They made it as far as Maryland and parked in a small trailer park surrounded by small towns that had blurred into one area of suburban development.  All around were rows of near identical houses all wired to the same cables, rows of green lawns and shining fences.  Dogs barked on leases, as the children slept fitfully in the back of the van, all huddled together. 

     Rozz woke first in the morning.  He went outside, pissed under the tire, then went to look for directions.  It was his fault they were in this place.  They'd left in such a rush they didn't have a map plug-in for the area and he'd followed road signs all the way from New York City.  Rozz had thought he was going towards Viginia, he was pretty sure that was the state south of Maryland, but he'd ended up on a small three lane highway going North toward somewhere called Frederick.  There had been trees everywhere.  It was like being in Goth again, and so he'd exited and wandered up a dark country road to this trailer park.

     Down the road, Rozz found an old building that housed the postal office for this rural area right in the center of all the suburbs, as well as some sort of pub.  Rozz crossed the street against the light and entered the pub.  He immediately felt out of place.  Here were old men in work clothes, people who were no doubt hired-hands on the large mechanized farms they'd passed in the night.  He imagined their hands holding wrenches and screwdrivers and hammers.  Hammers vaguely frightened him.  There were a few women, waitresses on shift and some off, daughters of these older people on their way somewhere.  There were a few people in suits, stopping in on their way to work. 

     Rozz didn't see anyone to seat him, and he didn't much want to just pick a table, so he went to the counter.  Soon an older woman with one of the new superslick short haircuts leaned over the counter at him.  "C'n I help ya?"

     Rozz helplessly beamed a smile as he heard her accent.  "A cup of coffee would be great," Rozz said.

     "Sure thing, will that be all?"

     Rozz knew enough about America to know that some people where really sensitive about whether or not you considered them South, North, or Canadian Americans.  Maryland was one of those border states which you could never be sure about. 

     "That'll be all."

     Rozz found a cup of dark coffee and several small packets of artificial sweetener and artificial cream.  He was afraid to ask if they had the real stuff, he feared they wouldn't, so he drank the coffee black.  It was strong bitter stuff. 

     "What's a kid like you doing here so early anyway?" the waitress asked.  She obviously had nothing better to do than chat up customers.

     "Oh, I'm travelling south with my family.  They let me drive and I kind of got us lost."

     "I never could get the hang of those maps.  Where you heading to?"

     "We're going south."

     "Well I'll tell you what you should do...wait, which way you come by?"

     "109 I believe."

     "Off 270?"

     "I thought I was going to Virginia but I ended up going north."

     "Dear, you took a bad turn off the interstate is all.  Here's how I would go: Go up the road some more till you hit Poolesville town center.  You can get a good map there, the biggest town center in these parts, almost like being in Frederick or Rockville."

     Rozz wanted to laugh.  They were so much like villagers back in Goth.  They had no idea what big cities were really like.  "Poolesville Town Center?"

     "Yeah, they got anything you could want there, four gas stations within spitting distance of each other.  I'd follow the signs down to the ferry, that'll take you into Virginia, nice scenic route too.  You can have a picnic on the river, tourists like that.  Anyways, you jus' head south then on 5.  You can catch the interstate again or if you want to go further west, catch 40, goes all the way cross country through the south."

     "Thanks a lot."

     "Where you from?"

     "Goth, um, Europe, my father was an American soldier in the war, he married my Mother over there and stayed with us after the war."

     "I wouldn't go braggin' about the war here, honey, we should never have interfered over there.  That's what we got for putting a Jewel in the White House though, thank God we got the witch out."

     "But you won the war for us...if the American's hadn't been in Gaul."

     "Honey, don't you talk like that round here."

     "OK, well thanks again, how much do I owe ya?"

     The waitress snatched a piece of paper from her register.  A cup of coffee was sure expensive in America.  A lousy cup of coffee.  Rozz handed over all the coins he had.  As soon as it was back in his hand he hurried back to the van.  Valerie and Trip were outside looking for him. 

     "I got us directions," Rozz said when he saw their eyes on him.

     "You got coffee," Trip said.

