“Away.” He whispers. He pulses his wings, moving forward quickly while the wind catches his hair and burns his cheeks and ears with its freezing hands.
Violet pats her hands on her apron. “Robin should be here soon and the food is almost done. You kids should wash up.”
Silver grinned, giving up on getting answers out of him–like he ever gave her answers???– and followed him, enjoying the opportunity to stretch her wings and feel the wind on her face. It was cold, biting and nipping her nose and her ears and her fingers, but it had been too long since she'd been able to fly in the open air under the sun and the sky. She lagged behind him, dipping and twisting, catching air currants and dancing with the wind.
"CAGE, ROBBY WILL BE HERE SOON." Miki shrieked, finishing the shower and gathering up the cleaning supplies to put away. "Text her and see how far away she is!"
Cage shrieks and finishes up the toilet, washes and dries his hands, then pulls out his phone to text her.
Two minutes pass and his breathing gets heavier. He starts to lower into the forest below, planting his feet on a strong, high branch. His wings flop to either side of the branch and he leans his bare back against the tree trunk.
"Hey, hey," Silver said, landing beside him and realizing how hard the flight would have been on him. "Gabriel, you're all cut up and bleeding and you just flew like three miles. Please tell me what's going on before you pass out."
Miki took the cleaners back to the laundry room and put them away. "Oh, please tell me Silver and Gabriel didn't disappear. Robby needs the full experience of our family. Just Vi and Cage and me are not enough for tonight."
Kissa leans over the railing. “IM not family??? hmmmm??”
Violet points towards the basement door, not bothering to look up from the soup. “Silver is downstairs. I’m sure Gabriel will show up.”
He sleepily stares into her eyes, blinking slowly. “I like to get away. To actually feel free and not caged.” He leans his head forward, looking down at his hands. “It’s not… uncommon to land on a- unm- branch too thin.” He runs a hand through his hair, peeking through a few strands to see her face.
Miki waved a hand at Kissa, not even looking at her. "YOU'RE the one I'm scared of Robby thinking is a good representation of our family. We need Gabe and Ben to balance you out."
Silver watched him, a slow smile spreading over her face.
He fell out of a tree.
He fell out of a tree.
She pressed her lips together to smother her grin and settled down beside him. "Yeah, this is nice. How… How often do you do this? Get away for a while?"
Daily
He sighs and leans back. “Often.”
He looks over the darkening, cold forest and sighs. “It’s nice here.”
Kissa sticks her tongue out at Miki, turning around and stomping back to her room. Violet stirs the soup.
“Remember to be relaxed. Robin is a guest but she’s kind and not judge mental.”
Silver smiled again and shifted closer lowering her head to rest on his shoulder–careful to not touch any of his bruises or cuts. "It is." She sighed and took in the trees and nature around them. "It's so beautiful."
Miki flung herself on the floor in the living room, closing her eyes. "Hmm, yeah. Relaxed. Got it. Man, I worked hard today. Cage, you better propose to this girl! I cleaned the whole house just for her."
Cage giggles, flopping down beside her. “Miki, I’m a freakin freak. Why would she marry me?” He laughs, taking the matter lightly, and gives Miki a small nudge.
Gabriel looks down to Sil and rubs her arm- not out of affection or anything at the moment, just because he noticed her new coat. He strokes it, looking intently. “Where did you get this? It’s so nice.”
"I don't know. You're pretty normal. Gabriel is a real freak and Sil's head over heels for him." She turned her head to survey him. "How long have you been together? Ten years? That girl knows about your powers and followed you to Spain. You better marry her, Cage, or I'll hit you."
"Oh!" Silver said, voice spiking with excitement. "Ben gave it to me! Last night. He said he got it made specially to fit me. Look, there are wing holes!"
He bites his lip, laying his head in the floor. “Okay.” He stares up at the ceiling. “I guess if Ben can get married, I can.”
Gabriel’s eyes widen and he swallows, feeling her excitement spike.
Geez, she’s a bomb.
He settles down again, giving her a faint smile as he examines the back. “Wow. He really went over and beyond for you, didn’t he?”
"See? Exactly. If Ben can do it then anyone can."
Silver nodded. "I was so blown away. It's so gorgeous and it fits and it's so cozy." She drew her hair over her shoulder and started combing the knots out with her fingers. "I'm never gonna take it off." She said, laughing and wrinkling her nose.
Cage giggles. “That is a horrible saying. Ben could burn your heart out, just your heart. I don’t think I can do that.”
He feels the hemming of the slits up the back. “In my home, all of our shirts were either backless or had slits like this. You would have liked the dresses, I think.” He pauses, moving his fingers to her feathers to gently stroke them. “Do you like dresses?” His scratchy voice is quiet and the wind around them picks up, whistling and catching up his hair.
"What? You don't think you could burn my heart out or you don't think you could get married?" Miki asked.
Silver rested her head on his shoulder again. "I don't know. Maybe. I can't remember if I've ever worn a dress. I can't imagine it would be very easy to fly in them. I do prefer backless clothes though. Every time I get new shirts the first thing I have to do is cut the back out and put buttons or a tie at the bottom. I'm surprised how comfortable these wing slits are."
Oh.
He’s quiet for a moment, still stroking her wing.
I guess I wouldn’t know if they’re comfortable. I’ve never worn one.
