They had a safe journey as far as Fontainebleau and found the grande chateau used as museum occupied by DG command staff. Being of allied nations Goth and Americans were allowed to camp in the area, though the chateau was closed to them. It was growing cold again and as they had the last winter in Berlin and other cities of Germany they relied on bodies and various heaters for warmth.

      Claudia was sleeping a lot, or trying to sleep but being kept awake by discomfort or the small voice only she heard from within that seemed most active when she was most tired. Li'l Alaric sometimes curled up with her during his naps, at other times it was John beside her, or Estasi coming in to make her feed. Merideth might sleep at Claudia's side to allow the others more space, as when John wasn't with Elonwey they were five and a half adult sized bodies.

      She craved sugar more now and it was fairly scarce. Still Claudia begged Estasi to eat spoonfuls of it before feeding her, or she ate it herself. She felt high, but the child claimed he was affected only in a good way. Usually it was Estasi who came to feed her. Claudia was moody, she knew she was without the others reminding her...yet they did. David had lost tolerance training her Claudia was so volatile, changing her mood within minutes of the previous mood swing. And if the others were about, they tended to be polite to David in a way that any one unable to read thoughts would still see as false and contrary. After all, they had been friends to John and Claudia, they had to take John's side in the matter.

      So Estasi was welcomed more easily. She had a class about her that said though Daerick had discovered her as a prostitute she had served the wealthy who demanded clean, well-dressed and stylish escorts also skilled at the art of love whereas Angelo had the manner of a waterfront hustler. Disturbing as it was to Claudia what it must have been like to be Estasi she was actually fond of the somewhat older Vampyre. Estasi would teach her tricks David wouldn't or couldn't.

      Estasi had even described in detailed whispers just how it was Vampyres managed to practice fellatio while having fangs. It was all in the movement of the tongue and lower jaw and then something to do with the throat...the point was Estasi had taught her. Likewise, she affirmed what Claudia knew about other methods of lovemaking with humans, and having been a professional Estasi seemed to know all methods.

      Everyone was inside more, huddled together in crowds within one trailer or van, or the RVs, always at least one assigned to watching door or windows for sign of followers while others listened in on captured radio signals or scanned personal net communication from systems they had hacked.

      Usually, if Claudia left the trailer it was to be in Sascha's RV. Adelle and Patrick would draw the curtain across the bedroom with or without Maureen just to give Sascha privacy in the mid sections. Sometimes they would have visitors. Claudia had even seen Adelle invite Merideth, Elonwey, Louisa, Elzbieta and Karina all onto the bed which took up nearly all the rear room. Jayne and Erik were often in their tiny loft above the front seats, could as easily curtain themselves. Claudia had seen them take their machines up there to work. That left the middle room for Sascha to crowd as many people into as she liked on a given day.

      The trailer Miko and Marek shared with the two girls of the Peacekeepers and the boys Rory and Hansel was always in more disarray than it had been when Leonore and Robbie kept house. So work was transferred to Sascha's RV completely. And if Miko was there it meant Ceci was going to stop by, and if she did Joyce would, being close friends now, and if Joyce came by Austin would because he was her boyfriend. And soon a platoon of Peacekeepers would be crouched about the red-lit chamber cleaning their gear. Often they were shooed out into Elzbieta and Justin's RV instead when Elzbieta brought Rozz elsewhere. 

      After a stay in Fontainebeau of a week or so, they detected followers. They seemed wary of the DG precence, but once they realized the DG were only staff with escort and not large in number they made a move to attack those camped nearby.

      The alarm came at night as Claudia was laying on Sascha's couch trying to rest. Ceci and Joyce jumped up immediately and dashed to the door, checking quickly the immediate area was clear they went outside. Jayne flipped down from the loft, an amusing trick she had discovered she could do by accident when the vehicle took a corner too quickly.

      "Can we do anything?" she asked, buttoning her shirt, but Claudia was quite used to their customs by then.

