Disclaimer and A/N in part one.

When Casey had removed his shirt, Zeke had wondered why. The
statement from Casey hadn't explained anything. Then Casey had sat
there, and smiled.

He had almost expected music to play in the background, then
something happened. With a whispery sound, like old papers rubbing
together, white spread out from behind the pale boy.

At first, Zeke didn't comprehend what he saw. Then Casey flexed his
shoulders, and the giant fans of white spread out.

Wings.

Fucking giant wings. Once they were unfurled, they had to be about
twenty feet across. Two huge streaks of white, arching up from
Casey's thin shoulders.

There was a clatter as the gun fell. Casey winced; half-afraid it
would go off. Most of his attention was focused on Zeke. It was
interesting to see that stunned look on someone else. He stood, wings
pulling close, and moved towards Zeke, who was far paler than Casey
liked.

"Zeke?"

Brown eyes, larger than Casey had ever seen them, shifted from the
wings to his face. "H.... How?"

"My dad."

Zeke frowned. "That's not an answer," he said. His hands twitched,
and Casey smiled. This part was familiar as well.

Turning slightly, he stretched out one wing. "Would you like to touch
it?"

Zeke, of course, wouldn't be Zeke if he didn't make some kind of
smart ass comment. "Last time you said that, you weren't talking
about a wing."

With his wings out, Casey felt a lot more confident. "If I remember
right, Zeke, I'm not the one who said that."

"Jackass."

Ignoring the name, Casey watched Zeke. The look on the other man's
face made Casey smile, and the fingers running through his feathers
made him shiver. Not wanting to scare the other man by pouncing him,
Casey concentrated on Zeke's face.

A week ago, Casey would have never guessed that Zeke could make such
a childlike expression. The sheer delight was adorable. Once again,
not something Casey would have associated with Zeke.

"Case?" Zeke brushed his cheek against the feathers.

"Yah?"

"Sorry."

It was partially instinct, partial protective. Casey turned to face
Zeke, his wings curling around the older boy. "It's okay, Zeke. I
knew what might happen, but I had to tell you. This was something too
big to hide."

Zeke nuzzled the feathers again, loving the way they felt against his
skin. Then he leaned forward, resting his head on Casey's bared
chest. "Still sorry. I'll try to listen next time."

This was a day of the unexpected. Casey tried to remember if he had
ever heard Zeke apologize to anyone and actually mean it. Unable to
come up with any, he just leaned down and pressed a kiss against
Zeke's shoulder.

"Come on," he said, pulling Zeke up. "Let's get you fed." Turning, he
reached for his shirt. "Give me a sec."

"How are you going to wear it? Your wings...?"

"They go away."

"But...." Zeke felt stupid. He was nineteen, and had helped kill an
alien queen. He should not fell so sad that Casey was going to put
his wings away.

Something about that thought was vaguely perverted, and Zeke found
himself pondering it. So deeply that it took Casey shaking his
shoulders to snap him out of it.

Concerned eyes looked at Zeke. "Maybe you should lie down for a
while, before we eat."

"Can you sleep with these out?" Zeke's hand caressed the arch of
Casey's wing, and Casey shivered. That felt really, really good.

"It takes a bit of adjusting, but, yah, I can."

"Lay down with me?"

"Sure. I could use a nap. Remember, I look like shit."

"Never look like shit," Zeke said, convincingly forgetting he had told
Casey he did earlier. Instead, he nuzzled the dark hair on Casey's
head.

"Sle.... Sleep, Zeke." Casey gasped as the warm lips moved to his
neck. "Either you need to sleep. Or food."

Zeke's wicked grin made Casey's knees go weak. "I need protein," he
purred, pushing Casey towards the bed. "Lots of protein."

"Oooh," was Casey's only reply.

***

Moonlight painted the room when Zeke woke up. For one, heart-stopping
instant, Zeke thought he had dreamed Casey. That the younger man
really had been killed by Marybeth.

The heavy, warm weight that draped over him rustled, and white
reflected silver. It was one of Casey's wings.

These were why he had abandoned Casey.

A sad smile crossed his face, and Zeke ran his fingers through he
soft feathers. He felt like a complete asshole.

Casey had lost everyone he had ever known, except Zeke. And Zeke had
bolted.

