~Huraah! A new Gummi story! After all this time I'm writing something again! This is another Gusto-Must-Suffer-Greatly-Plus-Slash fic. Gruffi/Gusto fluff and its more mature than other stuff I've written. Gorey bloody descriptions, talk of drug use and sex and whatnot abounds. Not for the little kiddies this story. Its for the adult kiddies. X)

~Also, I'm not too sure about the chapter seperations, since I just sort of spew things out in a stream. I may recut these chapters later. Dunno yet.

~Enjoy

Golden Dreams

Gusto Gummi could usually remember most of his dreams. They were usually always different, beautiful, and often inspired him. They were also always unique. Never could he remember having the same dream twice. And his dreams were always colorful, inhabited by every hue imaginable, usually the very hues his next day's art would take on.

The only color present in his most recent dreams was gold, and these dreams were always the same. It never changed; it started with a golden light that sparkled and gleamed and pierced through the darkness of a black dreamtime nightmare to scour his sleeping brain with harsh insistent light. It was a light that demanded his attention, and nothing else had priority over it. This light was joined in by the pounding sound of a hammer hitting iron, just as insistent, as a backdrop to this aching light. But try as he might to reach out and grasp the light, to reach it, to walk towards it, he could not, and the more he approached it, the farther it seemed to get. And all around him shadowy figures also reached for the golden light, and he could recognize no faces, only feeling the same aching need to discover and grab whatever it was that was glaring at him through the darkness of night.

Suddenly, something new...the feeling of falling! And Gusto woke sweating and tangled on the ground in sweat soaked sheets. The light that now glared into his waking eyes was the light of the sun peeking through the curtains of his room. The pillows were still in the hammock...as well as his left leg hooked over the rope attaching it to the support beam. The support rope was twisted around his ankle, the roughness rubbing his skin raw.

I must have been thrashing in my sleep! Curse it!

Gusto untidily tried to sit up, and winced at a pain in his head.

Something is going to pay for this...or someone! I haven't decided yet!

Unable to even get his foot unhooked from the hammock rope, Gusto resigned himself to staying on the ground for the moment. Rubbing his head and suddenly feeling a wetness, and pulling his hand back to look at the redness there, he realized he couldn't just sit here all day and bleed.

Ha ha, I really hope somebody comes around and helps me, I'll feel really bad if I have to lay here on the ground all day and somebody finds me days later...having bled to death...

Luck was with him, as he soon heard the sounds of whistling from beyond the window; Buddi Barbic. The whistle was uncanny; it was the same tune he played on his flute. Plus, he was the only Barbic that Gusto was willing to let anywhere near his studio, which was good because Buddi was the only Barbic willing to guard his pathetic ass. Gusto had relocated to a very remote and untouched part of Ursalia after an incident with some of his best paintings and what Barbics called 'target practice'. It had been very uncomfortable for Gusto to talk to any Barbic after that, and they had all teased him and his artistic skills. It was one of the few times that Gruffi Gummi had ever stood up for Gusto's right to paint and not have his creations relegated to the status of 'trash' as Ursa had arrogantly commented. "Nothing more than worthless childish splotches. Wasted canvas…."

It was the memory of this that made him pause and think deeply before calling out for help.

"Hey! HEY BUDDI! Help a Gum out here!?"

Buddi's whistling outside stopped, and Gusto waited patiently until the Barbic in question finally found his way up the rickety wooden stairs of the abandoned storehouse to the loft that Gusto had set up shop inside. The floorboard creaked as Buddi entered.

"Gusto?"

"Over here, behind the curtain…"

Gusto had a decorative curtain he had hung to separate his main livingroom from his sleeping area. There was little need to have the curtain, Gusto didn't exactly get company all the way out here that could come in and accidently see him while he undressed. Buddi came around the curtain and stopped in his tracks.

Then Buddi did something really annoying. He laughed!

"What did you do? Go over Funston Falls in your sleep?"