     "Yeah, and some information.  Whatever you do, don't mention the war or being from Goth.  People around here don't really think much of President Jewel, the war, or us, or Darklings I imagine."

     Trip was silent but Valerie put her hands on her hips and raised her voice.  "Are American's two-faced or what?"

     "Shut up, Val, we gotta get to a town called Poolesville.  We can stop there for directions, and it seems like it will be slightly more friendly.  I can get us to Virginia from there."

     Mara leaned into the front when Rozz had started toward Poolesville.  "Rozz, why do you think they don't like the Goth, or talking about the war?"

     "She said she thought they shouldn't have interfered.  I got the feeling that she believed that President Jewel had only sent troops because she was a witch, and thus more likely to give into the Union requests made on her country, you know, the Union leader being Darkling."

     "So, their kids die some place across the sea, and they want someone to blame, and it's not the countries that rebelled against the union and fought the Americans, but it's their own president?"

     "Americans like to think their government conspires against its people," Trip said, "they've been at it a couple centuries now."

     "But they have cute accents, and lots of great musicians and filmmakers," Rozz said.

     Poolesville was pretty much as Rozz expected, it was like his dreams of American towns.  No one did suburban quite as well as American's did.  There were five gas stations, three within view of each other.  There were as many mini malls where you could walk along cool shaded concrete window shopping for anything from second hand clothing to electronics.  The streets were relatively clean, full of cars driven by teenagers and sleek public buses that took throngs of people to the nearest city and back again.  There were just two subway stops, called the Metro here as in Paris, that connected the town to that city the waitress had mentioned, Rockville, and even to Washington D.C. 

     They had two laundromats and Valerie took her turn doing all their laundry.  Rozz walked along a mini mall with Trip.  They went into the music store to look around.  Poolesville was just small enough to warrant a single music store, especially when other town centers were so near by.  This concept of town centers in the center of an ocean of suburban development was so close to Medieval castles at the center of an ocean of peasant huts that Rozz laughed.  The boy behind the counter seemed awe struck as he stared at Rozz.  Rozz smiled.

     He wondered if a place like Poolesville could boast any sort of nightlife or if they simply congregated in parking lots with their car doors open and sat around drinking before driving home dangerously intoxicated.  Maybe every so often a kid would die in a car accident because they were too drunk to drive and the town would band together to mourn and bemoan the tragedies of drinking and driving, but then a week later the kids would be in the parking lots again.  Maybe if there was such a rural place left as a vacant field they might have a bonfire.  Village teenagers in Goth often congregated around bonfires, as the Goth had.  Rozz and Aric had been to many of those bonfires, had snuck away from the firelight to make out in the bushes. 

     Rozz didn't miss Aric bullying him, or Aric always telling him what to do.  But he missed having some boy who at least pretended to love him fiercely and intensely.  Trip leaned close. He held a small plastic jewelcase with some mildly satanic picture on it but when he whispered in Rozz's ear it wasn't to remark on the disc.  "He want's you, Rozz," he said almost in a giggle. 

     Trip let Rozz look at the disc and stood back to light a cigarette thought he knew perfectly well there was no smoking allowed in any public place in America, though it was presently legal to buy marijuana cigarettes over the counter along with most other cigars and cigarettes.  Rozz could smell it, a clove, not just tobacco.  Rozz slipped the disc into a pocket.  They were just daring the dumbstruck boy to talk. 

     "Hey, you can't...

     Rozz looked right at him. 

     "I saw you take a disc."

     Rozz gave a beautiful one shouldered shrug.  Then he sailed out of the store after Trip. 

     "For a moment I thought you would do it," Trip said.

     "What?"   

     "Jump over the counter and drag him to the floor or something."

     "Is that my style?"

     "I guess not.  You're too ladylike to do something so crude."

     Rozz reached behind his head to tighten the red bow in his hair.  "Can we go to New Orleans now?"

     "I guess," said Trip.  Rozz saw him look back at the store.  The boy was watching from the window.  Trip bent and kissed Rozz then. 

     Trip straightened up then and leaned back against the van.

     "I don't blame you, Trip," Rozz said softly, "You really did like me, but I know it wasn't love, and you never saw Mara coming, I don't blame you for taking up with her at all."

