I'm from the state dept and I'm a homosexual [Lili]

Lior felt the bottom of his stomach drop out and the acidic contents start to drip through into his kneees and toes. (Am I the only one that gets that feeling when I'm scared?) There was no way Aven knew. Was there? How?

"Uhm, uh. The coffee?" Lior dunked his finger in it to check. "Yep. Hot."

Lucas smiled. Something was definitley up. He took a sip of Aven's coffee, knowing that if the other noticed, he certainly wouldn't mind.

He nodded at Rowan. "Yes, I'm excited for you. Do bring in photographs. Not that I know what photographs, are, because we don't have modern luxuries like cameras. Not that I know what a camera is...Okay, I'll stop."

Aven shook his head. The look that Spongebob gave Squidward when he realized that Squidward loved Krabby Patties, still present on his face. "Nope, guess again." He snatched his mug away from Lucas and setting it back on the table.

Amazingly, his face never tiwtching a muscle.

"Er--I would certainly do that, if we had cameras, which we don't," Rowan told Lucas, though he was paying more attention to Lior and Aven. He was starting to get the feeling that he knew exactly what--who--Aven was talking about. And he hoped he was wrong.

Lior let his shoulders slump. "Alright, Aven, stop playing this game with me."

He sighed, then looked up at Rowan. "I'm sorry for this."

Lucas nodded. "Yep, I know."

He also was more interested in the others' conversation. He watched Aven and giggled at him.

But he slowed suddenly when Lior looked really upset. D=
DRAMA.

Aven's face remained unchanged. "Nope!" He chirped gleefully. "Wrong again!"

Then he giggled, his face moving, finally. It was starting to cramp up. He poked his long finger at Rowan, right in the chest. "He's hot, right Lior? Right? Don't you think so?"

Dear god. Rowan was feeling kind of embarrassed himself, but he could only imagine what Lior was feeling right now. He felt kinda bad for him. "Um...Aven..." he said in the politest voice possible, though still obviously annoyed. He glanced down pointedly at where Aven was poking him. "Do you mind?"

Lior shook his head. "Aven, will you plesase...stop."

He made move to get up and leave, but Lucas pulled him back.
Weird.

Lucas didn't know why he pulled Lior back. It wasn't like Lior wasn't being tortured. "Sorry," he put his hand in his lap. "I'll stop."

Then he kept watching, hittinghimself mentally.

Aven looked also and pulled his hand away, still grinning mischeviously. "That's riiiiiight. Rowan is hot." He stood, his blankie falling off, which he made a swift effort to grab. He tossed it over his shoulder. Then he fell back down into his seat. "I'm tired..."

"You look like you're about to pass out," Rowan commented, quickly changing the subject for Lior's sake. Aven was obviously half-asleep and would probably think tonight's events were a dream the next time he woke up.

Lior said a quick thank you under his breath. He nodded at Aven, because when Aven changed the subject, it was likely that he'd forgotten what they'd been talking about.

Especially when he changed the subject to something about himself.

Lucas also followed suit, quickly offering more to the conversation. He knew quite a bit about Aven as well. Like how he hated getting his blanket made fun of.

But Aven wasn't as dangerous in this state, and Lucas was sure Aven still loved him. So he pulled at the blankie. "What is this, Aven?" He teased, even though he knew. The two times they'd spent the night together, Aven would get up after ...they were done and get it to sleep with. (Oh my god. He's such a baby. Poor Lucas must've felt like a mom to Aven.) "You're such a little baby, Aven..." he laughed.

Aven nodded sleepily. "I am about to pass out..." He had a sleepy grin on hid face. Until Lucas started prodding at his blankie.

He opened his eyes a little wider, hissing at Lucas, "Sssshut up. It's not a blankie." Aven yanked the blanket away from Lucas' hands and cuddled it close to him. "It's just a handkerchief."

He turned slightly away from Lucas, defensivley holding his, 'handkerchief.'

Rowan watched Aven defend his 'handkerchief' with amusement. This kid just refused to grow up, didn't he? Not that that was necessarily a bad thing. Though he did kind of wonder how Aven and Lior, being brothers and all, had grown up so completely opposite of each other.

"I would have never guessed that you two are related if I didn't know any better," he told the Silvers.

Lior looked at Aven. His brother could be a pain sometimes, but he did love him, and he knew Aven loved him back.

He nodded. "Yeah, a lot of people who know both of us say that they wouldn't have guessed it. And the people who know one of us, never would have guessed it." He reached his hand over to Aven and brushed some of his hair out of his eyes.

Aven was literally moments from falling asleep.

"So, who did you say the mother is?" Lior asked, once Aven was gone. When Lucas got back, Lior signalled to him that he wanted more coffee. "Do you want more, too?"

Lucas laughed and kept his hands to himself. He watched Lior be all brotherly to Aven.

It was kind of shocking that Lior was only two years older. It always felt like so much more.

"Aven," he said, shaking him, "come on, you can go sleep on the couch."

Aven nodded, smiling when Lior touched his face. "Yeah." He let Lucas lead him over to the couch and fell on it, covering himself with the blanket.

"Thanks."

Rowan nodded to the 'do you want more coffee' question. "Ria. Ria Ozin," he answered Lior. "She's from Earalas. We met at the Ahtnamas party, and, well...the next thing I knew she was pregnant." He was a little embarrassed about the whole random bathroom sex with a whore thing. "So I got her a place to stay in Dian." He didn't talk about how much of a fire-breathing bitch Ria was because it would make him sound like a jerk.

Lior didn't know who Ria was. But he was sure she was beautiful. If she could have Rowan, she must've been beautiful.

"So, are you...what's going on with you two then? Are you with her?"

Lucas sat back down, his foot under his rear on the seat. "Actually, I heard that he was back with Charlie." He smiled, his hand in his palm. "Isn't that right, Rowan?"

Rowan did one of those half-smiles that was almost a smirk but not quite. "Yeah," he replied happily. He loved his Charlie. "Hopefully for good this time." This was the second time they got back together. He was hoping the rollercoaster part of the relationship was over and that they could just be with each other now.

Lior grinned. "That's sweet." He shrugged. "I've never really been with anyone, that seriously. It's never felt very real, you know? The only person I've been relatively close to was Alecis. And I knew that wouldn't last too long."

He smiled, somewhat apologetically, "So, sorry if I've got nothing to say that makes sense."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, I'm seeing Eli right now." He stole a quick glance to be sure Aven was asleep. His thumb was in his mouth. He was defintley asleep.

"But, truth be told, I still love that kid." He poked his thumb at him. "And Eli at the same time."