"Ha ha ha, very funny. Help me out, I think I hit my head on something sharp, my head is bleeding and I can't sit up…"

This caused Buddi to move immediately, carefully disentangling Gusto's leg from the rope before helping him sit up gingerly to examine his head.

"Not a large cut, but large enough," he quickly pulled a (hopefully clean) hanky from his pocket to press to Gusto's head. "And it looks like you twisted your ankle too. Must hurt like hell," Buddi got to his feet. "Stay here, I'll get a first aid kit from Grammi and be right back."

It was more than likely that Grammi would come back with him.

"Not in the mood to go anywhere," Gusto moaned, gingerly touching the bump on his head, then massaged his aching ankle. These Golden dreams are going to KILL me!

It wasn't Grammi or Buddi who arrived soon after the Barbic youth left his company, but Gruffi, who found him glowering on the floor and thusly helped him into a chair.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to work on some more ceramics today, but Grammi will probably want you to take a rest…"

"Probably. I got some pots drying downstairs next to the kiln, but someone promised to fix the kiln and never got around to it. So they aren't fired yet…"

Gruffi chuckled, with an apologetic look.

"Sorry Gus, I guess my pile of chores has gotten a bit large this week and I tend to prioritize things in order of necessity. I'll get to it today…"

Gusto smiled warmly and forgot all about the kiln. He liked it when Gruffi called him Gus. He liked it when the normally stern bear got all soft and apologetic, revealing the warm caring Gummi beneath. He liked the way his eyebrows creased as he examined the tangle of blankets and the twisted hammock.

"Have another bad dream?"

Gusto winced and nodded sheepishly, knowing what was coming.

"Same one?" Gruffi said, looking suddenly stern, and became sterner when Gusto nodded again. "You told us those dreams had done with, and that you were fine!"

Gusto sighed.

"The dreams never stopped. But I didn't want anyone to worry…"

"You've been having the same dream over and over," Gruffi said, a little angrily. "Thats an omen, a vision, and Zummi will want to know!"

Gusto looked away feeling foolish and a little like a cub caught with his hand in the cookie jar. In truth, he'd been annoyed by Zummi bothering him constantly about the dreams and trying to psychoanalyse the possible meanings of them.

Or rather, dream, it was one dream, the same one, over and over...and over...and...over…

A soft warm hand on his shoulder suddenly brought him back to reality and he looked up at Gruffi with a pained look, and was relieved to be met with a sympathetic frown instead of anger.

"Its terrible Gruff. I can't sleep, and when I do its not for very long before the dream comes. I can barely paint anymore. Your ceramics project is the only thing I can concentrate on, because it involves no paint or colors or thinking. I could make clay pots in my sleep. In fact I wish I had been doing that instead…"

Gruffi's eyes were soft and pained now and he squeezed the shoulder his hand was grasping.

"I understand. And I understand why you didn't tell us. Sometimes it feels better to try and pretend things are normal than have to face reality. I've done that more than once. But Gus, lets face it...Zummi is right; you are an Oracle. There's no changing that now. Better to have Zummi help you figure it out, then wait for it to just go away. Because it won't."

Gusto winced. Gruffi was right. It wasn't just the dreams. Sometimes...sometimes he could tell when something good or bad was going to happen, though he couldn't picture quite what. Sometimes he could sense when somebody was looking for him. Sometimes he could feel the weather changing and knew exactly what the weather was going to do. This week's forecast...heat. And drought. As usual.

"I might be able to accept my new role, if it wasn't for Zummi's constant questions. The dream hasn't changed. Its the exact same thing, every night, over and over, same darkness, same shady figures, same golden light and same pounding hammer on metal. I am without explanation…"

"I dunno," Gruffi said, not taking his hand off the shoulder. "Maybe you should move in with us...until you can sleep properly…"

"Maybe you could help me bring a proper bed up here like you promised," Gusto said wryly, and Gruffi huffed.

"Maybe...then I could sleep over."

