[color=a36209]"Any time,"[/color] Faolan answered after their kiss, smiling down at Lucien. Looking at him now, it was as if the world had melted away around them. All he wanted was for the two of them to spend the night in each other's arms, for Lucien to forget his worries and for Aurel to sleep soundly until the morning, all three of them without a care in the world.

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Faolan got his wish, it turned out. Over the next weeks, the trio completed their work on the homestead and took their leave. Before they moved on, the Irishman even managed to procure a small rinky-dink trailer for Aurel, which they attached to the back of their own travelling home. This worked for a while, but it turned out that the engine in the trailer was not as strong as they had all hoped, and gave out over the next year of driving it. 

After this, Faolan searched for and eventually found a suitable replacement in an old stripped-out bus. The trio had to camp in one spot for several months, the longest they had stayed put anywhere, before the bus was workable as a home. Faolan used every trick he knew, every mechanical feat he could muster, to build his own small living space inside of the vehicle. When he was done, it drove well and was more than comfortable for himself and Lucien. Aurel remained with them during this time as well and shared no wish of leaving or making his own way. He seemed perfectly content in the company of the two men, and they were happy with his as well. They kept his small trailer, for he did not require that much space either, despite the fact that he had attracted the friendship of a new, much larger serpent during their stay.

Once their living accommodations were up-to-snuff, they hit the road again. Lucien had made some friends and contacts in town and was a little sad to say goodbye, but Faolan was anxious to get back to their old safer way of life. While the addition of Aurel had at first given the Irishman pause when it came to the growth of his and Lucien's relationship, it had done nothing but blossom since he joined. Having someone around to care for, to watch out for and teach had caused the two to grow closer than ever before, and Faolan could say he had never been happier. Even though he was plagued by monthly errands which sometimes left him too weak to even stand up then following morning, he did his best to return to Lucien and Aurel as soon as he could, and often found a warm bed, plate of supper, and sweet desserts awaiting him upon his return.

Over the next four years, Lucien had managed his dream of seeing all of the United States. After this, the trio took to a more sporadic approach. Sometimes they spent a little longer on the road and less time near town, and sometimes vice versa. They didn't really have a plan, which was how the three of them liked it, and this worked very well for a long time.

One afternoon in late spring, they were driving along a winding road on the East Cost, somewhere south of New York. Faolan was behind the wheel, as usual, and Aurel was in the passenger seat drawing the landscape. The bus was loud and jerky and a little on the slower side, but the engine was strong and true, especially after Faolan had made some modifications to it. As they approached a crossroads ahead, Faolan slowly came to a stop and glanced over at the boy next to him. [color=a36209]"So...which way?"[/color] he asked, half-smiling. This was a game that the two had devised after Lucien had traveled the country, and Faolan enjoyed including Aurel in whatever small decisions he could.