Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 DreamFever

   By Adrian Mailenna

   For Anne and Trece and Tanko, who brought me to YaoiCon.  And for Kez,
who drop-kicked me into their hands to begin with.

   Somewhere out on the distant, fuzzy edges of the world, Tybalt, Prince
of Cats, whose subjects were once as gods and have never forgotten, was
begging for a bite of fruit.  He made sad kitten faces up at the tall,
delightfully boyish girl who held him pinned to the sand, kissing at her
fingertips when she finally pressed the crisp white wedge of peach-flesh
between his lips.  She settled against him, letting his arm curl across the
small of her back.  They fed each other, stopping now and again to kiss and
share the sweet, delicate aftertastes that lingered on their lips.

   She kissed him a little harder, pressing her tongue against his own,
sliding it along his smooth, pointed teeth.  Then she was laughing and
teasing, gone in an instant, running down the beach until he ran her down,
bringing her to the sand and holding her as though he wished never to let
her go.  Cool surf washed up around them, making the black silk of her
dress gleam wet against her skin, like India ink against the finest
porcelain.  She kissed him again, scratching behind his ear, always amazed
by the smooth, perfect blend of sleek black cat and golden-skinned youth.
He closed his eyes, purring his contentment to her, and the world faded
away.

   The kisses felt different when the world returned, as light and timid as
feather touches.  Tybalt found himself in his bath, cradling a lithe little
creature, not so much unlike himself.  His name was Adam, he remembered,
some priceless gift from human folly.  His hair was white and pure as milk,
and his eyes were sparkling, cobalt blue, bright and full of endless,
perfect love.  Tybalt smiled and held his subject tightly, pressing a kiss
between his ears, remembering those early times.  First like a child and
then like a man, Adam had learned each day a new saintly virtue, and each
night a sweet and secret sin.  Most of all, Tybalt remembered the way Adam
loved to snuggle close, sliding his naked, perfect skin against his
prince's own, first in innocence, then in desire.  But then the angels had
taken him away.

   The angels had taken him away.

   He bolted up in bed, panting heavily as his heart raced to bring him out
of slumber.  His sheets were damp with sweat, and no one slept beside him
in the darkness.  "Only a dream," he breathed, over and over again, trying
to calm himself.  Adam had been lost to him for half of a thousand years,
like the girl whose name he could still not bear to speak.  The realization
settled in, curling its icy coils deep in the pit of his stomach, and his
eyes narrowed to slits.  His roar echoed in the empty halls.



   Why is he so tormented?  What will he do about it?  Find out in the rest
of this story published in the YaoiCon 2005 fiction anthology.  I'll post
the entirety after YaoiCon 2006, no charge if you can wait that long, but I
really recommend the anthology.  DreamFever will be illustrated by Tammy
Lee (www.laleeloo.com) , who did the illustrations for Min's A Different
Hunger last year.  Unfortunately, her website hasn't been updated since

   -- Copyright 2005 Adrian Mailenna.

   Personal use encouraged.  All other rights reserved.
   ftp://ftp.asstr.org/pub/Authors/adrian_mailenna