      "Check the windows and mirrors," Erik called.

      Claudia could do better. She reached cautiously to those minds she knew, not wanting to shock one of them if they were in dangerous situation. John was instructing Li'l Alaric to stay down near the floor and to be quiet while he saw Alaric was in the doorway looking outside.

      Claudia reached for David. He made a sort of telepathic swat, wanting her to mind her own business. She did manage to see that David had been verbally sparring with Daerick, who he tolerated slightly better than John. Angelo had actually sounded the alarm when he saw the unfamiliar soldiers move toward them along the ground.

      Now, Claudia could clearly hear the gunfire. Someone, Quentin she thought, called from just outside, "Hurry, they are on the north side too!"

      The door opened and Claudia froze for a moment before remembering she could read minds after all. "Friend!" Justin called as he threw Elzbieta inside.

      She came up the step and immediately plopped her baby down in the middle of the floor and went to the dark windows and attempted to see what was going on. "Pepe from the north and west at the same time," Claudia said.

      "He thinks I can't fight. It's not like I want to fight, but he thinks I couldn't. When these things happen he begins to play GI John and shoves me away to some safe place for me to worry over him!"

      "Joe," Claudia said quietly. "I think the Americans say 'GI Joe,' they use joe to mean any man,"

      "Justin was ranting about John q. Public the other day when he meant that there are many people who do not understand what we are doing. He had to explain this name to me," Elzbieta said.

      Claudia frowned. "Well, regarding soldiers I am pretty sure it is GI Joe."

      Elzbieta turned with a wide grin, "You're having mood swings. I went through that. You'll feel better when you have your son."

      Claudia nodded. It was like she had him now, he actually spoke to her. She reached to David again. He was shouting at Angelo and Claudia gathered Angelo had been hit by explosive sugar grenade, nasty things meant to disable and mutilate Vampyres as well as Humans and most other Darkling. Daerick was straining to target the opposing human soldiers so that they would be free to take Angelo from where he had got to. Rachael appeared at David's side with Sonya.

      "Sonya, you tank, Daerick, listen you cover Sonya, run right behind her, she's your tank, take out the soldiers pinning us down and get Sonya and yourself back. On my three. David, run out on my five, bring Angelo back, I'll run body parts. Estasi, cover us from here with rifle. Use mine."

      "Justin will kill me!"

      "Take the order, Estasi. One, Two, three..."

      Sonya ran screaming toward the opposing line and took a number of bullets as another grenade lobed over her head. Daerick ran just behind her, managed concentration enough to kick in telekinesis and deflect the grenade and some of the bullets as he drew his knife.

      "Four, Five."

      Sonya had reached the opposing line and threw herself on the ground as Daerick was given a clear point blank shot at most of their line without yet being injured himself. Within the same seconds David ran out to Angelo with Rachael running to the same spot in zig zagging line, searching the ground. Claudia could see them clearly linked to Estasi.

      Seconds passed and there were bleeding bodies on the enemy line and four Vampyres running back to cover with one carried. Estasi and David both seemed shocked that Sonya wasn't badly injured. Claudia was less surprised, she realized the American soldiers were no less prepared and armored than the VC. Sonya had been fully covered in light armor and wore a helmet besides. Rachael was dragging Angelo further into the camp to be tended while Sonya looked over her own wounds and pronounced herself able to fight.

      There was no need. Other soldiers of the Sacred Batttalion broke in from their left and engaging a in a dance of firing rows moving forward of those taking a second to load a clip. The constant fire was shield enough from their vantage and as Claudia realized they really seemed fearless in battle, trusted in their companions and gear as well as themselves and were not shamed to die if those all somehow failed, so long as they died making their best effort.

      Claudia felt anxious to know how the fight went to the North. She was somewhat of the opinion that contacting less familiar minds could distract them without her meaning to if she made a mistake. Claudia still lacked the degree of control the others had in projecting, might accidentaly put obtrusive thoughts into the head of someone giving critical orders.