That made Gusto blush profusely. Gruffi smirked and bent down to kiss him impishly on the cheek. He would have kissed him again, if Gusto hadn't heard, or rather sensed, that somebody was coming.

"Someone's here," Gusto said quickly, pushing the kissy bear away before, annoyingly enough, Budddi did arrive with Grammi in tow, and her first aid kit.

"Oh good, Gruffi, you're here. How's his head?"

"Bleeding's stopped…" Gruffi said, looking just as annoyed as Gusto at Grammi's arrival, but probably for different reasons.

Gusto was stunned. He hadn't even noticed Gruffi checking the cut. Grammi set to examining the cut, decided it didn't need stitches, put some ice on it, then went about examining his foot.

"Just twisted, not broken," she said, and he felt the cold of another ice pack and a wrapped bandage to keep it in place. "Stay inside today, keep your foot up...and rest!"

"Yes ma'am," Gusto said, feeling as if he wanted to do anything but rest, lest he fall asleep and the vision intrude on his dreams again. "Can do."

Gruffi made a sound like he was going to say something when a soft sound of a horn in the distance caused them all to look at the window.

"Ursa's calling, I'm off," Buddi said immediately. "Bet its the troggles again."

"Same ones that set up camp outside the city?" Grammi sighed.

"What other troggles are there?" Buddi laughed, and was gone with a quick jaunt. Gusto suddenly felt very guilty for living so far away from the main group.

"I'm going to go get a bed for you," Gruffi said roughly. "Then I'm gonna fix your kiln…"

"Thanks Gruffi," Gusto sighed. He really did want to live away from the noise of the Barbics. "I appreciate it, I really do."

"Meanwhile, you come with me," Grammi said sternly. "You can rest in Gruffi's bed today…"

Gusto groaned, and wincingly got to his feet. Fortunately Gruffi was quick to catch on to his unspoken cues and grabbed a loose stick from Gusto's odds and ends pile, sized it up as the right size, and wrapped the raw end in one of the rags Gusto kept around for random purposes. Gusto was soon limping along with the rough cane beside Grammi, and grateful to have her, since he could barely see where he was going, his eyes were so droopy.

I'm going to sleep as soon as I hit the pillows, I know it. And I won't sleep long. I'll have the vision, and I'm not sleeping when I have the vision, not getting rest. Its like I'm wide awake, and staring into a golden abyss!

Ursa Barbic could not believe the audacity of these troggle creatures!

"Camped out like a bunch of poachers, right on the city bridge…"

Like overgrown dogs the troggles, some dressed, most of them naked and wild, were ganged up together on the bridge, laughing in their barking hissing way and throwing things at the city gate.

Ursa did not want to know what exactly that unidentifiable sticky substance was that they used in their stink bombs. She did not want to know…

A tug on her tunic and she turned. Reggi Barbic, "Hawk" as they called the keen eyed Gum, was deaf and unable to speak, and thus instead of speaking he pointed at a very very large and nearly black troggle with a white scar and a thing on his head that could only be called a crown. It was little more than a bunch of animal bones stuck together on his head, but since he was double the size of the other troggles he clearly had earned his pride of place. The 'king' was doing nothing but sit there while his troops threw things at them.

"Not Lady Bane this time, that one seems to be in charge," she said to Gritty next to her, who had already spotted where Hawk was pointing.

"Unless she's decided to get herself a general to keep them in check…"

"Seems like it. But the king...er...general...isn't wearing clothes…"

It seemed more likely that Lady Bane's troggles had simply joined in the fun their wilder cousins were engaged in. Fun...as in throwing troggle bombs at the doors and teasing them, sticking their tails at them and making rude gestures.

"Well?" Gritty said. "Should we try and route em?"

"Yeah, but leave the gates closed, we can reach them from here…"

Hawk and the other archer Barbics were delighted to have live targets to practice on. They didn't use actual arrows, no need to waste them on something so stinky and generally harmless. Instead they armed their 'mudslingers' with stones and bits of broken bricks and whatever hard heavy ammo they could get.

