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“Father Tallie gives me creeps,” Gerard says.
Mikey gives him a nonchalant hum. He doesn't really care about Father Tallie, or whatever has been happening at the church for the past few weeks. He has been spending most of his free time freaking out because his brother literally has wings and he's not the only freak in the family now.
He hasn't told anyone about his powers, not even Gerard. Their parents would be angry: they don't like ‘mutants’, as Father Tallie calls them, and having a son who can get from his bed to the kitchen and back in a matter of seconds would cause a scandal.
And now it turns out Gerard has powers too, and all of a sudden everyone loves him. This just isn't fair.
“I’m serious,” Gerard says. “I know he hates my guts, but he's so fucking nice to me now, I hate it.”
“He’s always been a weirdo,” Mikey comments.
“Yeah, but not like that!”
“You can buy a knife and carry it with you to the church.”
Gerard shakes his head. “Something bad’s gonna happen,” he whispers. “I can feel it, Mikes.”
He used to say the same thing right before that fateful Sunday at the church. Mikey still has nightmares about his brother squirming on the church floor, screaming in pain as his body transforms, bloodied wings sprouting from his back as everyone watches in horrified silence.
Father Tallie declared him an angel the second the transformation was complete. Mikey is fairly sure angels of the Lord don't smoke weed, and they definitely don't suck seniors’ cocks at the school restroom, but who's going to believe a troubled kid?
They're safe now, Mikey reminds himself. Mom and Dad went to the neighbours, and they're alone now, sitting by the fireplace because Gerard didn't feel like going out, and Mikey, being a good little brother, stayed to keep him company.
“It's gonna be fine,” Mikey says. “And if Father Tallie turns out to be a total creep, you can always fly away.”
“I’m not sure I can,” Gerard mutters.
“They're big enough to hold your weight.”
It's strange: Mikey has been sure Gerard would want to test out his abilities as soon as he got the chance, but instead he only figured out how to hide his wings in the aether and stopped at that, and this is not like Gerard at all. Gerard Mikey knew all his life would've wanted to find out what else he could do.
“Doesn't matter,” Gerard stares at the fire. “I feel like a fucking freak.”
Mikey rolls his eyes. “Come on, at least everyone likes you.”
“That's the point! They don't like me, they just believe whatever bullshit Father Tallie tells them,” he huffs in frustration. “They wouldn't be so nice if I had any other ability.”
Never in his life has Mikey wanted to tell Gerard the truth so badly. He isn't even sure why he kept it a secret from him for so long: Gerard is accepting, he wouldn't disown him as a brother just because Mikey has powers.
And maybe what he needs right now is to know that he is not alone.
“Gee.” Well, here goes nothing. “I need to tell you something.”
Gerard gives him a worried look. “What happened?”
Mikey lets out a shaky breath. God, he's so scared.
“Okay, just… don't freak out, alright? Promise me you won't freak out.”
“Mikey, what's going on?!”
It's easier to show than tell, and so Mikey does just that: he blinks, and in the next moment he’s sitting on the kitchen floor, his throat tight with fear.
The house is silent. From his position Mikey can't see Gerard, and this makes it so much worse.
“Mikey?” Gerard's voice is shaky. “Mikey, where the hell are you?”
Mikey can't force himself to move. Gerard is clearly panicking now, and Mikey never wanted to scare his brother like this, but he just can't look him in the eyes right now, not when his heart is pounding somewhere in his throat.
“Over here,” he somehow manages to say. “In the kitchen.”
Gerard gets there in the matter of seconds. He's still pale, and his hands are shaking, and yet the first thing he says is: “Holy shit, this is so cool!”
Mikey doesn't know if he's going to laugh or cry.
He's saved by the sound of the front door opening. Gerard freezes, and all of a sudden he holds Mikey tight, and Mikey wants to protest but then he hears a voice that sends shivers down his spine: Father Tallie.
