Caged

As the light-haired doctor exited the room, Brian held Zacky tightly to his chest. The process of trimming an angel’s—or rather, an Aralaysian’s, in this case—might have come across as simple to the taller of the two, before now. The reality of the situation: The aftermath was absolutely horrid.

Seconds after Dr. Reinhart had left the pair alone in the room, Zacky had clung to Brian, frame trembling of panic and hurt. He hadn’t made a sound yet; that was, at least not until the older boy had begun murmuring tender, comforting words in his ear.

The moment that Brian had uttered the first ‘I’m sorry,’ the words coming as a gentle breath of air against Zacky’s neck, the angel had nuzzled his tear-drenched face into the crook of his boyfriend’s neck, allowing quieted, frightful sobs to fall from the swollen pair of lips that he had gnashed at so ruthlessly within the duration what Reinhart had called the “treatment”.

“Shh, shh…” were the only sounds that the taller of the two could seem to force from his lungs, now, as he wasn’t entirely sure what it was that he needed to say or do—if anything—to make Zacky feel even the slightest bit better.

The younger man’s wings looked terrible, though Brian would never have admitted this to his companion verbally. The stems where raw at the areas where they had been cut, it seemed, and small droplets of blood oozed from each of them and soaked into what remained of their fletches.

The massacred-and-re-stitched tips of the once beautiful limbs were exposed, the feathers surrounding the area now appearing ragged and uneven as their deathly crimson trickled along the bare skin and soaked through what whole feathers remained.

“Zacky, love, shh… It’s okay; it’ll all be okay…” Brian murmured gently, kindheartedly twisting the ends of the broken young boy’s hair around his fingertips: Always a sure way to calm him.

After a few moments, the charcoal-eyed, shorter man stole a few hiccups of oxygen, and forced his frighteningly darkened, onyx gaze to meet Brian’s milky chocolate one.

There wasn’t an extreme lot that the younger man could think to say, the rabid stream of thoughts and questions that trudged the course of his mind set aside; because, unfortunately, all of the thoughts were useless, and the questions required answers that the one and only person he trusted wasn’t in possession of.

However, as Brian’s calloused fingertips grazed the Aralaysian’s cheek, smearing away tears just as several times before, one contemplation arose—a simple query, one that the other man could answer for—and Zacky leaned forward, into his boyfriend’s careful touch, forcing the words to his lips.

“How—how bad is it..?” he near whispered, leading his taller companion to tilt his head slightly forward.

The younger man’s voice had barely come through as audible, and Brian hadn’t been able to make out his words. As he leaned his head slightly closer to Zacky’s, he gave a light sigh.

“What was that, Z?” he asked, his tone kind as he moved several matted together strands of hair from the angel’s coal eyes. When those eyes strayed toward the dusty floor of the cell once again, welling up rapidly wither tears, Brian was forced to swallow back a
rather large and swelling lump in his throat.

“H-How bad are they..?” the ashen skinned, innocent looking young man murmured, raising his voice slightly, which caused his smooth, tenor tone to crack. “My… my wings…”

That lump that the taller man had forced back moments ago returned, now, and
swelled quickly to three times its previous size. How was he supposed to respond?

Zacky’s wings were a mess—Zacky was a mess. But Brian couldn’t bring himself to state this to the fragile boy before him.

“Bri…” he sputtered when his boyfriend didn’t give a response for several moments. The tense silence informed him of all that he needed to know. “I-I…”

“I’m sorry.”—those were the words that had been about to fall from Zack’s lips helplessly. However, before his wavering voice could utter the last word, or even complete the first, distant shouting was heard in the distance. The voices were muffled, of course, unrecognizable—but definitely shouting.

Zacky winced slightly at this, not for a second feeling the need to find out what these new voices might have been fussing about. “I-I’m sorry.” he completed after a moment, all but collapsing into his partner’s chest. “I’m s-so sorry.”