      She would have gone out if not very much aware of being pregnant. It was just wrong to even risk the second life if she had the choice.

      "See anything, Jayne?" Claudia asked.

      She shook her head. "I wish someone would tell us what is going on. I know that some of the Sacred Battalion are hunting out the rest of the Underground to the west. Angelo was injured pretty badly, but I expect with Rachael being a doctor and the other Vampyres being about he'll recover. He was the first one to spot them, so it wasn't that he was foolish."

      "Justin's probably gone north," Elzbieta said.

      Sascha sighed and spoke up, "I'm sure Ceci is fine, she's been in these sort of skirmishes with terrorist cells before," she said to Miko who was silent but petting Rozz. The baby of course had no idea anything was wrong, just sat on the floor smiling when Miko smoothed his fuzz of dark hair.

      Claudia tried to go to John again. She felt him, thinking that Li'l Alaric was buried in his bullet proof jacket but it seemed right the boy should be the one of them to have it, couldn't hurt in the case stray bullets did reach them. Alaric wasn't with them anymore. Claudia wondered where he was. John knew, Alaric had gone out to see if others were safe, they had not been sure of the whereabouts of all their families or most of the other Goth, not exactly anyway. They had thrown rock, paper, scissors to see who would go.

      There was a knock at the door. Jayne went to open it. Alaric called up. "Everyone all right here?" Jayne told him they were fine and he asked if they thought anyone was missing or injured, if they had seen any of the enemy close by.

      "I believe they are under control between the SB and PKs," Claudia answered.

      "All right. I don't hear any gunfire. I'm going to try and find out what's going on," Alaric said.

      Claudia lay down again. She wished she could go look about.

      It seemed a long while before anyone else came to the door. Ceci came in alone, walked up the small flight of steps before speaking, "Done," she said, "SB has people escorting what prisoners we took to the chateau. Justin advises we leave the area as soon as possible." She was stripped down to her tank and had bandages wound tightly on her left arm both above and below the elbow. The bandaging above had a bit of blood seeping through.

      "You all right?" Miko asked and stood up.

      "Yeah, just grazed actually, it was like I knew the bullet was going to hit me out of all the spray and dodged, only not quite far enough."

      "Dodging bullets is no easy trick, you were lucky," Claudia said.

      "Justin and Sammy say I have sharp eyes," Ceci said casually, "the rest is just abrasions I took without my jacket to protect me. I could have covered myself better if I hadn't tried to cover Lieutenant Miller as well." Ceci shrugged.

      "From the SB?" Elzbieta asked.

      "Yes, we were holding the north side together, while Company A had men maneuvering to find the rear of the enemy position." Ceci rested in a crouch and smiled at Miko when he sat beside her. The expectant faces must have made her continue, "I hear the West was more easily held as they had nearly all our Vampyres there, superhuman is superhuman. But we did all right. They used pretty standard ammo, Pepe did. If they'd been armed with lasers or even alternate tipped bullets our armor would have been much less effective. As it is there were a number of injuries, I'm not sure of the count. I can't really tell it well. Justin ordered me to retreat when I was grazed by that first bullet and I was with the medics. That's when they lobbed a series of mortars at us, took out two cargo trucks. Just luck they carried shelters maybe. If we had lost food or they had damaged the more heavily armored trucks our own armory would have exploded over us."

      "This Luitenant Miller was badly wounded?" Miko asked.

      Ceci laughed, maybe thought Miko was jealous. He leads a platoon of company B, they were the first to discover Pepe was coming from the north and had to call for back up and hold their position so that Pepe couldn't get close to the trailers. Good as they are, I believe two of them will not make it. and Miller was bleeding out from wounds to the gut and thigh by the time there were enough of the SB arrived to hold the line and carry off wounded. Just wouldn't be right to let him take any more injuries without his armor if I could help it. I'm going to be fine."

      "I wish we could just kill them, sometimes," Elzbieta spat.