The troggles scattered and ran down the tunnel away from the attack in a cursing and swearing band.

"They seem to be out of reach now," Gritty decided. "Lets see what sort of damage they've done to the gates."

Ursa agreed, mentally cursing at the retreating troggles, while an ominous feeling swept over her.

The troggles have a king now. Soon Cala will be crowned and she'll marry Cavin. And there's a new Barbarian king going around burning villages in the north-east. And if the rumors Cavin told us are true...another King. A more sinister one in the far Nothern Mountains…

Ursa hoped, very much, that they never had to find out for themselves if the rumors were true. Troggles would seem like a tame little newborn puppy dogs compared to an Orc King.

Then again, so would almost anything else.

"Never fight with an orc," her father had once told her. "He will live. You will die."

She hoped she never had to find out.

One thing Gruffi always prided himself on was his ability to keep a promise. The very sudden reminder of his priorities by Gusto earlier, and his promise to get something done by day's end meant that he would get it done. His first task after quickly grabbing Tummi from the kitchen table, where he was boringly eating his oatmeal breakfast, was to go about finding a good bed with short legs for Gusto to use. If Gusto was going to fall out of bed he'd at least not have far to fall. They carried it to the quick car where they lashed it on and then went to the other end of the city where Gusto had decided to set up shop.

Getting it up the rickety wooden steps to the second floor was trying to Gruffi's temper and he swore he would convince Gusto to move before summer's end or fix his stairs at least. The other problem of the kiln was of higher priority than it had been a week ago when Gusto had first bothered him about it, so the stairs would wait. The ground around Ursalia was so dry and dead that they couldn't get anything to grow except in pots. Then only small things like herbs and some tough tubers would grow. The trees planted around the city were drying out and withering. The water level in the reservoir was dangerously low and they were living off the water in the city water tank. It would be enough water for a year, but if it didn't rain soon they would starve before they ever went thirsty. Even the animals were scarce, the hunting Barbics coming back with less, and rats that had devastated their wheat stores would have been a welcome meal if not for the certain fact that many rats carried plague wherever they went. They'd had to burn the rest of the grain for fear of being sickened by it.

Death by hunger or death by plague...What a choice!

Gruffi grumbled and examined the outer shell of Gusto's kiln while Tummi stood behind him, looking bored, but staying silent nonetheless. Wise. Whenever Gruffi was in one of these moods it was a bad idea to talk to him.

"Hm, this doesn't look like there's anything wrong with it, but he says its not getting hot enough…"

The kiln was, in fact, the primary reason Gusto had chosen this building for his home. It was, truth be told, the only working kiln in the city. This storehouse had once been a workshop of some sort and the kiln was the primary heat source. It was a self contained metal and brick monument to Great Gummi design and efficiency. Perhaps Gusto was smarter than they all. The Glens had chosen the coziest rooms in the palace with hallways that took forever to traverse and a heating system that needed more firewood than they could afford to burn that barely heated the place. The Barbics joined them once the winter got cold enough to teach them that sleeping in the soldier's barracks with its poor ventilation and broken roof was not the best thing in the world. But Gusto had chosen this skinny storehouse; it could get hot really quickly with little wood burned and was cool all summer long thanks to high mountain winds through the well ventilated rafters. Maybe the plush comfortable palace was more trouble than it was worth.

Gruffi sighed and decided to double check that the fireplace upstairs was working first, because it was going to get really cold this winter, he was sure, and Gusto tended to neglect his flue. Gusto stored his few kitchen related possessions next to the fireplace haphazardly, and much to Gruffi's annoyance he had to move everything first before he could get to the fireplace. Besides the usual mealtime things like plates and cups, some with paintbrushes or paint in them, there was a metal pot for cooking some soup, a tea kettle and some metal cooking utensils. There was a small box which Gruffi couldn't help but peek into; inside there were some loosely bagged tea leaves and dried vegetables for making soup. Some salted fish, a bit of ramma cheese and some of that bread, not the grain bread they'd had to stop making, but something made from oatmeal which Gusto called bannock. He'd shared the recipe with Grammi, who was surprised that Gusto actually could cook. He'd also taught them a recipe for something called haggis. The Barbics had been more grateful than the Glens for that one.

