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Just out of curiosity, cause I'm sure I'll get in so much trouble for this, but was there ever any more to that sequel? 😯

Had to re-read this story again on New Years Eve... It was just so perfect and completely appropriate, especially since they were predicting we'd be able to see the Northern Lights. I'd love to meet guys like this to spend a New Years with...

Don't worry we'll get you guys properly cultured eventually,

Yeah, good for Logan. It was rough because he's strong in so many other ways, but just had this one major stumbling block. I have to say, his friends sure know how to overreact and make assumptions. He, and Seth, and Grayson all showed great maturity in letting the whole issue be resolved so easily.

Yuck! lol... But the story could use a sequel, or maybe a few more chapters at least.

I can't decide which one I am more in love with: Logan, or Seth. I really love the type of character who looks out for underdogs, but it looks like Seth is doing enough of that on his own, without Logan. I really don't think Seth is going to be hurt, though. They really seemed to come to a resolution that they are both what each other needs, and that is never going to change. They will probably stick with each other until they are truly sure that they have found someone else that is right and that it is safe to change their relationship as a conscious choice, more than an surprise decision by one of them. Logan probably doesn't have it in his nature to betray someone on purpose, and Seth seems to be way too aware of what is going on at all times to be caught off guard. Even if there was a short-term heartache, some just seems a lot stronger now, anyway, in large part thanks to Logan. He'd be able to survive a minor breakup pretty well, which would be another indicator that Logan has already achieved his goal of being able to instill a greater confidence in Seth.

You can read it on the Nifty site without the background, not that it bothers me, but I loved the story. The picture on the main story page bothers me more than the red background . It's not the syrupy way too sweet kind of teen romance that is usually so overdone, and sometimes it's even hard to tell that there is romance, but you do get the impression by the end that Billy really does love Aiden, and Aiden likes Billy, too. I think you can almost compare Aiden to Alec from the Sanitaria Springs universe in terms of being a smart ass who is also somehow street smart and knows how to get around conventions for a while. It is truly from a different realm of perspective, though. Aiden is not the typical hero, and Billy is definitely not the typical character for the follower role. Anyone else would probably have done the typical jock meets nerd type story, but Federic has switched up everything and stood it on it's head. My favorite part is where Billy says " I think you're the hottest skeleton I ever met." I could really have used a genuine boyfriend like Billy at that age, too.

Cool. I've read it a while back, and also more recently. It is a really good story, and has a nice mystery running through it, too. My only reaction on initially reading it the first time, since it is a multi-author story, was "where's the Dabeagle chapter?"

Wow! You guys really cleared up my thinking on this one. I was having trouble figuring out where Dabeagle was at with this story, and the conversation seemed a little too private and intimate to me. I think it was really what Kale needed, though, since he does seem to have a mind that wants to follow such a straight track all the time. Alec, at least, is one person who can give Kale an outside view. They really are a different set of best friends, but just the right sort to safely have each other to spill their feelings too, when the need arises. It's hard to think that Kale and Alec both have the same problem sharing their feelings, though, since they both seem so different in so many ways. It appears that for these two, sex really is the ulimate expression of how they feel for each other, since they can't ever seem to actually say any other way. I just hope this latest talk clears up any doubts Alec had about Kale feeling superior to him, because I don't think there's a shred of that sort of feeling in Kale at all, in fact it seems to be the other way around, and Kale seems to be sort of envious of Alec because he appears to be so naturally confident and outgoing whereas Kale knows he has to work hard at being confident for the sake of his brothers and family. I guess that goes back to Alec being more self-reliant growing up as an only child, until Lucien gave him someone to look out for and protect. I hope I'm right on that, because I was getting a bit disappointed with Kale being described as the stereotypcial gay rich kid who's over obsessed with the clothes he wears .

