the toy, though. He was doing something even better. He waved his hands, and two light spots traveled across the ground, playing with each other and dancing in an impressive display of light. A big chocolate-brown tomcat chased them with all of the playfulness Daniel remembered. He pounced on one and leapt to the other and frolicked across the meadow to the next, and Whim’s laughter traveled across the quiet of the Litha midnight like the chiming of bells.
Daniel found he was smiling—tearful, yes, but smiling. God, they were so damned happy.
He was going to turn away then, but Whim must have seen him from the corner of his eye. The elf turned and raised a silent hand in salute. He forgot to turn off the light he was generating with his magic, and for a moment Daniel was blinded as it hit him in the eyes. He almost missed the next part.
Very slowly, and very deliberately, Whim bowed.
Dammit. That was it. Daniel wiped his cheek with the back of his hand and bowed back. “You’re welcome,” he whispered, and then to Charlie, who had turned and was gazing at him serenely from gold cat eyes, “You’re both welcome. Thank you. Thank you both.”
He turned and left the clearing just as the train passed by, separating him from the two figures in the moonlight, and he realized in his bones that Charlie’s decision to leave had been the right one. Looking back had never been an option for Whim and Charlie anyway.
Whim—Blessings
AS SOON as Daniel disappeared, Charlie ran across the field and then took a giant cat leap. He turned into a human in midair and landed, legs straddling Whim’s waist, hands wrapped around Whim’s shoulders, pulling Whim down for a kiss.
Whim kissed him, kissed him ravenously, kissed him as though they hadn’t made love that morning and nearly every morning and every night since Charlie had come with him to Green’s hill.
They always kissed that way.
“He’s gone?” Charlie asked him between kisses.
Whim had no words for Daniel. “Mmm-hmmm….”
“Good,” Charlie said breathlessly. “Good. Good….” And then he kissed Whim some more. His body was strong and wiry, like it had been his entire adult life, and his hair was thick and a little long, growing over his ears for the first time since he was a teenager.
There was a three-inch tattoo on his naked chest, right over his heart, and had been since the night Whim had healed him. It showed a rose, dropping blood over an acorn and a lime. The blood changed colors according to Charlie’s mood. Charlie knew what it meant now, and Whim liked to touch it quietly while it glowed the colors of cherries and melons and bananas.
Whim held him now, strong and healthy and as gleeful as he’d ever been, and Whim kept holding him, kept falling into his exotic, familiar taste, as he walked unsteadily to where the trees were. They’d come prepared tonight, and their blankets and their picnic were waiting for them. This year, Green had even given them a special basket and had their favorite foods made. He and Cory said that someone should celebrate Litha, since they could no longer take joy in it.
And Litha it was—their Litha—and when they were together, there was always much to celebrate.
In the End
ONCE UPON a time, he’d had a last name and a girlfriend, and he’d been completely straight. He wasn’t sure what happened then. There had been a dark shape swooping in front of his car, a body thunking off the hood, a terrible crunch of metal, and a feeling of unreality. Part of his steering column snapped in half and penetrated his femoral artery, and his soul began to detach from his body as the blood that held the two of them in the same space pumped out.
Things got weird after that.
Absolute cold, the silence of a frozen sea, the faint promise of warmth and light, and then….
Something fiery burning along his veins, pulling him back through that sea, causing it to splinter and scathe, penetrate and scrape,
Daniel found he was smiling—tearful, yes, but smiling. God, they were so damned happy.
He was going to turn away then, but Whim must have seen him from the corner of his eye. The elf turned and raised a silent hand in salute. He forgot to turn off the light he was generating with his magic, and for a moment Daniel was blinded as it hit him in the eyes. He almost missed the next part.
Very slowly, and very deliberately, Whim bowed.
Dammit. That was it. Daniel wiped his cheek with the back of his hand and bowed back. “You’re welcome,” he whispered, and then to Charlie, who had turned and was gazing at him serenely from gold cat eyes, “You’re both welcome. Thank you. Thank you both.”
He turned and left the clearing just as the train passed by, separating him from the two figures in the moonlight, and he realized in his bones that Charlie’s decision to leave had been the right one. Looking back had never been an option for Whim and Charlie anyway.
Whim—Blessings
AS SOON as Daniel disappeared, Charlie ran across the field and then took a giant cat leap. He turned into a human in midair and landed, legs straddling Whim’s waist, hands wrapped around Whim’s shoulders, pulling Whim down for a kiss.
Whim kissed him, kissed him ravenously, kissed him as though they hadn’t made love that morning and nearly every morning and every night since Charlie had come with him to Green’s hill.
They always kissed that way.
“He’s gone?” Charlie asked him between kisses.
Whim had no words for Daniel. “Mmm-hmmm….”
“Good,” Charlie said breathlessly. “Good. Good….” And then he kissed Whim some more. His body was strong and wiry, like it had been his entire adult life, and his hair was thick and a little long, growing over his ears for the first time since he was a teenager.
There was a three-inch tattoo on his naked chest, right over his heart, and had been since the night Whim had healed him. It showed a rose, dropping blood over an acorn and a lime. The blood changed colors according to Charlie’s mood. Charlie knew what it meant now, and Whim liked to touch it quietly while it glowed the colors of cherries and melons and bananas.
Whim held him now, strong and healthy and as gleeful as he’d ever been, and Whim kept holding him, kept falling into his exotic, familiar taste, as he walked unsteadily to where the trees were. They’d come prepared tonight, and their blankets and their picnic were waiting for them. This year, Green had even given them a special basket and had their favorite foods made. He and Cory said that someone should celebrate Litha, since they could no longer take joy in it.
And Litha it was—their Litha—and when they were together, there was always much to celebrate.
In the End
ONCE UPON a time, he’d had a last name and a girlfriend, and he’d been completely straight. He wasn’t sure what happened then. There had been a dark shape swooping in front of his car, a body thunking off the hood, a terrible crunch of metal, and a feeling of unreality. Part of his steering column snapped in half and penetrated his femoral artery, and his soul began to detach from his body as the blood that held the two of them in the same space pumped out.
Things got weird after that.
Absolute cold, the silence of a frozen sea, the faint promise of warmth and light, and then….
Something fiery burning along his veins, pulling him back through that sea, causing it to splinter and scathe, penetrate and scrape,
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