     "I guess it kinda had to hurt you though, huh?"

     "Yeah, it did."

     "I'm sorry.  I never mean to hurt anyone, I just can't help it." 

     Rozz took Trip's hand, "Hey, I know, and I want you to believe this, I really do have this like respect for you, I really do, and I want to be your friend, and be around you.  Ya know?"

     "Yeah, I really like you too," Trip said and took a deep drag from his clove. 

     "Valerie said to me the other night, when all that stuff happened that when she's a couple years older I should marry her and get her pregnant, and we should go back to Goth, back to the castle, and she bets with her as my wife Alaric will name me the next leader and not his own son, because they know I'm smarter, and I'd have you for this sort of symbol of the Darkling's support.  Do you think Val's crazy?"

     "I think it's a pretty damn devious scheme."

     "Not a good idea huh?"

     "No, it's a great idea, you won't be young forever, after you do all the things you want to do it would be pretty kewl to know you'll become this world leader.  And in Goth marriages are often like that, you marry your friend for some very logical reason, and maybe you even fall in love with them, but whatever happens there's no rule against taking up with as many lovers as you like."

     "When she said it I felt so amazingly flattered.   I never had a girl even slightly interested in me, and Valerie's really kewl.  Wouldn't our parents love it if their kids could marry each other, the son of the famous war hero and the daughter of the second Goth leader.  It's like a faerietale."

     "Yeah, and live in a castle even, happily ever after." 

     "You know what I wish though?"

     "What?"

     "That I could find this really amazing and beautiful American boy who would fall hopelessly in love with me and let me take him to my castle."

     "Hmmn, I think we ought to buy a map for the van somewhere her and let the computer do the driving, you'll be too distracted."

     "Oh, it's not so bad as all that," Rozz said.

†  †  †

In just over a day's time they were sitting or standing in the van which rolled slowly on it's underwheels along Bourbon Street at sunset.  It was summer and sunset came late.  Even though it was intolerably hot the street was already incredibly crowded.  Trepidation stretched in the driver's seat as he felt Mara's hand pull at his knotty hair.  "Well we're here, Rozz, in your city, what is it you want to do?"

     Rozz was sitting in the front seat with Valerie sitting illegally next to him, her arm about his shoulders just to keep herself from falling off the edge of the seat.  "I want to get out," Rozz said and stared in wonder out the window.  Trepidation knew more than anything else this was what Rozz considered America.  Forget American Suburbs the large industrial northern cities, and the whole of the west coast, this was the dream Rozz imagined America to be.  It was the steamy melting pot.  It was loud and brash and larger than life. This was the land his father came from.  America was Rozz's Fatherland.  "OK, OK pull onto some other street and park. But I want to come back here."

     "Sure," said Trepidation.  He jetted the van up off it's underwheels and sped a little to the next corner.  They were on St. Ann.  Then it was Chartres.  And then they were on Madison.  Trepidation didn't know why.  But he parked the van.  Maybe it was something in his blood.  He hadn't decided on coming this far, on which turns to make, but he had.

     They tumbled out of the van.  Rozz was peering through to the patio, then looking up at the balcony overflowing with flowers.  There were three apartments in this building.  The ground floor looked dark and vacant, the second floor had lights on, the third had a dim red light glowing. 

     Trepidation opened the locked gate and led the other's through.  Somewhere he'd seen pictures of this house.  He tried to think.  Ganymede, the  famous photographer of the Vampyre family, had gone to New Orleans many times.  And then Trepidation smiled.  He turned around and looked Rozz in the eye.  "A Vampyre owns this house, let's see who she rents it to now."

     There were two girls sitting in the second floor apartment they giggled and waved as Trepidation walked by.  He noted the pasties that topped their cut-offs and their fangs and guessed they were dancers...somewhere that vampires would actually sit and watch a dance, or perhaps more likely somewhere where mortals would watch vampires dance.  He went up to the third floor.  He knocked at the closed door. 

     Trepidation moved aside quickly and watched as the door was opened to Rozz.  "Hello?" said the young man inside.

     "Hi," said Rozz, "Guess I got the wrong house, I thought this one belonged to someone...different."

