stop until you have a safe, life-saving product."

Alex and Clayton both had nearly fifteen pages of notes type out on their laptops after the lecture was over. And, has everyone was packing up, Professor Yardley took the podium again.

"Dear students, I have an announcement!" Clayton rolled his eyes to Alex as they both paused. "I, due to a wonderful blessing, have been made a grandfather!" With that he paused, has if waiting for his students to burst in to applause. After an awkward pause he coughed lightly and continued. "Which means, I've taken off the rest of the semester!" This caught everyone's attention. "And, until holiday break…Dr. Tretyakov has agreed, through the school board, to be your instructor!"

Clayton's jaw dropped.

Professor Yardley beamed down at all of them for a moment before realizing that none of them were particularly happy about it. "W-well…I suppose that's it…have a nice weekend!" He chummed, nodding widely and stepping quickly from the podium.

"What the fuck!" Clayton shouted as soon they were outside, catching the attention of a group of undergraduates sitting next to the doors. "And, what the fuck are you looking at?!" He growled at them, glaring even as Alex rolled his eyes and grabbed his arm to pull his back towards his apartment.

"Aaron's in class, so there won't be food but you're welcome to come over anyway." Alex wrapped an arm around his and dragged him to the library. "Besides, didn't you say something about a party tonight?"

Clayton shrugged, "Yeah, it's at Richard's place. Off campus, alcohol, probably drugs, and lots of sex for me." He grinned, wrapping an arm around his smaller friend's shoulders. "Oh, the joys of being one of the few straight men of my friends."

Alex grinned back, pushing the ex-jock's arm off of him. "Whatever. I'll talk to Aaron-"

"He hates parties and you know it. He won't mind you going though." He shrugged as they turned towards Alex's building. "I mean, you've got a kick ass boyfriend like that." He nodded, opening the door for Alex and moving towards the elevator.

Alex sighed. "I know I do. He's…like…perfect. It's just…" Alex trailed off, his gaze drifting to the back of the elevator.

Clayton's eyebrows knitted but he didn't comment. As much as he cared about his friend, he was fairly convinced Xander was hiding something, something huge. Every time they'd start to talk about Aaron, seriously talk about him, or just relationships in general, he'd go off into his own little world. And…the panic attacks…

Clayton shuddered and stepped out of the elevator when it hit the fifth floor. "Come on Xander." He dug for his key to their apartment as Alex trailed absently behind him. "You know eventually you're going to have to talk to someone about it. If not me, then Aaron."

Alex shrugged and shook his head before entering and going directly to the bathroom. Clayton sighed and took a seat on the couch, turning on the television and turning it to some random crime show. He would wait until Aaron got home, then head over to Rich's, get laid, get drunk, and hopefully meet up with the transfer student from Yale. He was some rich ass spoiled heir to like three or so companies; one of those who went to schools like Yale and Harvard to get fucking business degrees in classes that they could probably teach better than their professors.

But, as Clayton switched channels and turned up the volume to block out Xander's sobbing, whoever this new guy was, he was loaded, and he might need a biomedical engineer for something. Who knows.

And, directly at eight-thirty, there Aaron was opening the door with a calm smile on, until he saw the bathroom door closed tight, and Clayton's tired look. "Xander having an…episode?" His smile stayed, however dimmed, and the worry line between his eyebrows formed.

Clayton shrugged, closing his notebook without saving whatever it was he was working on. "That's your deal man. I have a party to get to." He put his laptop on the coffee table and stood up, popping his back before reaching in his bag and grabbing a set of keys. "I'm leaving my shit here, I'll probably make it to the couch." He sent Aaron a grin despite the blaring television and faint sobbing. "I'm taking my bike, no since in driving all the way to my apartment when you guys are right here."

Aaron nodded, "Be careful." He wandered over to the kitchen and got a can of soup and a bowl down from the counter reserved for Xander's 'episodes'.

"You know, I still don't see how you do it man." The blond sighed, leaning back against the counter.

The auburn haired man shrugged. "I love him…I think I did from the first time I ever saw him, sitting there on that bus." He smiled almost sadly, his jade eyes meeting Clayton's cornflower.