If the mocha-eyed older boy had thought that his heart had been anywhere close to breaking earlier, it was nothing as compared to now. What in the world was Zack apologizing to him for?

“Zacky, baby, no...” Brian half cooed, half whimpered, securing his archangel tightly within the confines of his strong arms. “What are you apologizing for? This is—“

“My fault.” the younger murmured, hiding his face beneath Brian’s shoulder. “I’m… I’m a… f-f—“

Immediately, the larger of the two clutched Zacky’s flushed, twisted up face between his palms, silencing his lover with a swift, loving kiss. The more petite man returned the gesture, though it came across as rather lifeless compared to their previous kisses.

“You. Are. Not. A. Freak.” Brian spoke quietly, forcing Zack’s gaze to his own in a not-so-
forceful way.

A slight of a whimper escaped the frightened younger man’s lungs whilst he shook his head slowly. As Brian was about to speak again, though, the couple’s conversation was cut short by a frantic pounding at the metal barrier of a door, and—thankfully—a very familiar voice.

“Zacky? Brian? Are you two in there?!” called a frantic, high pitched voice that each of
the boys recognized instantly as their friend, Jimmy’s.

Pushing himself off of the ground and helping the shorter man to his feet as he stood, Brian’s eyes widened, an ear-splitting grin crossing his features.

“Yeah, Sully!” he cried out, hobbling toward the door with Zack hanging off of his right side. At once, Brian realized that Dr. Reinhart had never—or at least it seemed that he had never—re-locked the gate blocking their path to the outside world. If only they’d realized this in the first place. “Yeah, it’s open!”

Seconds later, a very hurried “Reverend” darted past a very open door, slamming that door behind him moments later and backing his slender form against it.

“Jim, how’d you—“ Brian began, shaking his head as he shifted Zacky’s limping weight in his arms so that he was able to support him more comfortably. Wait, the sable-eyed
male thought abruptly, he’s limping?

The older boy shook his head, deciding that he’d address his boyfriend about this later; for now, he would simply support him as much as possible, keep him out of the unnecessary and avoidable portions of the pain he was in.

“Matt… well, don’t worry about him, we just needed to know that you guys were okay… so are you?” the crystal eyed boy muttered, holding the door shut as someone seemed to push against it. It was a struggle; Jimmy had muscle, but he was nothing more than a twig compared to the guards that had been posted at this cell.

A brief moment later, something that must’ve come from the hallway created yet another interruption, one which came in the form of a loud thud. Not seconds post, there were a several more anxious raps at the thick metal.

“Jimmy, let me in, hurry!” Matt’s gruff baritone rang out from the other side of the thick barrier. Jimmy nodded, swiftly swinging the door open so that Matt could slip into the
cell to join the three of them. The largest man then took on the position of bracing the door, now, keeping it closed.

“God, that took enough work, huh?” he grinned toward his lanky best friend, giving a worn-out huff.

“Nah, only a couple of hours worth, y’know… No big deal.” Jimmy smirked, turning toward his two stunned friends and enveloping the both of them in a tight bear hug.

Brian smiled faintly, giving a few stunned blinks before disbelievingly winding his free arm around the ocean-eyed man. “Oh God, you two… you’re probably going to get arrested.”

“We decided that we don’t give a damn anymore, Bri. Sure, we’re scared too, but that’s no excuse to leave a couple of good friends behind.” Matt spoke out, and in that moment he sounded like a true leader.

Now, Zacky smiled too, and this made Brian’s smile to widen much, much further. “You guys are the best…” the youngest man spoke, as he too wound an arm around Jimmy’s shoulders.

At the angel’s soft words, Matt glanced up, past Jimmy’s towering form. “Hey, Z! How’re you feeling, have these numbskulls kept you here this entire time?” he beamed, obviously oblivious to the wounds on the Aralaysian’s wings and the darkened feathers lying in what seemed to be an oh-so-obvious pile on the floor.