     "Oh?"  Silence for a long moment.  "You're just standing there," the young man murmured.

     Rozz made a pretty lift of just one brow. 

     "Um, the house doesn't belong to me.  You looking for Angel?"

     "No, I don't think so," Rozz said.

     The door was still only open a crack, the boy was sounding more confused by the second.  Rozz better save himself soon or Trepidation would have to step in.  "Well, it's just me here, I'm not sure I know what you mean by different.  If you want to talk to the owner, or rent the basement, you'll have to go..."

     Rozz stopped him in time, "Invite me in."

     "Oh, you do want me,"  he said, but he sounded disappointed.

     "Don't want you to get all the wrong sort of ideas. Just invite me in, and my friends.  I think maybe I got the right house after all."

     "You aren't Vampyres are you?"  He didn't wait for an answer, "You're not anyway, but I suppose it's safer to invite you in, ya know?  You have to respect your hosts wishes when you've been invited.  That's the way it really works."

     "Sure, I knew that," said Rozz.  He brushed a twisted lock of long black hair away from his face.  "So invite us..."

     "Tris."

     "May we come in Tris?"

     "Yes, welcome, you're invited," said Tris.

     Rozz glided past the boy, Trepidation saw now that he had long gold blonde hair and very pale blue eyes.  "Sure you want to invite me in?" he asked.

     "Oh, you are different?"  He looked at Trepidation and knew what he was, it seemed, but he wasn't afraid.

     "The very limit of differentness."

     "T'Hell with it, come in, all of you...why didn't you say you were Darkling instead of scaring me with all those questions, I thought you were a real crackerjack trying to find me out!"

     Trip laughed.  He understood what was going on, but Rozz looked confused.

     "Are you Darkling?" Rozz asked.

     "We don't say Darklin' down here," Tris said with a purposeful thick southern accent, "Don want the man to find us out.  We jus say different." 

     Rozz sat himself on the tiny sofa.  Tris was watching him.  Trepidation took Sadian from Mara as she walked by.  She and Valerie sat down on the floor together near the bathroom door, hardly noticed by Tris, it seemed.  Gatito sat on the sofa near Rozz and looked happy.

     "So different is the new politically correct way to say Darkling?" Rozz asked, "Or clandestine?"

     "Yes, the new way to avoid lynching," Tris said and rolled his eyes. 

     "So, you do you need to avoid lynching?" Trepidation asked.

     "Well, I'm a halfangel," Tris said.  He tore his eyes from Rozz and looked at Trip.  "I know who you are, your that living vampire boy, the one from Goth."

     "I guess."

     "Allow me to say hello on Orchid's behalf."

     "You saw him?" Trepidation asked.

     "I lived with him for four years.  Until he sort of graduated me and palmed me off on his sister.  So...here I am, living in her house."

     "To our fortune," said Rozz.  Trepidation smiled at that.  The boy was definitely American despite the four years he must have recently spent in Karachi.  He was no older than twenty from the look of him, but halfangels like mutants such as Trepidation could grow faster than humans. 

     "What are you doing here?  We heard you had run away from home or something silly like that."

     Trepidation laughed, "I didn't run away, I told them I was going, I just didn't say when I'd be back.  We're sort of touring America.  Though right now we need a place to hide out."

     Tris moved across the large cluttered room to stand near an elegant oriental partition.  "You can stay here, crash I mean...now that we know each other. It's not too big, but the sofa pulls out."  He was studying the floor it seemed.

     Trepidation smiled at Rozz.  Did Tris imagine they would have asked? 

     "Trip," said Rozz, "I think I want to stay in tonight, that long drive has made me sorta lightheaded."

     "Oh," said Tris.  He looked up as his brow wrinkled, "You wanna lie down in my bed a while?"

     "Could I please?" said Rozz.

     Trepidation giggled as he saw the two boys go behind the partition together.  Tris came out alone.  "I feel like I should stick around tonight and help you settle in.  If there's someone after you or something, well I don't have to tell anyone you're here."

     "We can talk about that."

     Trepidation watched Tris kick stuff out of the way and pull out the sofa bed.  Valerie went down to the van for some blankets and she made beds for Gatito and her.  Mara curled up on the sofa bed with Sadian at her side as Valerie tucked Gatito in and popped headphones in her ears. 