      "We do all right, don't worry. And Justin is fine." Claudia could sense something behind the words. They were running low on their kinder weaponry. Bullets and guns of all kinds had been picked up along the way but tranqs and gas and specialized bullets were running low by now. Ceci had been ordered not to mention this.

      "But you know how I feel," Elzbieta said and clearly had discussed this with Ceci in particular in the past, "I do not wish the task on anyone else but at the same time I have to think it unfair Justin is always the one to lead these battles. He took his wounds, served his country already and was discharged without any dishonor. Yet after living through that horrible battle, we all saw that battle, he accepts to be a soldier for Goth."

      Ceci said nothing. She had said her peace in the past.

      "Elzbieta," Claudia said gently, "I believe Justin takes it upon himself to be our General and to fight these battles for the same reason John leads or that Ceci is a Peacekeeper. They do it because they understand the job is demanding and could not wish it on another. I think it is very worthy of respect that they do what they do every day, more that they recognize they are the ones able to do it well and continue."

      "I know," Elzbieta said quietly. But Claudia could sympathize though she had also meant her recent words. Claudia would not want for a husband a man who she would so often worry might die in course of his normal daily work.

      Claudia shook her head to find clarity. "What am I thinking? I can't leave everything up to others. Let's get everything packed and move out before any of the Underground that escaped tell others of our position and defenses."

      Sascha nodded, "C'mon crew, time to make sure communal supplies are correctly stowed and accounted for. Time to start up scanning for a clear path!"

      "I'll take scanning this time," Erik volunteered from hiding.

      "I'll get out and collect gear," Miko said and was on his feet.

      "I'll supervise change of driving shifts," Claudia sighed.

      Elzbieta shook her head, "you have been feeling your pregnancy. When Merideth or I was near having a child you made us rest. I can get the people in order."

      Sascha nodded, "I have a few things to secure for travel again, but please let me know if you need help, Elzbieta, I only need a few minutes."

      "Just keep the crew working, I'll have the other's help me. Louisa is good at getting everyone to work in a good order."

      "She is," Sascha agreed, "Still, if anyone needs help."

      "Of course we'll ask," Elzbieta said, "perhaps you could mind Rozz while I go. I can move faster that way."

      "I'll mind him," Claudia offered, "no excuse for not practicing."

      Elzbieta smiled then left.

                      †               †               †

      The Goth followed the Seine against its course through Montreau, Nogent and other ghost towns whose population had gone to Paris or remained refuges elsewhere. It took a number of weeks, the weather growing more wintery as they went and the group calling a halt whenever it seemed safe. They were not continuously pursued but often targeted by various cells or other subdivisions of their larger enemies. The Protestant Underground persevered, where others gave up, to deal with the larger threat of the Union's exclusively Darkling forces. Pepe as they called them, at least those of the group in the area, were not nearly as honorable as those they had come across between Poland and Germany and were even worse than those of their organization who had fought in the Paris riots previous to declaration of war.

      These soldiers of the Underground were desperate and rather than merely target soldiers or Darkling while retaining decency and adherence to procedure or law, they now stole supplies from those who would be allies and used the young of their own people as slave-like laborers when not merely persuading the young to join them by suspect means. In the minds of these monsters the Goth could be blamed for all they claimed to suffer. Pepe considered the Goth worse than the Darkling they continued to persecute and despise because the Goth were mainly human yet supported Darkling. They also believed the Goth false pacifists for not surrendering to them and blamed them directly for losses of their allies to the VC.

      As Leader, John was concerned by these followers, always a small group tracking them. They were beyond reach of logic and could not be otherwise persuaded that being pacifist did not mean the Goth were weak and would surrender to unjust rule. John truly wished the war to end, disliked violence of any kind, but he knew that the present world did not allow for true pacifism yet, not while some retained military power and destructive weaponry. Even Goth, believing in pacifism, must be willing to defend the lives within their new homeland.