Because of these beautiful feathers.

That made Zeke feel like shit. With all the crap Casey had put up
with, he didn't need what Zeke had dumped. Hell, if Zeke had been in
Casey's place, he would have flown away.

His breath caught in his throat.

Could Casey fly?

There were definitely strange muscles in Casey's back, Zeke had felt
them shift. Maybe there were other adaptations he didn't know about.

What was Casey's real father like? Zeke had seen Casey's adoptive
father once. The man had been yelling about something, and Zeke had
wondered if every guy in the kid's life was a dickhead. Then two of
his best clients had shown up, and Zeke had promptly forgotten Casey.

Zeke had never known Casey was adopted, or that his mom had gotten
pregnant before she had gotten married. Made him wonder what else he
didn't know. He resolved to find out.

If there was one thing Zeke hated, it was a mystery.

***

He was going to dump the soup over his lover's head. He swore he was.

"Damnit, Zeke, I'm not here, stop that, to be played, I said stop, with
like a, don't make me dump this on you, new toy." Casey glared at
Zeke, turning so his body was between Zeke and his wings. If it
hadn't been for Zeke's pleading, he would have let them vanish
already, but that soft voice had won him over.

Now Zeke was poking at him, and Casey did not enjoy feeling like a
science experiment. Still, the look of pure joy on Zeke's face kept
him from losing it.

Shoving the bowl of soup at Zeke, Casey forced the other boy to take
it. "Eat. Now."

Zeke looked at the bowl, actually seeing it for the first time.
Inhaling, his stomach grumbled as drool-worthy smells washed over
him. Grabbing a spoon, Zeke looked at Casey. "Talk to me, please?"

"About what? What would Zeke the Rebel like to hear?" Casey's sarcasm
was heavy. Zeke was getting good at ignoring it.

"I don't know. How about your real dad? Ever meet him?"

"Once." Casey's eyes got a far away look, and a small smile ghosted
over his lips.

"I was six, I think. Dad had yelled at me, again, and I was upstairs.
Crying. I wasn't upset, I was pissed. Who did this guy think he was?
My father?

Anyway, I made several wishes on how I wanted to see my real dad. My
mom never talked about him, just that the guy she married wasn't my
real dad. Anyone with eyes could see that."

He felt a little guilty. He shouldn't speak ill of the dead. Shaking
off the feeling, he continued.

"All at once, there was this blinding light, and when I opened my
eyes, I was in the middle of a forest. That scared me, but this guy
stepped out of the woods and smiled. I knew who he was. He looked a
lot like me, only with dark eyes.

He smiled, and he said 'Hello, Casey. You may not know who I am, but
I'm your father.'"

Casey laughed. "I was a smart ass, even as a little kid. I told
him 'No, duh. That's why we look alike.'"

An image popped into Zeke's head. Casey, as a little kid, rolling his
eyes, which were even larger than they were now, at a larger version
of himself. He kept himself from laughing by sheer will. Still, it
was close.

Manfully ignoring the stifled sniggers, except for an absent "you're
suppose to be eating," Casey continued.

"Then he looked serious.'We're in the middle of a great war,' he
told me.'And I wanted to see you if anything happened.' He knelt in
front of me. 'Have you ever wanted to fly, Casey?' Not waiting for me
to answer, he arched back, and these beautiful wings just grew. Right
there, from his back."

Zeke stopped even pretending to eat, and watched Casey. His face was
full of wonder, and Zeke had the feeling Casey was seeing the whole
thing again. If he had been wearing the same expression when he had
seen Casey's wings, no wonder the kid had laughed.

"Then he picked me up, and laughed, and said 'Let's go flying.' And
we did.

We flew above the trees, and he pointed out something in the sky that
let me know I wasn't on Earth anymore."

Wait? Casey had been off Earth? That was news to Zeke.

"The moon was there, only it had a giant eye carved in it. And on the
other side was this giant blue thing. My father called it the 'Mystic
Moon.' Said that's where I came from."

Now Casey's eyes were dancing as he looked at Zeke. "Then he showed
me how to fly. That was the best night of my life." Then the pale boy
blushed. "Till last night, anyway." That last part was said rather
quickly.

"I woke up in my room. Dad said it was a dream, Mom didn't say
anything. When I was ten, she gave me a book. A journal my real dad
had left."