Speaking as one who never fit in, in high school, I think that must have felt good. Maybe it's one reason I wish so deeply to have one of these types of families this story has created. I think this is the best RB story to date. As much as Jamie is developing, I think Ryan's writing is growing up in leaps and bounds, too. I really like Sean. I think he is now my favorite character after Robin and Lucien. They all seem to have such unique and clearly defined personalities, so you can see them as inviduals, but you also see the connections between them. I really wonder where Kale learned to be so uptight, since his parents clearly aren't and have long ago forgiven each other. I think that's the one lesson Kale really needs to learn is how to have compassion, to understand other people and not just condemn them for something they've done, but to employ a little forgiveness. Maybe Chase can still open his mind up a little bit more. He sort of needed a good slap for his reaction, but it's good that no one actually did it. Things done in the heat of moment always make problems bigger and fortunately for Kale, his parents can see that when he can't see it for himself. I think the best example was the judge talking to Sean and affirming to him how important he was to all of them, even if he didn't realize it, and he didn't have any reason to feel like he didn't belong.

Definitely a next time... I thought this one was way too short, anyway. It was just getting good when it ended. I have to say, though, it doesn't seem like anyone in the Kirkwood family can have a normal conversation over dinner. Their parents obviously have quite easy senses of humour.

It took me a while to see that twist coming. I clued into it about the same time that Seth did. It was kind of amusing to see Logan be so oblivious too it. I really like the strength of friendship that Seth and Logan have, without really needing it to become a relationship. I really wish I could have had Logan around in school. With a friend like him, maybe I could have had someone to fall in love with. Maybe... Who knows...?

I'd be willing to imagine that the whole team already knows, anyway, especially if they've all been trying to imagine what could have had Logan so distracted for so long. It doesn't take too long to formulate a logical conclusion based on the visible evidence. Besides, for all we know, Tyler and Jordan may already be more than just 'twins' themselves. (What else would you expect in this town? ) It might be why they were all able to be so close when they were younger, and why they felt such a strong urge to reach out to Logan and bring him back to the family. I still do sort of prefer Logan and Seth as best friends, though, and the dynamic between them was already so strong, it didn't seem like it really needed the added drama of a relationship, so it will be interesting to see where this newly expressed romance goes.

The Arkenstone has to either "The Ultimate Gift" or "Birthday Blues", and it's just coincidence they focuse on Robin and Lucien, but both stories also go a lot deeper into the characters. Maybe that's also because I'm on fence about whether the guys really needed this, or not. It's one quirky way to get Alex and Kale to open up for each other, I have to say. I also read somewhere that the brain chemicals that create 'romantic bliss' fade after about 18 months , so maybe it's a good thing these guys are all still able to hold on to their romance, and also be able to express that quality of love between each other and share it amongst themselves. I can't say whether trading partners to be able to strengthen those bonds is the only answer, but it seemed to be right for this particular group of friends and lovers. I would think that the ultimate goal, or the ultimate relationship is just what all these guys have: what Chase described as a 'found family'. They don't need anything but to love each other, they all care about each and watch out for each other. Some of them happen to be couples, but they don't just go hide in a bedroom and ignore the rest of the world or their family and friends for the sake of monogamy. In some sense, if any sex occurs, it is purely incidental and not an essential ingredient for any of their connections. I think Kale and Chase made that pretty clear when they were debating the whole idea with each other, that sex is not what made any of them fall in love. Doing it the way they did would enhance the connections between all them, but it couldn't make them fall any more or less in love with each other than they currently are. At the end of the day, I'd take one of Dabeagle's families, to be able to have the best friends in the world, over all the sex in the world.

Normal? Who would want to be normal? If they are normal, then everyone on Earth should have that perfect relationship, and we would all live in perfect harmony. Thanks to Dabeagle for showing us the path to world peace . Probably needs something more like "Holy Shifter, Batman!". I was just thinking, they need to get another identical bracelet for Lucien, but maybe swap out the red band for something that would represent his birth father since Lucien still has good memories of his first father. IF they each had one, it would definitely show they are a couple. It's amazing how much it seemed to impact Robin, though. He really is someone who sees the small symbols that convey love, like the heart shaped notes in Lucien's locker, too. I agree with the Brit, though: everything about Lucien and Robin being together just reflects perfect, perfect love back at the reader. Woah! Everyone was posting at the same time! It's like we're sharing each other's thoughts, .