      John had thought the wandering tribes correct in not claiming lands which could be fought over. But he believed, now, that although people were more important than any land, it was unjust to expect a people to move away from what piece of land supported them. If there had been vast unclaimed lands he surely would have led his people there. There was no choice but to continue in the accepting of the mandate to lead those people who held the lands of Germany, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands and who truly wanted to stand by their decision to be one united and peaceful nation. If he was to understand his remaining Elders in Frankfurt, Denmark would declare Goth on condition the war the Union was involved in was ended. And John knew France would join them when it had resolved its internal issues.

      Still Pepe hounded them. Nearly Christmas and the war continued, was likely to go on into the next year. The third year of official war and John couldn't remember the last year there had been no fighting at all between Union and rebel military forces. And besides Pepe, enemy enough, John thought, they now had Rowan trailing them, waiting for a clear shot at any of the Vampires who travelled with Goth and American sacred Battalion. Sometimes it was the Manchester school, but really the two groups were the same, one based in England and the other on the continent and long sharing a history, though one specialized in tracking down Vampyres while the other set itself apart by maintaining watch of all known lines of hereditary Witches. The Psychic Dicks Morpheus had named the third organization, who like the others had secret societies of members organized in tracking and killing Darkling, but specialized in their study of the Sidhe who they hoped to some day destroy. Any of the three would as easily kill one of the Wolfbreed or any of the other lesser known tribes of Darkling including Dracul, Lilim, or halfangels in general. Between all those of this travelling delegation of Goth and the Sacred battalion they had at least one of each type of Darkling specifiacally targettedy these group. David counted for all three.

      As much as John would like to blame David, he was no longer that teenaged boy who yelped at the sight of wolves shifting to naked Human shape or upon realizing he was with Vampyres. In fact, he was now deeply in love with a woman who had become one of the Vampyres and had since come to count among his friends a number of different Darkling. Though he had known him only a short time John still felt a link with the young boy of the Naphaim who had accidentally bonded with John when touching him and shared all John's memories and feelings prior to that time along with those of his own life. John felt like he was an entirely other person who, like Joe, only shared some past memories and feelings with that confused boy Danjel.

      There was nothing to do but wait out the war, to hope that a peace could be declared or treaty signed and then the Darkling Guard would be free to do their previous duty and arrest such active members of the Protestant Underground or the more surreptitious groups whenever they made such attempts to harass or murder. As it was, the war had been harsh on the region and few internal police and emergency services were left but for the military and so there was no calling a more traditional service organization to protect them.

      They were headed into Troyes, another old city on the Seine, and hoped they would have some chance of halting and holding off enemies until Christmas and more hopefully the new year passed. Somehow John was sure respect for such holidays wouldn't stop Pepe or the nearby Rowan. In fact, believing themselves more righteous than the Goth or Americans these groups might consider the holidays somehow ordained to be the day to attack.

      Claudia was not doing well. John was worried for her, it seeming obvious to all that knew her well that the change from Human to Vampyre had done something to the baby as much as Claudia had tried to reassure John by saying it would live and be born. Only, lately, was it occurring to John that she had never really promised it would be human.

      Now Sascha was so often near John when Claudia also was he thought Claudia had assigned Sascha to make sure John did not worry about his son. Except for the times John and Claudia were entirely alone, Sascha was always conveniently present, at John's side, telling him how he would soon have a son and really feel so relieved, and reminding him to be happy.

      But then if Claudia had asked this of Sascha, it seemed Sascha had assigned Jayne and Estasi to be Claudia's guardians. Always now Jayne or Estasi was with Claudia, apart from the times she was alone with John, or perhaps David. John saw just enough to worry. It was clear to him the pregnancy had been unnaturally accelerated since David turned her. Three months from her usual due date Claudia and her flock of females spoke of her giving birth anyday. She looked large enough. It was also clear the child spoke to her, but where John had first been excited by this he was now spooked when he watched Claudia continue entire conversations seemingly with herself. She ate spoonfuls of sugar or poured the granular substance into cups of blood.  Whatsmore, she had horrible moodswings, which John suspected were often if not always brought on by comments or questions her child spoke to her by which she found upsetting. She seemed altogether altered.