Gusto is very self reliant, Gruffi thought fondly. Perfect in every way really…

Although their flirting hadn't gone beyond much more than banter and stolen kisses on the cheek, Gruffi was considering going further. Gusto wasn't having any of it.

Wonder what's got him so spooked? The others wouldn't care. I don't know about Cala and Cavin but they wouldn't have to be told…No I don't think its a fear of people knowing...

There was no use woolgathering when Gusto was counting on him to fix the kiln. Maybe that would seal the deal. Maybe Gusto would want him around more if he could see that Gruffi cared about his needs.

I'll have Grammi keep this box of his filled with all the herbs and soup things he could want. And some of that honey. A little sweetness for his tea.

Gruffi quickly checked the flue, was surprised to find it nice and clear, and then went back down to the kiln, where Tummi was close to falling asleep.

"The problem is probably a broken seal somewhere, letting the hot air escape. If the temperature isn't right the clay will bake unevenly. Which is why the pots Gusto makes keep cracking during the firing. I know he's drying them properly. He's got too much experience with pottery and ceramics to do sloppy work…"

Unless...the visions. He could have been distracted by them during his sculpting the clay.

Gruffi was going to give Gusto the benefit of the doubt though, and started the thorough and painstaking process of checking the kiln inside and out, examining all the bricks, the seals on the door, the hinges, and finally having Tummi bring in some wood so he could test the darn thing, tapping all the valves and meters to make sure they were showing the right temperatures as they should. His tools were quick to hand at tightening bolts that may be loose, and tapping the brickwork to test for weaknesses. It had been five hundred years, maybe things were just breaking down the way they would naturally. He'd have Gusto try another kiln...if they could find one. For now, he could find nothing wrong. Nothing.

Except for a sleepy, unhappy artist having his clay break during firing. And he wouldn't mess up all his pots even if he was sleepy. Would he?

"Well Tummi, we'll let the kiln cool down, and then I'll have to break the news to Gusto; there's nothing wrong with this kiln. Not a darned thing that I can see, anyways..."

"Gusto is not going to be happy about that."

Gusto was not happy. His ankle hurt, his head hurt, and Zummi was sitting next to him reading him the collection of notes and books he had gathered on the subject of the oracle branch of Gummi magic. Zummi called it a 'gift'.

"Oracle visions are often shared between oracles, which explains the other people in your dreams. They must be other oracles! How exciting!"

So he had found something useful about it at least. He really wasn't alone when he dreamed. Gusto wasn't sure if that was a comfort or creepy in and of itself. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of sharing anything that intimate with strangers. But Zummi's excitement was so danged grating on his already tight nerves that he was trying very hard not to snap at him to stop with the information. He really was trying, but these were things he needed to know.

"A pounding hammer is often a sign for…Well I'm not sure if its strength or sexual prowess..."

Finally he snapped. The last thing he wanted to talk to Zummi about was his sexual prowess!

"Zummi! Please!" he grated out through gritted teeth. "Grammi wants me to rest!"

Zummi looked up from his notes perplexed and jumped.

"Oh of gource Custo," he stammered. "Er, I mean, of course, Gusto, I'll be lack bater, I mean, back later then…"

How about never? Gusto thought sourly as he pulled the blankets up around his chest.

At least Gruffi's bedroom was cool and comfortable. The wood paneling was warm golden oak and the bed was spacious. Enough room for two…

No! No, lets not have that thought. No. No romance for me. Thats the trap. You don't want to fall into that trap! First you get into his bed, next, you end up ironing his underpants and making his dinner for the rest of your life!