The last rays of the sun disappear behind treetops and hills, and the temperature drop as the stars begin to brighten.
He leans his cheek on her head.
“Is this bad?” He quietly whispers.
Cage stands up, straightening his shirt. “Burning hearts out obviously.” He smiles and offers his hand to Miki to help her up.
Silver's eyes flew open and she had to forcibly keep herself from moving and starting him. "What? Being out here? Of course not, there's nothing–" she paused, realizing he might have meant something else. "Do you mean being out here or… us? This?" She slowly reached out to his other hand, weaving her fingers through his.
Miki took his hand and climbed to her feet. "Right. Cuz you'd just freeze my heart out instead. Does Robby like cake? We need to make something sweet. Vi, can I make a cake for Robby?"
Us??
He doesn’t bother to take his hand away, and kind of just stares off into the night, brow furrowed.
“Us… being out here. I know nobody can see us, but would Ben…” his voice trails off, fading into thought.
Ben doesn’t really like me even touching her so that answers it.
“Why is Ben so protective of you?”
Violet pulls the pot off of the stove, setting it on a hot pad on the island. “Oh, sure! Would you like help with that or-“ her phone starts to ring and she picks it up from the counter, pressing it to her ear. “Benjamin?” She walks out to the back porch.
Cage sighs, “we're on our own.”
Silver sighed, deep and heavy, and didn't answer for a while.
"I think… I think Ben is scared. Of losing us. He's been through so much, even before getting captured and all. He finally has a home and a family and people he loves. I don't think he always knows how to show his love so he ends up seeming overprotective and controlling. I think he doesn't want anything to change. And when he sees us together all he can see is the potential for change and he doesn't like it." She squeezed his hand. "Ben loves us, Gabriel. He really does. He just has strange ways of expressing it."
"I DO know how to make cake." Miki said, marching into the kitchen and getting a mixing bowl out. "Because cake is essential to life. And if Ben is dead we'll definitely need it."
Cage holds in a giggle. “Miki, I’m actually worried about him.” His smile says otherwise.
Blinking, he listens, hearing the words but not really understanding most of the concept.
“You aren’t actually related, right? You’re just related to Miki.”
Sometimes it’s hard to remember.
"Sorry," Miki gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm worried about him too. Ben is super important. He can't die." she got out flour and sugar and other ingredients.
"No, we're not. So," she held up two fingers. "Cage and Ben are for real related blood brothers. Miki and I are for real relate blood sisters. And you and Kissa are for real related brother and sister. And now Violet is married to Ben. That's all the 'real' relations there are, but together we're a big family." she explained.
Gabriel nods, “oh. Alright.”
An icy breeze picks up and the sky is finally black enough that the only light is the stars and the moon.
He sighs.
And to think, two years ago I was ready to rat them out. Have them all brought back in.
Gabriel, you’re terrible. Why would you have considered that?
He inhales the cold air and presses his cheek down onto her head.
“Do you… d-do you think we’re safe? From each other?” His voice gets quieter and fades near the end.
Cage pulls some eggs from the fridge and sets a bowl on the counter. “If anyth-“
The doorbell rings and he freezes, turning to look at Miki with wide eyes. “Robby.” He whispers.
Silver frowned, trying to process his words. She couldn't have heard him correctly. "From each other? What do you mean, Gabe? Of course we are." As loathe as she was to move, she slowly tipped her head back just enough to look up at his face. "Gabriel, what's wrong?" she whispered, gazing into his beautiful purple eyes, barely visible in the darkness.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH" Miki let out a shriek, abandoning her cake making and tearing across the house toward the door. "ROBBY'S HERE GUUUUUUUUUUUYS."
He swallows, looking down to his hands. “Never mind.” He mumbles quietly.
Dont bother her with that.
Leave her be.
An owl hoots above them, and the wind whistles around them.
Of course we’re not safe.
Cage watches Miki, horrified. “You know she can hear you!?” He whispers loudly. “Okay how do I look??” He whispers again.
Kissa suddenly appears beside him. “Like trash. Cause that’s what you are.”
He smiles. “Thanks Kiss. You’re good at lightening the mood.” He heads to the door, biting his lip.
"Gabriel." Silver sat up to better look at him. "Gabriel, are you afraid you're going to hurt me?" Her voice was gentle, not condemning or fearful, just gently prodding to try and pry him open.
Miki scoffed at Kissa. "RUDE, he looks fine! Don't tell him he's trash! I'm the only trash in this house!" And with that she threw the door open and yelled "ROOOOBBYYYYYYYY!!!!"
Robin doesn’t flinch- she doesn’t even bat an eye. Her blonde hair is down and she has a small green beret on and a knee length red coat with buttons up the middle. Her socks almost meet the end of her coat and she wears small black shoes. She gives Miki a smile, showing her teeth. “Hello!” She greets quietly, pulling a hand from her pocket to give a small wave.
Cage shoves Miki’s face. “Geez, what did I say about volume?” He laughs. He turns to Robby and they exchange a rosy cheeked smiles. He pulls the door opens wider. “Come on in, Robby! Vi will be in soon and-“ He looks over Kissa, “- oh yeah. This is Kissa. She’s a vampire.”
Kissa hisses.
Gabriel doesn’t answer. He avoids eyes contact, looking off to the side of the tree at the forest ground.
He takes his arm from around her and sets his hands in his lap.
What if I did…?