      John didn't have the time to spend comforting her, even if he needed comfort himself. He had a second pregnant wife in the earlier stage of irritability and sickness. Elonwey, who had genuinely enjoyed food preparation, could hardly stand to look at food and sometimes refused to eat when others did make meals for her. John was left to feed her soup and bits of bread so that she and the child had nourishment, as well as look to Claudia, and try to fathom the least dangerous course for his people. The remaining Elders and ministers in Frankfurt am Main had continued correspondence all along but now were growing anxious for him to return. The new year would be a tuning point, the first of the new nation and a test of all the systems they had put into place.

      With all the stress, John often pitched a tent and slept alone, just to have a few moments of peace upon falling into sleep and waking. And the wives seeming alien and mad with pregnancy all John thought of upon falling to sleep was Alaric.

      He would blame David for Claudia's madness and blame Claudia for making him marry Elonwey and then envision Alaric coming to him. John thought it might have been simpler to only love men. If he had only given in that day Kit had first kissed him...

      But then Kit would not be a priest and the many people he helped through the church might still be in need, and he would never have met Claudia, or Joy, and so he might never have learned the hard lessons he did and so many people that looked to him to lead them now would probably never grouped together and the very face of Europe would be different and likely entirely destroyed by war.

      Still, it was tempting to picture it, to for just a few seconds think he was evil enough or ignorant enough to keep Kit to himself. And if not Kit there was always Alaric to consider. Fractionally older, fractionally taller and so many things John wasn't, like German, Lutheran, university educated, self-confident, completely at ease with his sexuality, and absolutely without shame. There he was, all the best things people thought John to be, only he knew Alaric was so.

      All the things a guy would want in his best friend, intelligent, athletic, and loyal plus he was the very ideal of masculine beauty as well as a pretty amazing lover. Two pregnant wives and John wanted Alaric! Entirely different in shape, he was a man after all, but the angle between waist and hips, or the sight of a one shoulder or 200 other parts when bared were each on their own mouth-watering. And when they had secreted themselves away it was such the opposite of public life, always Alaric who led and always John following every order without question. It felt good to not make decisions, to serve by following, to submit. Really that was the best part of their arrangement, for no matter what interesting and seemingly submissive position Alaric put himself in there was never in doubt that it was by his will and John would always gladly return the favor.

      Fantasies of Kit always included some religious iconography either as scene or prop. With Claudia, John most often imagined her surrounded by flowers. Claudia fantasies often took place in large imagined beds covered with flower petals, or ocassionaly fur. Always her hair was down, she never swatted at it no matter how fantastically it lay across a pillow or draped over her naked body. Somehow, John always conjured her in rich apartments where it was never cold and they fed each other from mouth to mouth whether it was chocolate or rose petals...occasionaly one or the other was accidentaly pricked by a rose thorn and bled. Alaric was different every time.

      Apart from actual days they spent together, in these dreams Alaric had summoned John to snowy mountains, to space craft, antique train cars, circus tents, about every famous city John had seen, to libraries and even tropical water. Despite the seemingly public nature of the scenery they were always alone and often John wore strange outfits. Summoning Alaric into a fantasy just didn't work unless John knew the clothes Alaric had to take from him, and sometimes they weren't even proper clothes. Yards and yards of silky red ribbon had been all John wore in one of these meetings. Another time it had been flowering vines.

