Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

remember. His mother had died at night; his babysitter had already put him to bed. He woke up in the car of a social worker, not understanding what was going on.
    It was jarring, but he had survived and thrived on his own, and he would again if need be. But he didn't want to. He'd gone to the Blue Dragon because he knew he was alone, and it was pathetic. He wasn't alone anymore, not really. He'd tangled himself up in Daren's life good and proper. Even if they separated, and never saw each other again, they'd always be connected now.
    Sebastian flicked off the TV and went back to the bedroom, still not particularly tired. He stood over Daren, whose lips were parted, his face at peace. He opened his eyes and blinked at Sebastian, seeming to contemplate him in return. He reached out and took Sebastian's hand and guided it to his cheek, which was still bruised at the bone.
    "Why do I want you to touch me?" Daren asked his breath warm across Sebastian's wrist. "After everything, I should never want to be touched again."
    Sebastian caressed Daren's cheek. "People need to touch. Babies who are never touched grow up small and sick, or they wither and die."
    Daren pressed his cheek into Sebastian's hand. "I'm taking so much from you."
    "Nothing I'm not giving freely."
    "I still don't understand why?"
    "Maybe you're giving me something as well."
    "What could I give you?"
    "How about a very remarkable person, who has completely twisted around my dull little forgettable life, and turned it into something that might mean something someday?"
    Daren turned his face so he could rub it across Sebastian's hand. "I never wanted anything like this before. I just wanted one day to be like the next, with the same people and places, because I was lazy, and it was easier that way."
    "I thought I wanted that from my life as well."
    Daren didn't answer. Instead, he put a kiss to Sebastian's palm. That kiss leapt through Sebastian's body, nearly stopping his heart in his chest. Daren did it a second time; Sebastian bent over, cupping Daren's face in both hands. He waited for Daren to turn his head away, but it never happened. He brushed their lips together.
    Daren gasped, his lips parting. Sebastian pulled back, but Daren followed, this time putting his lips to Sebastian's. They were warm and dry, and they moved against his, ever-so-softly. Sebastian threw a rope around the lust growing in him and held on tight. It would have been easy, far too easy, to just fall into his old patterns of casual sex, sloppy kisses, stripping Daren naked, maybe blowing him and calling it a day. Instead, he brushed his thumbs across Daren's cheeks as if they were made of glass.
    Daren's tongue darted out, just tickling at Sebastian's lips. Sebastian parted his own lips and let Daren explore. Daren twisted their tongues together before pulling away.
    Sebastian straightened up. His erection was filling his shorts, just as Daren's was clear under the sheets. Daren went to undo the top button of his new pajamas, but his left hand fumbled with the tight button.
    Sebastian reached down and opened it for him. His eyes had adjusted to the dim light, and he searched Daren's face for any sign to stop. When he saw none, he moved to the second button, making sure to draw his fingers across the exposed skin and push down the blankets as he went. Daren's body arched into the touch and Sebastian slid down another button. He couldn't touch the skin with Daren's ribs still bound, but he ran his fingers across the elastic bandages so Daren would still feel something.
    He spread open Daren's shirt and let it fall to the sides. Above the bandages, Daren's skin was ghostly pale, the hollows of his collarbone and throat casting their own shadows. Below the bandages, Daren's stomach was still flat and sculpted, the pattern of the muscles drawing the eye lower.
    Sebastian ran his fingers along Daren's stomach. He giggled and squirmed. He took his fingers away and kissed Daren again, this time slipping his own tongue between Daren's lips. Daren moaned into the kiss, his body doing its best to rise off the bed. Sebastian broke the kiss, instead running his tongue along Daren's collarbone and swirling it around the hollow of his throat.
    Sebastian kissed his way lower, ignoring the protests of his own back as he crouched over the bed. He moved his lips down Daren's body, even across the bandages, silently kissing each rib better. He slowed down when he reached flesh again. He ran his