The now slightly lighter eyed man’s smile dulled somewhat as he nodded, emitting a heavy sigh. “Yeah, unfortunately…” he spoke quietly, leading the eldest of member of the small group to pull away from the young couple, eyes bewildered and curious. “What the hell do they even want with you, man?” he asked bluntly—a very typically Jimmy way of going about approaching the situation.

“Well, we don’t know… not exactly, anyway…” Brian spoke for Zacky when the smaller man’s head fell against his shoulder and his eyes fluidly closed.

“Wait, wha—“ Jimmy began again, very obviously having sobered up now, and returned to his crude, blatant attitude.

“Jim, shut up. Are you alright, Zacky?” the bulkier boy questioned cautiously, holding his place against the door as the incessant pounding continued. The hazel-eyed man ignored it as best he could.

Zacky gave a gentle shake of his head, figuring that, for once in his life, it wouldn’t hurt anyone for him to be truthful about his feelings.

Matt gave a gentle sigh before shooting Sullivan a glance that clearly said “You better keep quiet, or I will slap you into next Sunday.”

The largest member of their group was extremely respectful toward others’ emotions, Brian had noticed, and the odd couple truly appreciated this, since Jimmy so obviously wasn’t.

“What happened, you guys..?” Jimmy asked, seemingly as caringly as he could manage, as he took a few steps backward to gaze at the two men standing before him. Brian, all the while, embraced Zacky lovingly as the younger man’s earlier insecurities returned.

“Baby, shh…” the spike-haired 18-year-old whispered as Zack’s inked chest began to heave once again.

Matt and Jimmy stared toward each other, their eyes uttering bewilderment and shock as they each bit down on their lower lips. Had Matt been wrong in his assumptions that the officers wouldn’t dare to harm the smallest man?

Clinging to his love, Zacky allowed the older man to console him as silent tears began strolling over his paled cheeks.

“Brian, what happened..?” Jimmy asked cautiously, observing the way the angelic boy didn’t seem to want to adhere to or even look at anyone but the older, sable-eyed one holding him close—he resembled a small child, in that moment. Then again, the eldest man thought, he’d always possessed a sort of child-like quality.

“They… well, they—“ the darker skinned man murmured, attempting to find a way to explain the problem to their friends that didn’t sound utterly brutal, although the situation appeased exactly this description.

After a moment of listening to his boyfriend stammer about nervously, Zack pulled back from Brian slightly, just enough to turn his gaze on Jimmy.

Then resting his cheek against Brian’s chest, the angel sighed. “They clipped my wings… and d-did it wrong.” he murmured, cautious voice barely audible once again. Jimmy raised an eyebrow.

“They did what now..?” he muttered, not quite understanding Zacky’s explanation. The youngest sighed, significantly heavier, now, and again released the tight embrace he had on Brian to reach back and pull one of his mangled wings around for their lanky friend to see.

Immediately, both Jimmy and Matt’s eyes widened, carefully examining the abrupt alterations that had been made to the emerald-eyed boy’s wings.

“Oh my—“ Matt muttered, trailing off as a jolt of painful regret surged though his veins at having told Brian that he was sure Zack wouldn’t be harmed. As the stocky man’s eyes drew toward the floor, he noticed, now, the pools of threatening crimson, coagulated over the cement by this point. “Shit…”

“I think wrong is a slight understatement… it’s still bleeding, Z.” Jimmy murmured, reaching forward to brush his index finger over the feathers’ severed ends.

Zacky flinched away, dropping his wing and allowing it to drop behind his back with a distinct lack a grace whilst fearful tears came to his eyes. This had been the first time that he himself had caught a glimpse of the new condition of his once beautiful wings, and now that he knew how badly they truly appeared…

Jimmy bit down on his lower lip awkwardly and quickly withdrew his hand as he noted the dreadfully obvious moisture that had appeared in the Aralaysian’s eyes. His heart instantaneously twisted into thick knots at gazing into the rapidly dimming colors of the shorter man’s irises: Jaded amber, to dusty gold, to deep gray—al in a matter of seconds.