     Trepidation winked to her from the small corner that was the kitchen.  He leaned back against the wall and watched Tris pull spinach and mushrooms from the small refrigerator.  "Valerie's almost as much a night person as I am." 

     "You eat this stuff, right?"

     "Yeah, love it." 

     Tris pulled out a few more things, a cutting board, plates, some cauliflower, a knife, oil and vinegar.  He sat at his small table and started cutting vegetables on the board.  He glanced at the second chair across from him.  Trepidation sat down and held his head up in a hand.  He glanced over at Mara for a moment before looking across the table at Tris. 

     "So why did you really come up here?"

     "I don't even know, I just felt like I should."

     "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm afraid  I must have done it, though it doesn't seem to be working right now."

     "What?"

     "Drawing people in, subconsciously.  It gets out of control sometimes."

     "Sometimes?"

     "I'm Little Jumping Joan and when nobody's with me I'm all alone."

     Trepidation picked up a mushroom and popped it in his mouth.  "Seriously, you just make people want to come to you?"

     "Yeah.  Made Orchid kinda mad.  Makes everyone mad after a while, jealous, or greedy, or alienated, and I can't help it, so I live all alone up here."

     "I make people walk away from me usually."

     "We must be cancelling each other out being in the same room, that's pretty kewl."

     "Yeah, it is, I think."

     "But I meant, why New Orleans?"

     "Well I was living in Poland, a castle outside of Zakopane."

     "Castle Fortnight," Tris said, " I try to keep up."

     "Yeah, well, I picked Rozz and Valerie up in Frankfurt, Mara and Gatito in Munich, Sadian was born in Paris, then we went to New York, and then a town called Poolesville, and then here.  Here was Rozz's pick, he's drawn by coffee."

     "I was never properly introduced to them all was I?"

     "Sorry."

     "Oh! You were saying Rozz likes coffee.  I think I felt that.  We got good coffee here. Cafe du Monde's practically around the corner."

     Trepidation laughed quietly, "Watch him wake up in the morning and walk there drawn by the smell."

     Tris shrugged. 

     "Where's your blood from?"

     Tris sighed, "A witch, a coupla American Faeries, and the goddess of love."

     "The goddess of love, you mean the Angel Tristopher."

     "Some call her that."

     "I guess I know where that weird power comes from, you're Tristopher's son.  That's powerful blood, that.  Eros would be your brother, I've heard stories about him."

     "I guess.  Never met him.  I do sometimes see my Mother."  Tris pushed a plate of spinach salad toward Trepidation.  He poured oil and vinegar over his own.

     Trepidation ate his plain, and he ate pretty quickly.  "There is someone who is following us, but he isn't after me.  It's Mara and the kids he wants."

     "Who would be after them?"

     "I can't really say, but I trust you enough.  It was really kewl of you to let us in."

     Tris froze with  a bit of cauliflower at his lips.  "Well, Rozz seemed to want to come in, but he didn't seem drawn.  How come he doesn't walk away from you if everyone does.  How come the others don't?"

     "Um, well Rozz was scared at first, but we grew up together and he suppressed his fear I guess.  After a while anyone can get used to it and forget about it.  And Mara was afraid too, but I didn't give her a choice when I saved her life, so she had to be grateful.  Valerie and Gatito didn't let it phase them at all, don't ask me why."

     "That's kewl."  Tris looked over his shoulder.  Valerie had the earphones in her ears still.  "I don't think I know kids who look like yall do.  Yall have such kewl hair!"

     Trepidation couldn't help grinning.  "We have kewl hair?"

     "Yeah, really.  Especially you, Rozz and Valerie.  Think I could do something with mine?"

     "Sorry, my look was never calculated, I just look this way naturally, Rozz and Valerie are the Goths, it's in their blood to braid and dye hair, and paint their skin and wear animal pelts."

     "Well what would Rozz say then?"

     "I think he'd say dye your hair lavender."