Commitment. A four letter word to his way of thinking, it rang loosely through his head. And if he was really honest with himself it wasn't commitment he was the most afraid of.

Se...se...se...oh I can't even THINK it, let alone say it. Sex sex sex! There!

But his worries and fears weren't put to ease. He was a babe in a basket compared to Gruffi, one hundred percent virgin. And Gruffi was a widower with two children he had fathered himself. With a woman.

Gusto had overheard Grammi awkwardly giving Sunni the 'talk' one day, and curious about it himself he'd stayed to listen in. So Gusto had no trouble imagining what sex with another male might just entail. Just the thought of it made him quiver in both tense unreleased desire, and queasy discomfort.

You wimp! You're afraid of the pain. And here you are with a pounding headache and a twisted ankle! Wimp! You are everything Ursa has ever called you! Pansy! Scaredy cat! Coward!

Speaking of Ursa, another round of horn blowing had signaled the Barbic's return from successfully routing the troggles. Gusto could almost see them now, going through drills in case the troggles decided to invade the city borders again. The fact that nobody had to tell him these facts, that he already knew them, was enough.

Oracle, Gusto thought sourly. What more bitter word has ever been spoken? Er...thunk. Oh heck. I can't sleep, and I need food! Its is almost lunch time, and I didn't get breakfast dangit!

He risked the possibility of Zummi seeing him awake again (he hadn't slept anyways) and grabbed the fabric wrapped stick Gruffi had given him for a cane and hobbled his way down to the kitchen. As soon as he entered (Phew! Zummi wasn't there!) Grammi grabbed him to look at his head again. The small bump was not aching so much anymore, and at least the swelling had gone down.

"All right Gusto dear, have some lunch. Your head is fine. Gruffi brought your food box back here to the kitchen so you could refill it for the month. Goodness, I hadn't known you were feeding yourself I just thought you were skipping meals. But where are you finding all these herbs? I am barely able to scrounge a few here and there around the cracks in the cliffs."

"I'm very good at finding things...apparently," he shrugged. "You can have that stuff, Grammi. I don't think I'll be able to cook for myself. I don't trust myself to light a fire…"

"Or a kiln?" Gruffi stepped foot into the kitchen sheepishly. "Nothing wrong with the kiln Gusto, I'm afraid its all you. But I'll keep checking it each day. Some cracks take awhile to get wide enough to be seen with the eyes..."

Gusto moaned and looked up to the sky. He didn't notice Grammi putting the honey onto his bread, but he knew she had even with his eyes closed. Honey had more than just sweetness going for it, it was good for what ails you, and she kept some around not just for a treat, but for medical purposes. There was probably honey in the cream she was now smoothing over the cut on his head.

"Well, thats the bad news. The good news is that unfired clay pots should be okay for growing things in too. They just don't last very long."

Gusto nodded, highly annoyed with himself for the mistakes he must have made while sculpting the clay. His stomach reminded him of the food on his plate so he distracted himself with eating for awhile. The honey was very good.

They were soon joined by the lovely Sunni, her long hair braided neatly behind her head, her frilly apron freshly starched. It wasn't one he had seen her in before, and it stuck out to him for some unknown reason...

"I'm done hanging the laundry and I'm ready to do the dusting..."

"No worry dear, I sent Cubbi to do the dusting. Thornberry begged off his training to take a nap."

"Good, Cubbi doesn't do nearly as much around here as he should," she decided firmly, and nobody was inclined to disagree. "When he isn't following around Thornberry begging him to spar, he's going off with the Barbics to fight. Thats not work for Cubbi, thats fun."

"But useful fun," Gusto said, startling them all. "He's old enough to help protect the city, don't you think so Gruffi?"

But Gruffi wasn't paying attention to any of this, he was looking at Sunni in an odd odd way.

"Is that a new apron Sun Sun?" he said, using Gusto's pet name for her.

"No, its one of Grammi's, one she doesn't use…"

"Oh dear…" Grammi breathed quietly next to Gusto and Gruffi went over to hug Sunni and tell her not to worry about her brother.