      Ocassionally there were others who popped into his fantasies without John consciously wanting them to appear. Sascha had appeared from time to time, particularly after they had discovered she was Sidhe, and she had been all creamy skin, strawberry hair, and gossamer wings. And Elonwey appeared sometimes, usually in some rustic setting in which John was meant to literally roll about with her in hay. And there had been the visions of Orchid which had not been altogether surprising, as apart from being a Vampyre, Orchid had been a kindly figure to him and, well, he was godly handsome and somehow radiated sex what with his brilliant, entrancing cobalt eyes and wavy gold hair...perfect lips, perfect body, just perfect. Orchid was right up there with Alaric, only Alaric was very much atainable. It might have been that the wearing of odd clothing came from the Orchid fantasies and John had unconsciously mixed the two seeing as how Alaric was the more familiar body and Orchid the exotic fashion designer. He was the one who put that choker of ribbon on David that he seemed to never remove.

      John was a little surprised when Alaric actually called from just outside his tent, only because he doubted the reality of something he was hoping for. And he dreaded for a moment Alaric was there to say John had to wake to solve a crisis somewhere, only until Alaric put his head within the tent. "I see you were expecting me," Alaric laughed, meaning John's obvious expression of want. 

      "Was just thinking about you," John admitted.

      Alaric made a nod as he crawled in and fastened the pairs of flaps against the cold. "So, was I doing anything in particular?" Alaric asked.

      John sighed. He had been trying to imagine what it might be like if Alaric was tangled in yards of silky ribbons, blue this time, the pale color that bordered on lavender, like his eyes...would be appropriate along with the scent he had taken to wearing. John could smell it as Alaric peeled off his layers of outer clothes, lavender with just a bit of rosemary. He smelled delicious.

      John closed his eyes and smiled to himself, there he was, all bound in ribbon, younger looking and all pouty at being tied up and unable to free himself. John laughed and drew up his legs. He opened his eyes and saw Alaric bent over him frustrated that he couldn't see the image, same poutiness, though this was probably a purpose. "No," John said quietly then pulled in a long breath, "it's my fantasy and I'd be sad to see you run off now just to find the prop."

      Alaric's smile was much too smug as he straddled John and crossed his arms atop John's chest. He was peering down at John from inches away and laughed. "Maybe David dislikes you as much as you do him, but he's really a font of knowledge if one knows the questions to ask."

      "And you asked?" John asked himself. The things David knew...everything about that year John had travelled with him, Joy, and Claudia.

      "Journalist instincts kicked in, couldn't help it..." he pleaded with his eyes, "You know what the ineffable charisma does to me, John, there's not a thing you could do in private would make me think less of you...and let's be honest, the boy-saint looks have a whole lot to do with your ineffable qualities and boyish and above the age of consent works for me."

      "I'm flattered," John lifted a hand and pinched Alaric's cheek just aside his lips, watched him grin. And, yeah, the grin was boyish. "And what does David claim? Gave you my silly nickname?"

      Alaric's mouth froze on verge of speech at mention of silly nickname. "Actually, I am told you've been holding out on me. Seems your female lovers were priveledged so see something I haven't. Said Vampyre claims you used to wear make-up, lipstick even."

      John nearly choked. It was true of course but David's saying so was purely cruel in intent. "For Joy mainly, but she had a fetish for it, for eye make-up on boys."

      "And you were her boy at the time," Alaric added, "So?" he neatly flipped a tube of lipstick into his fingers from his palm where he had concealed it.

      John smirked as he felt his face burn, "What color?"

      Alaric raised his eyebrows through a dramatic pause. "Something called Blue Cyberia...seems our friends Jayne has a similar fetish." John licked at his lips then pressed them together. The small tube was open and said lipstick was indeed a pale glittery blue as the name suggested. John closed his eyes and swallowed as Alaric slowly coated his lips in creamy blue lipstick.

      "Alaric," John called softly when he felt the stick lifted, his eyes still closed.

      "Ja?" Something touched his eyelid. John took an uneven breath.

      "Next time you come to see me, could you see if Gloria has a good amount of satin ribbon we can have?"

      "Of course...Sweet," Alaric said and the low thick sound of his voice said he rather liked the effect of the make-up. And, of course, someone had told him the silly nickname.

                      †               †               †