Alex lit up some as Raff said he would be good for Andreas.  He wanted to be good for him.  The food helped him calm down and even talking with Raff helped settle things.  It gave him back the feeling that it hadn’t all been a trick, that this was real.  Alex hugged himself a little tighter for a second wishing those arms around him were Andreas’.<br/><br/>He nibbled his lip a second before he asked,  “what does Bello mean?” After he got his answer, he blurted, “what does Käraste mean?” He flushed and shivered a little at the memory of squirming under Andreas the night before.  Andreas had called him that twice but he couldn’t remember what it meant.  Probably meant sweetie or honey or something.<br/><br/>Alex’s long slender fingers stroked his messy braid a moment, then he crawled off the side of the bed again, butt going up in the air as he reached into his suitcase to get his brush.   Alex returned to the center of the bed, crossed his legs and started pulling the braid out so he could fix it.  “Thank you for being nice to me Raff.”<br/>When he lifted his arms to deal with the braid, his sleeves slid up to his elbows, showing Raff the bruises around his wrists.