Ah...I see. It was her mother's apron…

Gruffi vacated the kitchen quickly and Sunni looked at Grammi extremely confused.

"Come here girly," Grammi said. "Some things I should probably tell you. My, you do look like her don't you?"

It was time for Gusto to vacate too. He was about to when Grammi pushed him back down in his chair.

"Finish your lunch. Besides, you should hear this too love…"

Love. Gusto was annoyed. Now she was treating him like member of the family. Oh great, how much did she know?

"You see Sunni, that apron was your mother's, and well, you do look like her wearing it. Well, anyways, Gruffi doesn't know, but I kept a lot of your mother's things for you so that you could have them for when you were married one day. I think maybe its time to put them in your hope chest, if you're starting to look like her its probably time for you to court," she looked over at Gusto pointedly.

Did she think what he thought she did? No, no Sunni had done with her crush on Gusto long ago and had moved onto a Barbic...A Barbic that wasn't the lovesick Buddi Barbic, but his deaf and mute cousin, Hawk. A love triangle disaster waiting to happen. Ah, now he got it. Grammi wanted his confirmation that she had some suitors lined up, since he was the ear into which Sunni tended to pour all her innermost thoughts. He smiled in response.

"Well, anyways, I should have told Gruffi I still had them," Grammi continued with a soft breath, relieved at the unspoken exchange. "He might want to keep some more personal things...but you don't worry about it, the apron is yours now. What's he going to do with it?"

Make me wear it, Gusto thought ruefully, then bit his tongue before he could speak. This was supposed to be a very gentle conversation, not an airing out of his own silly fears.

Fortunately he was saved anymore of this conversation by Ursa blasting her way into the room at full vocal power.

"HOW DARE THOSE DISGUSTING CREATURES BEFOUL OUR FAIR CITY GATES WITH THEIR FILTH AND LEAVINGS! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO SLAY THE BLOODY LOT OF THEM AND HANG THEIR HEADS UP AS A WARNING TO OTHERS!"

Gusto beat a hasty getaway from the noise while Grammi and Sunni were distracted, nearly running into Gritty on the way in. He gave a wide berth to the rest of the Barbics looking for lunch and high tailed it back to Gruffi's room.

Gruffi was waiting for him there. Oops.

"Oh, I should probably...go back to my place...you did get me a new bed right?"

Gruffi was sitting on the end of his bed, with a box open at his feet and some oddball paper cards in his hands.

"Yeah. Come here a second Gus, I want to show you something. Zummi's not as good an artist as you are, but I thought you'd might like to see his interpretation of all of us, me, Mandi, the kids...from way back then…"

Ah, pictures of his wife and children. Yes, this is a good mindset to keep him in. No impure thoughts here.

Gusto tentatively sat down next to him and looked at the cards. Hm, these were pictures by Zummi.

Not bad...a bit too mechanical for my taste. No life in the faces. All precise lines and curves. I think I'll tease him about it the next time I see him. Something at least to break up the litany of facts he keeps throwing at me about his research...

"Sunni does look like her mum…" Gruffi said, sounding sort of resolute and sad. "Do you think...do you think Sunni and Cubbi would like to see these?"

"I'm sure they would," Gusto said, smiling, and squeezing Gruffi's shoulder, in echo of the way the other bear had this morning. "They were her children, and I think they have a right to see her…"

"The problem is that they can't ever see her. Sunni was so small, and Cubbi was a baby when…" his voice broke a bit, and he covered his face with his arm. "Scuze me…"

"Nothing to excuse...I understand. Its still hard for you."

"Yeah, well, no, just seeing her that way, in my Sunni...was a bit hard…"

Gruffi couldn't look at him and Gusto frowned for a moment.

"You know, I think there's a way I can make them see her," Gusto was starting to feel inspired, and smiled warmly. "Yes, I think there is a way…But you'll need to help me with certain details..."