Clayton shook his head and left the apartment. He knew how it would go. Aaron would heat up the soup and give it too his boyfriend through the cat door that he had installed in the bathroom door two years ago, and a few hours later Alex would come out and it would be like nothing had happened.

Nobody really knew why these 'attacks' started. He went from perfectly stable, to…perfectly on edge about two years ago. And Aaron…poor Aaron. Everyone, even Clayton himself, accused him of abuse. But, after two months of Clayton nearly living on their couch, all of their friends had to admit, these attacks were nearly completely random when they started, and it was all Aaron could do to avoid the cross-fire.

As Clayton climbed onto his bike and started towards the popular housing area off-campus. He decided not to worry about it, not tonight anyway. Tonight was about beer, sex and making new, very rich friends.

Aaron sighed, watching Clayton pull away on his bike. He appreciated Clayton, he really did, but sometimes, he just wished…he didn't even know what he wished. He went over to the bathroom with the bowl of tomato soup and knocked on the door lightly.

"Baby…?" His tentative voice called out to Xander.

Alex's sobs just got louder, and Aaron dropped down to push the bowl through the cat door. "Try to eat Love."

Aaron stood and walked away from the obscenities he knew Xander would start screaming soon.

He sat on the couch and stared at the random thing Clayton had been watching. He just…he wished Xander would talk to him. He loved him so much…but…he knew that wouldn't mean a thing until after Xander was done.

He'd tried to get in contact with his boyfriend's family about a week after these attacks had started, but the address in Kentucky he'd been given couldn't be found. He'd tried to talk to Administration, but they'd completely refused to offer any information at all. Then, he'd tried getting a hold of that friend that called almost every night. Christina? But, every time he'd answer the phone, she hung up.

He'd talked to everyone, Clayton, Penelope, Gladys, Sarah, and all of their friends. No one knew anything other that he came from Kentucky. Just like no one knew why he'd been at that bus station in New York, and why he'd flat refused to go to Spain with his art friends last year, and had throw a huge fit before going into an attack that lasted about two weeks. And. The weirdest thing.

After five years, Aaron had never met his boyfriend's family. And every summer, when everyone's packing up to leave, Xander leaves a day earlier in the dead of night. No one sees him getting on or off the bus, and he doesn't say a word about his summer when he gets back.

Aaron rested his face against a hand and stared off to the side. This, the weird actions, the fear of commitment, the missing address and phobia of Spain. The missing summers, the made up stories. It all fits together.

Somehow.

He got up and went to the kitchen, starting a cup of tea as he thought. It all fit together, it was all a matter of finding out how. And, even when he found out how it fit, he still had to find out what had happened two years ago that started these attacks. He didn't even know what could have happened.

He pulled his tea out of the microwave and sat at the kitchen bar.

He talked to Sarah, the Clinical Psychology major working on her doctorate. She said anything could have. He could have a fear of someone, and seen someone like that person. Someone in the family could have died, an anniversary of a death or a major event. Or he could just have a mental disorder. He was fitting the typical behavior for bipolar disorder, which could range from a minor inconvenience that is barely noticeable, to a medication needing, hospitalizing disease.

She said it could be anything, and that the only way to find out would be to talk to him and see if he would talk about it. But every time Aaron brought them up, Xander would just deny it, or go into another one.

Aaron laid down on the couch and started the wait for either Xander to come out or Clayton to come and crash. Personally, he hoped Clayton would be here when Xander came out, because Clayton seemed to be able to knock him out of it in a way that Aaron couldn't.

And then, Clayton would stay with Xander until he went to sleep and leave right afterwards. If Clayton wasn't straight, Aaron might be hurt, but nothing would hurt as much as when they fell asleep.

They'd never had sex, Aaron ever, but, every time they went to sleep together, if Aaron woke up at just the right time…Xander would be right next to him, rubbing against him in the most sexual way, and that dreaded name…Alex would breath out.

Aaron shook his head. It didn't matter. The only thing that mattered is that he loved Xander…and even if Xander didn't love him…

Aaron could love him enough for the both of them until Xander finally either loved him back or found someone he could love. Aaron could live with that.

A/N: Well, it isn't the best, and it's extremely rushed, but it is the first of what I hope will become one of my favorite stories. I hope that all of you loyal Slim Picking's fans will enjoy it as well.