“Hey, Z, don’t… don’t do that…” the Sullivan boy murmured, hating the sight of
anyone crying, let alone one of his close—and rather beautiful, he had to admit—friends. It was a wonder that he hadn’t up and bolted out of the front doors of the station as Brian had broken down in the hallway adjacent to the one containing Zack’s cell.

Matt shook his head and pushed to his feet, moving away from the door as the violent pounding had ceased little over 5 minutes ago.

Brian stepped forward to take his boyfriend’s trembling hand in his own once again, as the hazel-eyed boy placed a reassuring hand on each of their shoulders. Jimmy simply stood, awkward, once again, as he had never been extremely talented when it came to consoling others.

“Zacky, we’ll get you out of here, alright?” Matt spoke softly, giving the smaller man’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. The younger nodded; somehow—by natural instinct, he assumed—he trusted the words far more when they came from Brian’s lips.

I—uhm… I think I’ll watch the, uh, door.” Sullivan muttered, nodding toward Zack slightly.

As the eldest young man turned toward the cell’s barrier, though, that duty seemed to be quickly proved invalid.

The door swung open, causing Jimmy to jump back, startled. All eyes darted, fearful, toward the entrance, expecting a violent stream of policeman, just as had occurred at the Haner household.

In any case, what strode through the door fell far short of expectations: Two men, dressed in white coats and dress shirts. To Zacky, though, these men were far more terrifying than the officers who had tied him up and brought him here.

Dr. Reinhart and the man that must have been Dr. Brooke stood before them, each with a too polite smile fixed onto their face. This, Brian thought, was why everyone hated the doctor’s office.

“Hello… all of you?” Reinhart spoke in an odd tone as he eyed the four young men
over. The other, shorter man standing beside him raised an eyebrow, his smile fading slightly.

The younger-looking doctor recalled the petite, divine creature begging and begging, virtually until his throat had gone raw and his face had turned an eerie shade of blue, for them to just let him see his boyfriend—Brian, the boy was called—and having to tell him no, over and over again. As his eyes scanned the men, curious as to how they had so easily made their way into the room, he noticed the angel inching closer and closer to the boy with black-lined eyes, spiked up hair, and prominent, angular features.

After a moment, as Reinhart went on speaking, the divine boy simply stepped into the other’s arms, quickly and willingly being enveloped in the older’s embrace.

“Well, anyhow, I suppose we should get to business.” the older official spoke, clasping his hands before him as though he were about to give fantastic news. “First of all, Zack, Dr. Brooke here would like to apologize for earlier’s happenings. So, Doctor..?”

Zacky shook his head slightly, giving a weak, forced smile as he held himself tightly against Brian, turning his head to face the more juvenile, cocky doctor.

Dr. Brooke nodded, stepping toward the couple as he replaced the smile on his squared face.

“Yes, I do need to apologize for my actions and the way that I treated you earlier… there was no reason for that. I’m sorry that I injured you.” he spoke, his expression seeming to take on a sort of mock sincerity that Brian sensed immediately. His, again, too polite smile never quite touched his sky-blue eyes, which seemed all too critical to be engaging in something as giving an apology.

Brian’s heart thudded anxiously in his chest as he, too, incredulously stared at this Dr. Brooke, anger flaring in his midnight eyes. How could he be taking these things, the
horrible things that he’d done to Zacky, so casually?

Again, all that the frightened angel gave in response to the doctor was a sharp nod before he burrowed his face into the fabric of his lover’s shirt for the umpteenth time. And, like every time before now, Brian held the younger man close, breaking his constant sneer
toward the new man, kissing Zacky’s tangled hair over and over again.

After a moment, as Dr. Reinhart placed a finalizing hand on his shoulder, Brooke retreated, slightly shocked at the dagger-like glare that the taller, darker skinned young man
had shot him.