Gruffi seemed to ken onto what he was saying and suddenly hugged Gusto so tightly he had trouble breathing.

"Hey hey, Gruff, its alright, hey, are you crying?"

He was, and he couldn't get a word out between sobs. Gusto sighed.

I just can't win. Either he's angry all the time, or sad all the time. Or randy. What kind of man am I getting involved with?

The golden red light of the sun was dying in the distance, and Gusto found himself still in Gruffi's room, staring at the ceiling. Gruffi had vacated the room with the pictures to go show the children, and to share with them Gusto's plan to do a true portrait of Mandi Gummi for the family gallery. Which was just Gusto's collection of traditional portraits of all of the Glens and Barbics. Getting Ursa to dress in her best and sit down for an hour so he could paint her had been the most agonizing thing he had ever done, but the final result was that the Barbic leader was presented as a most beautiful, but stern, woman in green and red velvet with a backdrop of the city she protected. Even she thought it had been worth it.

Even though Mandi wasn't alive, and he had never met her, Gusto felt she deserved a place in their family narrative. When future Gummi bears came to unearth the treasures of this city, the story and history of the people living there may not survive in parchment, but it would in portrait.

After Gruffi had vacated the room, Zummi had returned and since Gusto was supposed to have been in the bedroom all day he'd had no choice but to listen to Zummi some more. No excuses now.

"So I was thinking, as you do have this gift, that it might be useful if you practiced using it every day…"

Practiced using it? What does Zummi think I do all day? The visions come to me whether I want them to or not!

But instead of saying that, he nodded.

"How do I go about practicing this stuff anyways?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked! I found a section in the Great Book of Gummi all about it!"

Gusto thus spent the rest of the day listening to Zummi prattle, breaking into his trains of thought only briefly to tease him about his drawings. Which lead to Zummi agreeing nervously to show him some more he had done, mostly in his private journal, and things like herbs and ingredients that Grammi had needed pictures of for her medical kit. Gusto was ecstatic at the idea of helping him update the images for accuracy! And somehow Zummi managed to exact a promise from him to come to the library for more research before the wizard was eventually shooed out by Grammi for supper. Gusto was left alone with a tray of food to watch the sinking sun. He couldn't eat though, his thoughts were starting to take a dark turn.

Hours of researching with Zummi, clay pots to make, canvas picture of a dead woman who I am in the process of replacing as Gruffi's lover...no not replacing. I am so not going to be his wife! The only thing that could make this day worse would be…

A morose Gruffi came back into the bedroom, as if on cue, and Gusto felt himself stiffen, ready for a row. He did not want to try making their relationship more intimate! Not now!

But Gruffi just pulled off his clothes in the darkness, too dark for Gusto to see anything, and then pulled on his nightgown without having to look for it, as if by rote, before he slumped down next to Gusto on top of the coverlet, almost rolling over on top of him!

"S'rry Gus, forgot you were here," he mumbled. "D'ya mind sharin'? Too tired to move…"

So Gruffi had been really busy at something after their conversation. Maybe cleaning up the city gates? Gusto couldn't ask about it anyways, as the bear in question was already snoring.

Well. This is awkward.

Gusto eventually relaxed down enough that he could sleep, but sleep was brief, for soon the Golden Dream returned with its mind pounding confusion and when he woke, startled into bright morning dawn, the bed next to him was empty.

And still he had that feeling, the dreadful exhausted and achy feeling deep in his bones. As if he hadn't slept at all!

It was going to be another, long draining day, and this time, he had no excuse. No broken kiln, and two projects now he had to complete; the clay pots and the canvas of Mandi for the gallery.

Somebody wake me up from this nightmare! A nightmare would be preferable actually, as long as I could get some sleep!

First things first. He was going back to his own home, Grammi and Zummi bedamned. He needed his canvases and his pots and his pottery wheel and all that distraction and no more lusty thoughts about the very warm and wonderful man who had slept, only slept, next to him that night.

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!