<blockquote>Gabriel, so tampered with, could not find an answer to Khodan's words, and it momentarily stunned him. Gabriel, young adult though he was, was sometimes a "babe in arms" when it came to instinct, to emotion, sometimes to his own wants and needs. When he hungered, he ate. Weary, he rested. But this tickling, burning discord was foreign. He purred and nuzzled Khodan's neck. "That is was." Oh... gods. At the sound of his voice, so breathless with longing for him, every rational thought dropped from his mind. Now how was he supposed to go about the art of seduction - an art that Gabriel knew the basics of but not the exact procedure or method of execution - if he tempted him so? He kissed him again, this time, with a moment of hesitation, dragging his tongue along the other arden's lower lip.</blockquote>
Khodan shivered as the other arden's muzzle brushed against his neck; never in all his life had his skin seemed so sensitive, so alive, so shuddery with feeling. It was like being given a hot water bottle after sitting in an ice bath for too long -- he felt tingly as the numbness faded. The light smile on his face deepened into something more primal, and he found himself stretching his neck so that Gabe would have more area to nuzzle. "That it was," came the other arden's voice, and Khodan's eyes closed in anticipation. Of what? He wasn't sure, but something had to happen. And then Gabe kissed him again -- this time, it seemed to Khodan, with a little more force, tongue running against lip with a new kind of pressure. His mouth half-opened obligingly, welcomingly, and he licked his own lip in contentment, the tang of orange juice on his tongue. The bartender stared.
<blockquote>Everything seemed to slow. Time froze them together. A blink lasted a year, a heartbeat lasted two - he felt his pulse in every part of his body. Their eyes connected and he forgot everything. Lost himself in the poison green - no, his poison. Every cell that Khodan touched seemed to have a mini-orgasm of its own. The first kiss had been a short one and it was Gabriel who broke it, letting the breath hiss enticingly through his teeth as their noses touched briefly. A glint twinkled in his eyes, as his hands raised slowly, torturingly from on top of his thighs to Khodan's waist. Holding him close, Gabe pulled Khodan against him, feeling that security and that heat and that rush - oh, that rush. He grinned devilishly at the bartender.</blockquote>
Khodan's waist was slender, almost girlish, though not tapered in that typical female hourglass shape. He was just thin, insubstantial, and he became acutely aware of this as Gabe's arms encircled him, hands so warm against his sides, pulling him nearer. Obliging as ever, he allowed himself to be pulled in, but there was a momentary twinge of doubt when he realized how small and scrawny he was. His stature had never bothered him in the past, but now he began to wonder if Gabe thought it was dislikable in some way. But he couldn't dwell on it long; very soon, he was lost in the heat and the radiance of Gabe, and he didn't care if the bartender was looking or if Gabe was grinning back. He snaked one arm around Gabe's waist in return, somewhat cautiously because he was feeling a little uncertain with himself, and his fingers trailed lightly along Gabe's side in wonder. Everything was new to him.
<blockquote>For a long while, heÂ’d been away from memory. His family's trace was all but erased from him. Even now, even with them gone, there was memory. Gabriel had been trying to forget. Trying to erase it all. But his memories were a virus now, eating away at his system, spiraling him into a metaphorical blue screen. Where would he go from here? Where could he go? Eyes the color of emeralds - soft green, a little too perfect around the edges, bright and hot and burning - mommy's eyes? - no, no. Khodan's eyes. And he could go to Khodan. He pressed against the other boy so their bodies were flush against each other, and he ran one finger over the khell's jaw. "I love you," he said, laughing and grinning. And he did.</blockquote>
"I love you," came the voice, and then the melody of laughter. Khodan twitched at the words, involuntarily pulling back half an inch, eyes wide and mouth half open. Physicality was one thing; lust, he understood. But love? Love was a word his sister used to say to him each night when they air-kissed each other's cheeks and then shuffled off to their separate rooms for sleeping. Love was a word that represented familial ties and something softly sweet, to be had between blood relations and very close friends. Love was not something he could associate with that throbbing heat, that powerful urge to press closer still. Love wasn't something that could happen so quickly, at least not for Khodan. Did he believe in love at first sight? No, not really. Love was something more than the color of eyes or the sway of movement, something more than could be detected upon first glance. Khodan considered himself a diehard romantic, but he believed in a kind of love that he saw as more practical: based on person and personality above all else. If the physical came with it, as it obviously did with Gabe, then that was a bonus. But Khodan didn't really know Gabe, not much, not yet; and for him to be capable of saying those three words in return without feeling like a worthless liar, he knew he'd have to learn more about the blue-eyed arden. "I really like you," he said cautiously to the 'dragon, pulling slightly nearer once more, "And I want to love you, too."
