David walked from the bulk herb aisle, calling to Joe to ask if he could ring the purchase at the soda fountain counter.

"Sure," said Joe.

David put his bagged herbs on the counter and then drew out his card.

"A lot this time," Joe said.

"Aye, Absinthe's here again and she makes it perfectly. She and Murph are going to make a large batch to bottle. We think we'll introduce it at the coffee house."

"Is it legal?"

"Absinthe's recipe? Not likely," David said, "but living in The Village is a little like being in an embassy, at least, no one cares to come in here to bust us...or to help us out." David rolled his eyes to the side to watch Miko gulp from her bottle of blood. "Can I see my fang, Miko?" he asked.

Miko made a smile that bared her teeth, including the carved fang. David lifted one finger to her mouth, but withdrew it at a second thought, and leaned in for a kiss instead.

As Joe passed back his card, David lapped at Miko's fangs in parting. He thought that he'd probably inherited the trait of wanting to lick things from his father. He remembered when he and Eleni had attended lessons together at the Villa as children, her parents had caught them licking at each other or kissing several times.

David rolled his eyes towards Miko again.

She spoke in a near soundless voice; air just barely passing over her vocal chords. "Do you want me to come see you later?"

"Absinthe's here."

"Do you mean to build a harem, Treasure?" Miko asked.

"Do you?" David leaned forward so he could gaze along the counter to Laila.

Miko bowed her head, but Laila gazed back slack-jawed.

David touched Miko's chin and she lifted her head. "Doesn't have to be one claiming the other at all."

"Maybe Laila and I will visit." Miko smiled tightly.

"It's tonight or Islamabad," David whispered. He could see Lala just over Miko's shoulder, biting her lip as she watched them. And David was aware Joe was half listening. "Absinthe's not coming with us to the capitol."

David took his bag up and went from the pharmacy. The walk from Village to Villa proper was never a hard one, and it was a nice night. He thought he'd like to go to the beach before they had to go north tomorrow night.

When David arrived, he found Morpheus in the kitchen with his cousin Absinthe and their half-brother Laudanum. They had that sort of family tree. The inbreeding occurred between Angelic beings and only in the case that had produced Morpheus, so, if anything, he was the more powerful and intelligent of the three. 

Absinthe took the bagged wormwood and aniseed from David with a kiss.

David smiled, watching her eyes shift from amber to green as they parted.  He'd had her in his bed before he'd been turned. As a mostly-mortal lad, those visits from the Green Fairy had convinced him more than anything else that he might be considered attractive by others.  But, Absinthe hadn't been the only one to notice, of course.

Now, David went upstairs to Orchid's residence within the Villa.

Orchid was alone, seated in some antique chair and combing the hair of a Barbie doll with a pink, plastic comb. He collected the dolls. David knew there were hundreds of them in the nearby dressing room. He imagined the fashion dolls held some sort of nostalgic or iconic status for a man born of the 20th century who had lived to become a world renown fashion designer. 

Orchid put his doll aside and glanced up. David said nothing. He stepped through the open space beneath one arm of the chair, and then stepping through the other side sank into Orchid's lap. David put his hands to Orchid's face and kissed him on the mouth.

"Oh Gawd." Orchid's particular American accent was strong. He took just that moment to speak before sucking for David's lips.

David inched up to look down into Orchid's eyes. They stared and then David felt Orchid's hands moving under his shirt.

In the old days, before, David had shied from this. He'd loved Ochid and wanted his blood, but there had been many questions and complications. David hadn't understood the relevance of his father's family to the Vampyres or that Orchid felt compelled by others to keep it secret. David hadn't understood that people didn't all share the same concepts of gender and attraction.

Now, after years of traveling on his own, exploring so many possibilities of intimacy, and having turned his own child-in-blood to have her ultimaely choose another companion, David had made the conscious choice to return.

Orchid, apparently, had gone through similar exploration and seen past relationships dissolve and gone on to make more informed choices as to who he kept close.

David could now more easily accept things that he found within himself without guilt or fear.

And right now he was discovering that he wanted this body beneath him unable to leave the chair.

David had given up offers from the Jewel family America and the Vampyre community in Goth--his own child-in-blood and his sister-in-blood by Orchid among them.

Orchid seemed pleased to have him home.

David felt the blood rush into his mouth and he knew Orchid had slashed his own tongue against his fangs.

Finally, Orchid turned his face and drew in a deep breath, because if you wanted to speak aloud, you needed air. "I think I about needed that," he sighed. Then, he added, "Now run along and play with your girlfriends."

David pulled his legs from the chair with a laugh. "If you weren't the blond one, you'd make a nice Narziss."

"Well, your dreams are of girls, and mine of boys."

David smiled down at Orchid. "I still love you."

"I know," Orchid said.

-------------

Secret: I don't know how Orchid keeps the vinyl in the older dolls from degrading over the centuries.