With a shrug, Casey leaned over and pushed the bowl closer to
Zeke. "Eat. Journal's in the car. I always carried it with me. A
reminder that worse came to worse, I can always fly away."

Pushing himself to his feet, Casey grinned. "Eat. There's more on the
stove. I'll be back in a few."

Slurping down some really mushy noodles, Zeke looked at Casey,
eyebrows lifted in question.

"If these," Casey twitched his wings. "Are going to stay out, I need
to change some shirts so I can wear them."

"What," smirked Zeke? "Not going bare-chested and feathered?"

He ducked the towel that flew at his head, and laughed.

Life was good.

***

"What's that?"

Not looking up, Zeke continued to fiddle with the box. "It's a short
wave radio. Found it in the other room." He twisted two wires
together, and there was a spark and a loud 'pop.'

"You okay?"

Zeke grunted and sucked on his fingers. The other hand was still
working at the radio's innards, and Casey leaned against the door
frame to watch.

As Zeke absorbed himself into the project, Casey discovered that it
was interesting to watch Zeke when he was totally focused on
something. He had seen it twice before, but since he was the focus of
Zeke's attention; he didn't get the joy of watching.

Was this what he looked like when he made his scat? That look of
intense concentration, especially with the tip of his tongue sticking
out the corner of his mouth, made Zeke look adorable. Again. That
little wrinkle, just between his eyes, helped.

The loud crackle of static startled Casey from his observation.

"Got it," crowed Zeke. "Whoever messed with this last fucked it up
good. Now," he started twisting the various dials. "Let's see if
anyone is out there. We should be able to hear them. Don't have the
mike working yet."

As he neared the end of the frequency range, Zeke froze. His head
cocked to the side, hands flying over the knobs. From the crackling
came a faint voice.

"apolis. crackle survivors groupinsnap, pop Indianapolis. Make
your hiss"

The voice faded, and Zeke growled and he leaned back. "Just on the
edge of the range. Damn."

Gentle hands came to rest on his shoulders, and began to massage. "At
least we know there are others out there. We're not the last."

"Which is good, because I'm not ruining my girlish figure having
kids." Zeke tipped his head back and grinned. Casey laughed.

"I may be the odd one, but I'm still not set up for that. Thought," now
Casey's grin was wicked. "I do like the practice at making kids." He
dropped a kiss on Zeke's forehead.

"We have survivors, and we have a direction. Indianapolis. Are they
heading there or running?

"Sounded like they were heading there," said Casey. "I caught the
word 'grouping.' Question is: do we try to join them?"

"I have an idea," Zeke said, before plucking a loose feather,
ignoring Casey's yelp. "Whatever direction the pinion points, we go."

"That's like yanking out hair," Casey growled, scratching the spot
Zeke had plucked him. "Sounds fine, but we're not using this method
again." He cuffed the back of Zeke's head.

Chuckling, Zeke held the feather, by the pinion, at eye level. Then
he let go.

The white feather floated down, lightly, drifting. Both boys watched.

"Well," said Casey. "Looks like we're heading towards Indiana."

Zeke looked at the feather, which pointed their way west. "Yep. We're
gonna find the others."

The End

A/N: Yep, more of them. For those of you who watch Escaflowne, you
don't need these. Those of you who haven't, these are the quick and
dirty notes for you. Actually, those of you who do watch Escaflowne,
might want to read these.

Escaflowne is an anime that takes place on Gaia, a mystical planet
this is invisible to us, but is on the other side of the moon. In
its sky is the moon, which has a giant eye that looks over Gaia, and
the Mystic Moon, known to us as Earth.

There are many races on Gaia, one of which is a group of winged
people known as (and I'm not sure if I'm spelling this right)
Draconians.

Draconians may have children with normal humans, and those children
also have the gift of wings, which can appear and disappear with a
thought. In the series, and movie, once a Draconian is unconscious,
the wings vanished, so I played with that. I also made a few other
changes, which will appear later.

People have been known to teleport from Gaia to Earth, and Earth to
Gaia. It's got something to do with magic, and the Gaian people have
a big thing for wishes, which actually do come true on a semi-regular
basis.

If you guys have any other questions, just ask. I'm happy to share my
demented world with others.

GW Katrina