He knew what it was like to lose a parental anchor in life.

Loving someone gives you courage; being loved back gives you strength. -Lao Tzu.

Shu-shu nodded and waved him to silence. He smiled as he wiggled his index finger at Dillon with a playful grin. “I knew what it was when I saw you.” “How?” Dillon asked skeptically. Shu-shu gestured at the air around him. “It surrounds you, in your face, your eyes, and your stance. Loving someone gives you courage; being loved back gives you strength. I see both. It is nice to see it on you, finally.

His feelings for Hunter kept falling down on him like an inescapable rain. He kept getting drenched, not sure if he wanted to dance in it or pop open an umbrella and run for cover. “You’re such an idiot,” he told himself quietly.

Loving someone gives you courage; being loved back gives you strength. -Lao Tzu

You’re telling me I'm being attacked by a bunch of goddamned queers?

Dillon went so still it was like Hunter was alone in the apartment again. He emitted no breath, no whisper of movement, nothing. He was just a blank space, an absence in the middle of the room. Hunter started to reach for him but froze his hand when Dillon spoke. (…)

…It's breadth, and the strength between us to know that we're ready for the next step. I want to do it this way so it lasts, and I need you to understand that for me.""I understand.""Do you?" Hunter asked him closely. "Then why do I still hear rejection in your voice?""Because I'm impulsive, and immature, and…in love with you.

They had f@@@ed the night before, and then again this morning, but that had been hard lust. Now Hunter wanted passion and slow, smooth rhythm. He wanted to feel the security of Dillon's embrace, the solid unfettered motion of their lovemaking, and he wanted to make Dillon understand that he no longer had to prove anything. He moved away and set his head on his own pillow, waiting for Dillon to find the rain's pulse.

It was the way you touched me. How you explored every single inch of me before you really put your hands on me," Dillon admitted. "That first time we were in bed you searched out all the erogenous zones with your fingers, probably without even realizing it. It was subtle but very…tactile. It made me feel wanted, I mean more than just physically.