†  †  †

Rozz was about half asleep when he heard the whisper.  He turned over sleepily. He'd been following such a nice train of thought as he was trying to fall asleep, but the whisper distracted him, the train was speeding silently away from Rozz.  He couldn't follow. He blinked open his eyes through the sleep and eyeliner.  "Sorry, is it better?" The whisper came to him.

     "Is what better?" Rozz asked and realized he was speaking loudly.  He lowered his voice, "Is what?"

     "You said you were feeling lightheaded."

     "Oh, you mean you couldn't tell I was lying?"

     "Well yeah, I could."

     "So why are you asking me? I was trying to get into a dream."

     Tris lowered his head to the pillow so that Rozz  had to turn to keep him in sight.  He turned slowly, feeling his arm numb under him, asleep.  Rozz screwed up his face and strained to squeeze his fingers.  Tris did it for him, took his hand and forced the fingers open, then closed them.  It really hurt.  "Ah, damn, can you read minds?" Rozz asked.  And just as he asked he felt something hit him, like a wave of dizziness and he wanted to just fall right into Tris.

     "Nope, I just knew what you wanted."

     "You always just know?"  Rozz asked feeling short of breath.

     "Uh huh."

     "So why did you ask anyway?"

     "To start a conversation."

     "You're wonderfully devious."

     "Thank you."

     "You going to kiss me now?"

     "Sure," said Tris.  He slid his cheek across the pillow.

     As soon as their lips touched Rozz's light-headedness increased about ten times.  He felt like he'd been drained of blood. 

     "Fight it," Tris whispered to Rozz's lips, "I'm not even doing it on purpose.  Please, Rozz, don't give in so easily."

     Rozz got really angry then.  He almost wanted to hit Tris.  What an insult, calling Rozz easy.  But Rozz knew it was true, he'd latch himself to a pretty boy and leave the first moment he was sure the next one would take him.  He thought sleepily that he understood why Trip had said it wasn't too smart of Rozz to let him drink his blood.  Something about not being able to say no to pretty boys.  Something about letting them do anything they wanted with you.  Rozz was too sleepy, much too dizzy.

     "Listen, don't give in, I'm trying to pick a fight with you."

     "I don't want to."

     "I know, but trust me, you won't be able to actually raise that fist."

     Oh, it was true, Rozz was really mad and he commanded his wrist to draw back his fist, and his hand was even awake, it just wouldn't move.  He tried harder.  He threw his fist but by the time it made contact with Tris' jaw it was more a caress.  Rozz was scared.  "What the Hell are you doing to me?"

     "I can't help it, I just make people want me.  I make them want me, sometimes a roomful at a time, and it never ends happily. They can't touch me, but they can fight each other.  And I can feel hurt seeing it.  Trip's been cancelling me out, well until I touched you he was.  Oh Lord, Rozz, I really want you.  You can't even imagine how long it's been since...since I could even sit across the room from someone and feel honest to god attraction.  You don't know how miserable I am."

     "You sound like Trip, but he'd kill not to have people run from him on the streets."

     "You don't run from him, Rozz.  Can't you stop wanting me?"

     Rozz felt another wave come over him.  He licked at his lips.  "Stop wanting you?  Why?  Go on, is this unreal or have I been dreaming of someone just like you for months?  Go on, I thought you always knew."

     Tris drew away from him completely.  He drew back all the way into the window seat.  Rozz took such a deep breath looking at him.  It wasn't quite so intense without Tris touching him, but just laying there watching him the desire he still felt was growing more intense again.  Rozz closed his eyes.  He remembered the beautiful horse he'd ridden when he lived at the castle, Desire.  He'd dreamed the phrase desire panting under me.  Tris, oh Goddess it's him, he's as strange as Trip, how weird...

     "Amazing and beautiful?" asked Tris.

     "Yeah," sighed Rozz.

     "Exotic, American, southern."

     "Yeah."

     "A boy who would fall in love with you and let you take him away to your castle."

     "Of course."  Rozz sat up in the bed and started taking clothes off.  He tried to ignore Tris.  But he caught the boy's hand's flinching. 

     "Lavender hair?" Tris asked.

     Rozz felt himself shiver.  Was it purely timing or did the idea of lavender hair really excite him so much, he wondered.  "Oh, if you had lavender hair..."

