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“So you’re not coming?” Gabe stared at Warren from his seat on the floor of the other boy’s massive bedroom. Warren didn’t lift his head from the LEGO set. “Is it a family thing?”
“No, I just…” Warren picked up a businessman figure, holding it in his cupped hand and staring into its smiling face.
“I made it a pool party for you.”
“I… don’t like swimming anymore.” The words were soft, almost inaudible.
“Why?” Gabe’s face creased with concern, and he slid closer to Warren. “Did something happen?”
Warren leaned away. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” Gabe pressed, extending a hand toward Warren’s hoodie-clad shoulder.
Warren ducked away and got to his feet. “Can we just leave it?”
“All right,” Gabe said after a moment of hesitation. “You don’t have to tell me. But…” He stood too and reached for Warren again. “I am going to give you a hug.”
“No—wait—” Warren dodged away, but Gabe grinned and followed.
“Warren Worthington III, you are going to let me hug you, because you are sad and you need it.”
“It’s okay—you don’t—” The words were cut off abruptly as Gabe backed Warren into a corner and flung his arms around him.
Warren was tense and unmoving as Gabe’s hands pressed against his back, sinking into something soft with a rigid edge. “What…”
His arms dropped without resistance as Warren struggled free and turned his back, shoulders heaving.
“What is that?” Gabe asked, staring at him, hunting for an outline under the baggy garment.
“It’s nothing.” There was a hitch in Warren’s voice. Gabe took a step toward him, but Warren flinched away, turning his back to the wall. “Just… forget about it, okay?”
“Warr.” Gabe sought his friend’s eyes, voice gentle. “Can’t you just tell me what’s going on?”
Finally Warren’s gaze lifted, the green eyes hesitantly meeting the brown. “Will you… promise not to tell anyone?”
“Of course!” Gabe crossed his heart solemnly, and Warren’s lips actually quirked up in the briefest smile. Then, slowly, he slid his arms out of his hoodie, pulling it over his head. A t-shirt came next, then a tight tank top, and then he stood shirtless before Gabe, hunched in on himself, arms crossed over his chest. Fear was inscribed on his face, leading Gabe to say, “Hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to…”
But then Warren turned around. White feathers covered his back, and after a moment Gabe realized that they were wings, strapped down as close to Warren’s body as they could get. “You’re one of them,” he whispered with awe, and Warren twisted his head back to look at him.
“My dad’s working on a cure. For me, and everybody else.”
“But… don’t you think it’s awesome? Can you fly?!”
“I don’t know. I don’t care. I just want…” Warren turned away and quickly resumed each of his layers, until the shape of the wings was no longer distinguishable.
“I’ll change my party,” Gabe offered. “No swimming. It’ll be… laser tag.”
Warren didn’t answer. His back was still turned, and Gabe stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him from behind. Even under three layers, he could feel the wings trembling against his chest.
_
Breaking from a kiss, Warren’s hands sliding up his back, Gabe lifted his arms so Warren could pull his shirt over his head. As it crumpled to the floor Gabe sank his hands into Warren’s blond hair and leaned in to reunite their lips. One hand strayed down to Warren’s neck, tracing the line of his collar. His fingertips crept lower on the bare skin, until they brushed against one soft feather.
Warren was suddenly three feet away, leaving Gabe with his arms suspended in the air. “What are you doing?” Warren stared at him, panting.
“I’m sorry.” Gabe cast his eyes to the floor. “I’m sorry. They’re just…”
“Dad almost has the cure ready.” Warren turned to gaze out at the city lights gleaming beyond the window. “Within the next few months…”
“I’m sorry,” Gabe said again, softly. After a moment he stepped up to tentatively take Warren’s hand. He squeezed it, saying nothing more, and Warren didn’t speak either, but very lightly squeezed back.
_
The angled table loomed in the center of the room as Gabe followed Warren inside. He gave a curt nod to Warren’s father and then stood back, arms folded, as Warren II reassured his son that it would all be over soon. Warren stripped down and then took his place against the table, Gabe hovering nearby as two nurses cuffed Warren in place. “What’s that for?” Gabe asked, looking from the nurses to the doctor to Warren’s father.
“Just a precaution,” Warren II reassured. “Right, son?”
“Sure, yeah.” The nurses fell away, leaving Warren looking like a prisoner with the manacles added to the straps already crossing his chest. Gabe stepped up next to him, just close enough for their arms to brush.
“The transformation can be a little jarring,” the doctor warned, and Gabe looked at Warren, but Warren stared fixedly ahead, giving the slightest nod. She stepped forward, brandishing the gun-like syringe, and Gabe couldn’t help putting a hand on Warren’s shoulder, clenching it tight as the needle lowered toward his arm.
“Wait.” The syringe froze, and all eyes turned to Warren, who looked up at Gabe for a moment before shifting his gaze to his father. “I can’t do this.”
“Warren, calm down,” his father directed.
“No, I can’t do this.” Warren twisted against the restraints, and Gabe moved to unfasten one.
“Yes, you can,” Warren II said, more emphatically, leveling a glare at Gabe. “Just relax, son.”
“No—I can’t do this!” As Warren struggled harder, Gabe yanked the restraint open, and Warren used his free hand to undo the other himself. Everyone stepped back as Warren leapt away from the table. He met Gabe’s eyes and then grabbed his hand, tugging him toward the door, and they dashed together down the hallway, through another door and up a flight of stairs until they burst out onto the roof.
“I tried flying,” Warren said, breathing hard, spinning to face Gabe, grasping his other hand. “Last week. And it was…” He looked out across the city. “Well, maybe I should let you find out for yourself?”
Gabe grinned at Warren’s muscled form. “You’ve been hiding more than just feathers.” He gently freed one hand to begin undoing the straps, and Warren worked at it with him until the restraints dropped away. As the wings unfurled, Gabe couldn’t help staring. “They’re gorgeous. Just like I always knew they would be.”
Warren reddened and dropped his eyes, but he was smiling too. Gabe leaned forward to kiss him quickly, and then Warren lifted him in his arms. Gabe clasped his hands around Warren’s neck, and as voices and footsteps sounded on the stairs, Warren’s wings swooped down to propel them into the air, leaving everyone else behind.