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"Caught you," Gerard says quietly.
Mikey whirls around, clutching Mallory's reigns. Fuck.
Gerard's leaning against the stable door, his face in shadows. "You taking Mallory into the city now?" Gerard asks. "I don't think he'll like that."
"I'm not going to the city," Mikey says.
"Of course," Gerard says. "I mean, you're not allowed, right?" He sounds so flippant.
"I'm still allowed to go flying."
"Because I covered for you," Gerard says. "Why aren't you taking Samson?"
"I'm not going into the city," Mikey says. "I told you."
Samson is the only dragon he'd take to the city. She's currently asleep, and Mikey doesn't need her. He's not going to the city. Not because his parents forbid him sneaking out and going to the city on his own—"you're too young, Mikey"—but just because that's not his goal tonight.
"I'm not going to cover for you again," Gerard says. "No, 'but Mother, I needed to get something from this art store, Mikey was just picking it up for me; Mom, it was my idea to take Raleigh to the edge of town, don't punish Mikey.'"
Mikey lifts his shoulders, scowling at the mocking tone. Whatever, he doesn't need for Gerard to cover for him anymore. They banned him from going into the city after the last time he forgot himself and fell asleep at Gabe's place and didn't get back home till late afternoon. But they can't ban him from flying completely. They won't.
Mallory scoffs and pulls on his reigns.
"Go on, then," Gerard says. "Don't let me stop you."
Mikey frowns. "Then why are you even here?" He doesn't get it. Gerard's been acting weird for a while now, even though he's always on Mikey's side when it comes to their parents.
"Whatever," Gerard says. "You're not going into the city, fine. I believe you. Don't fall off and die. I'm going back to bed."
"Wait," Mikey says. "Gee, wait."
Gerard pauses, hand on the doorknob. "What?"
He sounds kind of angry. He sounds sad. Mikey could kick himself for not noticing before. He's supposed to be able to read Gerard better than anyone.
"Come with me," Mikey says.
Gerard turns back towards him. "What?"
"Come with me," Mikey says. "We'll go up to the mountains."
"It's dark," Gerard says. "It's cold."
"I have flashlights," Mikey says. "And Mallory likes flying at night."
Gerard shakes his head. "It's cold."
"It's May," Mikey says. "It is not cold. Come on. It'll be nice."
Gerard sighs and looks away. "You can go, you know," he says. "I'm not holding you back, you don't need to take me with."
"Shut up," Mikey says. "And come with me. I just—I need to get out of the house. Not away from you."
Gerard folds his arms, and looks down at the ground. Mallory pulls on the reigns again; Mikey shushes him.
"I'm sorry," Mikey says. "If I made it seem like that."
Gerard shakes his head. "Whatever. You're sixteen. I wouldn't blame you. I get it."
Mikey rolls his eyes. "Shut the fuck up," he says again. "And come with me. We'll be back before morning, we're not going far."
"I don't know," Gerard says, but he takes a step forward. "Sure you want me to?"
Mikey glares. "Go get your coat and scarf. I'll lead Mallory out."
Gerard shifts on his feet, still looking unsure, but then nods and heads off.
Mikey's got Mallory outside and ready to go when Gerard returns.
"Where are we going?" Gerard asks.
"The plateau on the edge of the East mountain. The one where you can see the sunrise."
Gerard grins at him, and Mikey realizes he hasn't done that in a while. No wonder things were weird. He promises himself to pay better attention to shit like that in the future.
"I brought my paints," Gerard says, holding them out to Mikey. "Just in case."
Mikey puts them in the side bag, securing it tight. Gerard watches him do so, hands in his pocket. Mikey thinks about hugging him, but Mallory is getting restless.
Mikey mounts Mallory easily and holds out his hand for Gerard. Gerard doesn't hesitate; he clasps it tightly and lets Mikey help him up.
Mikey's flown with many people recently, Gabe and Pete being the most common. There was that memorable time he took both of them up together and Pete almost fell off.
There's still nothing like having Gerard up there with him. It always reminds him of when they were small and Gerard was learning to ride—he never took to it as well as Mikey—and Mikey was sitting behind him, clinging to his brother, watching the ground go by and thinking about how far and how high they could go like this. He decided then that he was always going to fly, and he would always take Gerard with him.
Gerard wraps his arms around Mikey's waist, squeezing him tight once before relaxing his grip and just settling in.
Mallory flaps his wings twice before he takes off, as always, and he knows where to go. It's the only place Mikey would take him right now, in the dark. Mikey holds on to Mallory's reigns and trusts him to find his way. Gerard holds on tight to Mikey and trusts him.
It's a cloudy night, and it's so dark that Mikey could close his eyes and it would hardly make a difference. He doesn't, though. He doesn't ever close his eyes when flying.
Mallory lands easily, and Mikey takes out his flashlight. Gerard's still holding on to his waist, and Mikey nudges at his hands. Gerard often closes his eyes.
"Come on, Gee," Mikey says. He holds the flashlight up for Gerard, and Gerard sighs and dismounts. He almost slips on a stray patch of wet grass, but leans against Mallory and keeps his footing. Mikey follows him down and takes the side bag off Mallory.
They spread two blankets on the ground, on top of each other, and settle down. The ground is a bit cold, but it's not too bad. Gerard leans his head against Mikey's shoulder, maybe for warmth, maybe just for comfort. Maybe just because.
"This is nice," Gerard says. "Quiet. I missed this place."
"I missed you, too," Mikey says, and squeezes his hand, briefly.
They talk, and stay quiet, and listen to the sounds around them and to each other. The moon comes out behind the clouds at one point. Gerard makes a happy sound and Mikey feels light, so light. Free, but grounded and comfortable at the same time. Safe, but not trapped, nothing suffocating him. There's only him, and Gerard, and Mallory dozing off close by, and the moon and the whole world in front of them.
They sit and wait for the sun to come up.