Sunbeam Lair In the mirror, you're brushing over

"Probably not," Dusty Rose hedged. "They must be about your age — you would've known them, if you grew up in the same place. It sounds like your family just does things differently. I think that's nice."

Dusty Rose gazed at Etienne a little longer, feeling stirred by his finely tuned instinct for emotion. He thought he sensed melancholy in the other man — which would not be surprising! But he could not see himself being the balm to whatever hurts might be present. Not when he had his own needs; his own spirit to nurture.

"Can I come visit you sometime?" he asked. He was still standing in place rather than pinging frenetically against the outer and inner limits of Etienne's space. Perhaps the stillness would seem unnatural after all his wiggling.