“Second of all,” the elder doctor sighed, “we’ve some news for you—unfortunately, you’ll be staying here.”

Brian hectically shook his head at the official’s words, opening his mouth to speak his mind—however, clearly seeing that his friend was angry with the men standing before them, Matt spoke for him, wanting to keep the atmosphere calm.

“Hey, no way. You can’t keep him here without him having done something wrong.” the stockier young man spoke, shooting the more matured doctor an extremely incredulous glance.

Reinhart gave a heavy sigh as his eyes snapped to this new boy’s, as he too had noticed the bite in the one named Brian’s eyes. He understood as well that it wouldn’t have been any sort of idea to push the young man’s irritation further than it had extended already.

“That much, you’re correct on, son, but I’m afraid…” Dr. Reinhart spoke cautiously, his words carrying into the silence mid-sentence. Brian’s sneer intensified.

“What?” Brian spoke quietly, his brown eyes glazed over with hatred as he held Zack close to him. “He has to stay here because he needs to be controlled, right? Because people may be interested in his background?”

The aggravated 18-year-old hadn’t meant by any means to frighten—or worse, offend—his boyfriend with the words, his pushed anger; in all honesty, though, if he didn’t risk those things in doing so, he’d have lashed out at the two men on the spot.

Brian expected to receive warning glances from his friends, but again—like when they’d seen Zacky’s sort-of repaired wings—Jimmy and Matt simply stood, dumbfounded, with expressions conveying utter awe frozen onto their faces. All that the spike-haired man received was a definite tightening of Zack’s arms around his torso and a quick, sweet peck to the jaw by sterling-graced lips—as if the shorter man were thanking Brian for speaking out on his behalf.

The youngest had always known his partner to be far stronger than he was—perhaps it was due to all of the easily disheartening situations that he had endured. Of course, Brian still fought with his past at times, but it was crystal clear to Zacky that the older would never have allowed it to case a haze over their relationship. Giving the gentlest of smiles, the angel laid his cheek just over his boyfriend’s heart, resting there as their embrace became more and more secure.

The expression on each doctor’s face so obviously resembled uneasiness, as the both of them knew good and well that what the protective teen had just accused them of had been exactly the reasons that the pair of them, as well as several other city officials, had spent nearly two and a half hours mulling ideas over in a soundproofed room.

And so, when neither of the two said a word in reply to Brian, he continued. “I’m exactly right, aren’t I? For hell’s sake, what do we have to do to get you people to just let us go home?”

Despite the obvious irritation with the uniformed officials before him, the midnight eyed male’s voice cracked just slightly, wavering at the last word. What had the four of them done to be landed here in the first place?

“There are rules… stipulations that must be carried out, and—“ Dr. Brooke began, gesturing about with his hands in an odd manner. Jimmy raised an eyebrow.

“And these rules can’t possibly be carried out while the two of them are in the privacy of their home and not under a goddamned microscope every second of every day? What kind of BS is that?” the eldest of the four boys spoke blatantly, just as always.

Now, Brian’s brow furrowed; he was pleasantly surprised by Jimmy’s sudden epiphany. Not that the Sullivan kid wasn’t smart, he was simply never serious, by anyone’s standards.

“Hey now, Jimmy’s right.” Matt piped up, finding that deep bass voice of his once again.

Just as before, Brooke and Reinhart gazed blankly at the quartet that stood before them, whom appeared confident, now, realizing at once that they were all much smarter than they appeared.

“Well, we—it’s not…” the younger, darker haired figure attempted, turning to his elder colleague, seemingly unable to find a response to Jimmy’s inquiry.

Dr. Reinhart’s thought process seemed in no better condition than Brooke’s. “Well, I suppose… it’d be… possible.” he choked out, disbelievingly pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

Brian let go a grin wide enough to cover all of Huntington, turning his head to tenderly kiss his companion’s temple. “Good,” he spoke as he snapped his gaze back to the two exasperated men, “then tell us what we’re going to be expected to do.”