     "Rozz, I'm really confused."

     Rozz looked up.  Tris looked pretty confused.  But he looked amazing and beautiful too.  

     "If I don't hide myself away, or travel in company of terrifiers and Vampyres I'll have people undressing themselves on the street.  I swear...you'd think that would be like a dream, but it isn't, it really really sucks."

     Rozz gave half a shrug.  "But do you undress on the street for them?"

     Tris just shook his head.

     "Do you want to undress for me?"

     "Yeah, I do, that's what I've been saying, every delivery person who comes to the door falls in love with me, but it doesn't make me like them, but when you came to the door, ya know, I thought you looked so wonderful."

     "Then to Hell with you if you aren't going to get in bed with me.  Don't cry to me because I want you when everyone does, Darklin, cause I am the one you want."

     "Just say it now, say it without me touching you, while Trip still cancels me out."

     "I'm sold, I'm yours.  Don't make me beg, Tris, it's not my style."

     Tris came to the side of the bed.  "Lie still," he whispered.  Rozz stretched out on the bed and lay still watching Tris strip off his clothes.  His dick became achingly hard as he saw Tris's shirt come off.  His heels dug into the mattress and his nails cut into his palms as he saw the pants slip down over Tris' hips.  He wasn't thin and bony the way Trip was.  He wasn't quite as large and muscular as Aric, but he was breathtaking, he was perfect.  Rozz felt his jaw go slack. 

     Tris bent over the bed and pressed his lips to Rozz's belly.  Rozz's fingers itched to touch him but he kept still.  It was like torture, having Tris cover every centimeter of skin in kisses but not being able to touch him.  Tris looked right at him for an instant and the next thing he did was suck at Rozz fingers.  Then he placed Rozz's fingers on his face and neck and let Rozz keep them there as he took Rozz's dick in his mouth.

     Rozz pulled hard at Tris' hair as he came.  He felt Tris  draw away from him.  But then after laying there alone for several seconds Rozz felt Tris' lips touch his.  The same wave of desire hit him and it was almost as if he'd never come, but wanted it.  Kissing Tris felt so good thought, he didn't want that to stop.  Rozz's hands were all over him now, like they were hungry.  And when Tris drew back and just sat on the bed doing nothing Rozz went down on him and sucked at him until he made Tris come. 

     Rozz felt Tris lift him then and realized that like other different people he was very strong.  Rozz was almost lifted off the bed, but only up so far that he might sit kissing Tris.  And this time Rozz didn't feel the wave hit him, he felt nothing but completely ordinary desire and a warmth in his throat.  It seemed too simple, too ridiculous to be true.  "All I had to do was get you off and now you're normal?"

     "To you.  It's not something anyone can do."

     It was so very weird, like kissing the frog prince, or changing the beast to a prince.  All you had to do was get him off and the spell was broken.  Then Rozz really looked at Tris clearly, there were two small wings fluttering behind him that hadn't shown before.  Rozz reached around Tris' shoulder to touch one.  They felt like real feathers and they were lavender.  They didn't look like they could carry Tris' weight, but they were beautiful. 

     Tris kissed Rozz deeply before drawing away another time.  "Rozz, you act like it was easy or something.  No one ever did it before.  I didn't want them enough.  All the begging and stripping only disgusted me, especially after the first few time fights broke out."

     "Mmmn, but it was easy for me," Rozz said.

     Tris was slouching down in to his bed, the wings sinking into the pillows.  He pulled Rozz down on him, lay biting at Rozz's shoulders, and then his chest.     

     "Let's do it again," Rozz said.  This was great, it was better than knowing Aric had no other boys to bully and no girls his own age to even consider, it was better than having Trip kiss him desperately.  Rozz touched the wings again. 

     "Sometimes they just sprout," Tris whispered.

     "They're so gorgeous!" Rozz said, "Dye your hair that colour."

     "Will you really take me to your castle and live happily ever after with me?"

     "Tak, na zawsze," Rozz whispered.

     "Oh, that's beautiful, what is it?"

   "Polish, Tris, I'll love you forever."

     "I think my downstairs neighbors have some coloured hair dye..."