The connection wasn't particularly strong, and Aidan suspected that was a good thing, given how strong his own feelings tended to be, and how young Damien was. He could sense his son, his mind clean and simple. He was a little afraid, and a little confused, but mostly he was hurting and lonely. Aidan put his arm around Damien's shoulders again and deliberately projected his love and caring.

Damien felt the connection too. A lot of what he felt was confusing and strange. There were so many different things, all jumbled in together. But then he felt a kind of glow reaching out to him, surrounding him in warmth. He looked up at Aidan, disbelieving. Aidan smiled down at him and hugged him closer, and the glow grew even stronger. He turned to Aidan and buried his face in his chest. Aidan put both arms around him and held him tightly. "I do love you," Aidan said. "I love you very, very much, and I wish with all my heart that I could stay with you." As Aidan said it, Damien could feel, along with that glow, a sadness, huge and deep, and he realized that the sadness was because Aidan couldn't be with him. That he really meant it when he said he wanted to stay. He put his arms around his father and hugged him back, hard. Aidan stroked his hair and cradled him close.

After a minute or so he let go, and Damien sat up. Aidan fished a handkerchief out of his pocket and offered it to Damien. "Here. I wish I had two, but I'm afraid there's just the one, and you can have it. It looks like you need to blow your nose, so I'd rather not share!"

Damien giggled, and sniffed a little. He looked up and saw that Aidan's cheeks were tear-stained, but he was smiling. And he could still feel it, feel that Aidan was happy. Aidan wiped his cheeks off with the back of his hand. Damien used the handkerchief. "This is weird," he said.

Aidan chuckled. Damien could feel that too. "Yes it is."

"How long does it last?"

"It depends. Probably not too long. Less than half an hour, I'd say." He picked up his knife and put it away in its hidden sheath. "I'd ask if you're doing okay," he said with a smile, "but it looks like you are."

"Yeah. I... I dunno, I'm glad. I'm still gonna be sad when you go, and I still am gonna get teased I'm sure, but I know now."

Aidan shook his head. "You're quite the kid," he said, and Damien could feel a different sort of glow at that. "I'm proud of you."

Damien blushed, not knowing what to say.

"And as far as the teasing goes, I can tell you that eventually it ends. Though unfortunately not for quite a while yet. I was teased too, when I was younger."

"About your wings?"

Aidan shook his head. "No, about my height. When I was your age, I came up to about here." He put his hand at Damien's shoulder. "I've always been really short. I don't know why, my parents weren't that short. I just am. I've probably heard every short person joke that anybody's ever made up ever. It used to hurt a lot." Damien was a little surprised. He could feel Aidan's memory of it, and it was just the way he felt when the kids called him "bastard" and "chicken-wings" and all those other names.

"It hurt you a lot," he said.

Aidan nodded. "Yes it did. I really hated the teasing, and I really, really hated being short. I would have given anything to be able to be tall! But I never did get tall. And some of the other things they called me..."

"Like what?"

"Uh..." Aidan reddened. Damien giggled. He could feel that too, and it felt weird. Aidan laughed. "You're terrible! Anyhow, they said I was gay, mostly."

"Oh. Nobody's said that to me."

Aidan chuckled. "Well, you don't look like a girl."

Damien giggled again. "Neither do you!"

"I did when I was younger. Well, I didn't really look like a boy, anyhow, and that was enough. Kids can be really cruel."

Damien nodded. "Yeah."