“Felix,” he whispered. “Oh, little man. Oh, Felix. That fire… the fire isbeautiful.”

“The world is on fire, I thought wildly. See it burn and oh, my God, it burns for us.”

“He stared up at me, and even as the house fell apart around us, even as drops of fire rained down from the sky, his hand raised and brushed a lock of hair out of my face, and I felt his stomach rise as he breathed in deeply.“You,” he whispered. “You’re a boy?” His hands cupped my face, and a tear streaked down my cheek onto his fingers. “I dreamt of you but… but I never thought…”

“Me and Seven, I thought as I arched my back. Me and Seven, that’s all there is. That’s all there needs to be. He kissed me sweetly as his hips rolled forward, and his breath became fire in my mouth.”

“But he came, when I was at my darkest. I prayed him down from the sky, and he came in a flash of blue fire that lit up the heavens. I know he came by his own choice, but he came because I called him. He came when I could no longer take the weight of the world on my own. He came when I needed him the most. He came and saved me from myself, saved me from the waters that rose up to my chest and over my head.”

“Bear!” hecried into my ear. “What‟s going to happen to me? Oh, Bear, I‟m just a littleguy! I‟m not big like you! What‟s going to happen to me?”

“You think I gave you crack?""Maybe."Is there anything about me that screams crack?"He grinned as he swayed. "Your butt crack," he whispered before dissolving into giggles.”