They're trapped. There is no way they can get out of the kitchen unnoticed, and it means Father Tallie is going to spend the whole night talking religious nonsense, and he’ll give Gerard an entire speech about how he shouldn't hide his wings, and then he'll most likely be a creep and ask to touch them — and Gerard hates it when people touch his wings, he barely lets Mikey help with preening, and that is only because he can't reach the scapulars himself.
“Gerard?” He hears Mom calling. “Gerard, sweetie, Father Tallie would like to have a word with you.”
Gerard whimpers. He actually whimpers, and all of a sudden Mikey knows what to do.
He grabs Gerard's wrist, closes his eyes and concentrates, and in the next moment they both land on the floor in Gerard's basement.
“I’ll tell them you're asleep,” Mikey whispers before Gerard can take a breath, and jumps back to the kitchen seconds before his mother comes in.
“Where's your brother?” is the first thing she says to him. Not even a “hello”, or even a “how're you doing?”, and he hates that ever since that Sunday he's become nothing but a useless addition to his God-chosen brother.
“He’s sleeping,” Mikey grumbles.
His mother frowns. “Then go wake him up, Father Tallie wanted to talk to him.”
“No.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Mikey crosses his arms on his chest. “He’s sleeping,” he says, looking her in the eyes. “He doesn't feel well, so he went to bed early. If Father Tallie wants to talk, he'll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Michael, this is more important than—”
“More important than what, Mom?” Mikey frowns. “Hate to break it to you, but Gerard is just as human as you or me, and Father Tallie is a freaking creep and I don't trust him.”
“Our son,” her voice trembles with anger, “your brother, has been chosen by God—”
“Holy fucking shit, can you even hear yourself?!”
“Language!”
“Holy. Fucking. Shit .” Mikey glares at her. “Nobody's a chosen one, Mom, you're being brainwashed!”
“Watch your tone, young man!”
Mikey doesn't notice when Father Tallie appears in the kitchen. He gives Mikey a soft smile, and he wants to spit in his face.
“It's alright, Donna,” he murmurs. “I will stop by in the morning.”
This seems to calm her down a little. She still gives Mikey a murderous glare, but doesn't say anything else, her attention focused on Father Tallie.
Mikey retreats to his room before another fight starts. He tries to listen to the conversation downstairs but the voices are too muffled for him to make out the words. It's probably about Gerard and his mission. It's always about Gerard these days.
He jumps to the basement some time later only to discover that Gerard is still up, worry clear on his face. He doesn't seem to be too startled by Mikey's sudden appearance, and Mikey isn't sure if he's relieved by this. His wings are out, spread on the floor, a giant mess of brown feathers.
“They want me to go to the church on Christmas Eve,” Gerard whispers. “To do the Midnight Mass with Father Tallie.”
“And?”
Gerard shrugs. “They're gonna touch my wings again,” he lets out a shaky sigh. “For a blessing or some shit. I can't do it anymore, Mikey, I just can't.”
Mikey sits on his bed and carefully touches the feathers. Gerard twitches but lets him do it, his mind occupied by something Mikey can't quite understand.
“I like it when you do it,” Gerard whispers.
“Yeah?”
He nods. “You're gentle. Like, they're sensitive, y'know, and it hurts when Father Tallie touches them, or the people at the church. They don't care how I feel.”
This can't go on like this, Mikey thinks. If Father Tallie carries on with all the cultist crap he's going to lose his brother: Gerard will either succumb and start believing in his own angelic nature, or he’ll just shut down completely to avoid the reality he’s in. Mikey isn’t sure which one is worse.
“We'll run away,” he whispers.
Gerard tilts his head. “And go where?”
“To Grandma. I'm sure she's gonna let us stay.”
They haven't seen Grandma in years, ever since their family moved here and their parents began attending the local church. Mikey has certain suspicions that Father Tallie and his apocalyptic ramblings were one of the reasons their parents cut Grandma out of their lives.
“Okay,” Gerard says. “Let's try this. When?”
“Next week. It’s gonna be January first, if we go early in the morning nobody will notice.”
He just hopes Gerard can last this week.
Gerard gives him a tiny nod and a smile, and Mikey hopes it's going to work out, that they will, in fact, leave this place together, and from that moment on everything will be alright.