Free In the Darkness by Charles Edward Page A

each other. They touch faces like you touch lips. Like kissing. And they clean each other by licking. Just like…”
    “Go on.” Evin licked the back of Gareth’s hand.
    “Uhm. Just like…” Evin kissed Gareth’s knuckles. “Just like that. Like that.”
    It was sweet how such a small act unnerved him. It wouldn’t last long. Gareth was a man, after all. He would express a desire soon enough—maybe sooner if Evin got him thinking the right way.
    “Have you ever caught animals fucking?” Evin said.
    “M-maybe. What’s that?”
    “It’s how they make babies, you know? Little ones? Have you seen one animal climb on top of another and they wiggle?”
    “Ha! Yes! Is that what it’s for? They wiggle and little ones are born?”
    “Yes.” The more Evin surmised about Gareth’s parents and their neglect, the more he hated them. He let go of Gareth’s hands and stood to embrace him.
    “I don’t understand though,” Gareth said. “I was born too. But I don’t think my parents do the fucking. Maybe…maybe since I came out wrong, they don’t want babies. Maybe they’re afraid of—”
    Stupid! You have to watch everything you say . “No, Gareth, don’t think about them. I wanted you to think about us.”
    Evin pulled him into a kiss. At first Gareth seemed to simply allow it, as if he weren’t really present, as if still troubled by his thoughts. But Evin was urgent, licking and teasing, and Gareth soon warmed to his passion. Evin sat again and lay back, pulling Gareth to all fours over him.
    When the kiss ended, Evin looked up into the dark face blotting out the sky above. “You try to find a way to take the blame for everything. Stop it! It’s not your fault I can’t see in the dark. It’s not your fault you’re different. And if your parents are unhappy, it’s only because something’s wrong with them . I know you’re different, and I like you. I want to do stuff with you. I want to do it to you and for you, if only you’ll tell me what you wish.”
    Gareth’s voice was thick. “I want us to, but not here. Can we wait until we’re there?”
    “Well, then, help me up and let’s go.”
    In a companionable silence, they ascended to a spot near the top of the mountain. Gareth turned off the well-worn trail and onto a smaller one that ended at an edge overlooking the valley. He pointed down. “Right there.”
    Evin peered over the edge. A boulder stuck out below, forming a wide, square ledge. A spine of scalloped rock shelves stretched up toward them, offering easy handholds for Gareth to use for climbing down. They were too far apart for Evin to make the climb by himself, but Gareth helped him from one to the next until they both stood on the outcrop.
    Evin was unaccustomed to such heights. Here in the open, warm gusts of wind jostled him, and he feared he might suddenly fall right over the edge, even if he didn’t move. It was scary but also exciting to look out into the night this way. As he scanned the moonlit valley and tried to hide his anxiety, he noticed Gareth watching him intently, as if waiting for him to pass judgment. He smiled in response to whatever question Gareth had in mind, and Gareth’s posture visibly relaxed.
    “What now?” Evin asked.
    “Um… It’s a good place to see the stars.”
    “It’s a wonderful place. Thank you for bringing me here.” He turned away from Gareth and looked out at the valley again. “I’ll just sit over there and watch the stars, then, shall I? Until you have another idea…”
    He took two short and careful steps before arms encircled him from behind and Gareth pulled their bodies close. “Please, Evin, I’m trying to be brave.”
    Evin sighed and tilted his head back to rest on Gareth’s chest. “Just ask. It’s okay to tell me what you want.”
    “I do want something, but I don’t know how to say.”
    “Tell me.”
    “I—I saw you kissing that watchman…down there…and you made his white stuff come out.” Gareth reached