Disclaimer and A/N in part one. I'd like to take this time to
apologize for how long it has taken me to get this posted. For those
of you who wrote me, please put down the torches and pitchforks. They
make me nervous.

Innocence Lost

He wasn't sure how long they sat there. All he really noticed was
Zeke holding him, rocking them back and forth. Soft words rolled over
him, and Casey absorbed the comfort. He could get used to this,
easily.

Finally, he sighed, and pulled back. Zeke let him, but managed to
keep a hand on Casey's back. That simple touch felt wonderful to the
smaller boy.

"Sorry," he said, eyes focused on the ground. There was a growl, and
Zeke's fingers slid under his chin, lifting his head until they were
looking into each others eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Case. Well, maybe for not telling
me something was wrong, but our week's been kinda hectic." Zeke
brushed a kiss across Casey's forehead, then another across his lips.

Capturing Zeke's head in his hands, Casey deepened the kiss. Zeke
responded, allowing Casey to take the lead.

Casey would be the first to admit that he was not the most
experienced when it came to sex, or anything that dealt with sex. The
class wimp was not a prize for anyone. There had been a few stolen
kisses when he was young, with neighbor girls who were just as
inexperienced, but nothing could prepare him for kissing Zeke.

He really couldn't explain it. He wasn't sure if it was the way
Zeke's lips felt against his, or the way he tasted of vanilla and
smoke, or just the sheer emotion that the other boys seemed to pour
into the kiss, but Casey loved every one. They were still exploring
the rest of sex, neither having been with another man before, but
they kissed, and Casey felt strangely satisfied with that.

Casey devoured his lover's mouth, hungry for the taste and feel that
was uniquely 'Zeke.'

The moment was broken by the sound of a gunshot. Casey let go of Zeke
and spun around, wings flaring outwards. He quickly found the source
of the noise.

A young woman stood before him, gun dropping from the ceiling to
point at him. Suddenly, Casey realized that the gun wasn't pointed at
him, it was a little too high and to the side, unless she was going
to shoot him in the wing. A hand dropped on his shoulder from behind,
and tried to push him out of the way. Casey realized the truth.

She was aiming at Zeke.

With a low hiss, Casey ignored Zeke's attempts to move him. Instead,
he watched the woman.

Her eyes narrowed, and the gun in her hand twitched as Zeke touched
Casey. She was filthy, her clothes tattered and dirty. The way she
held herself and the expression on her face led Casey to one very
dangerous conclusion.

They had themselves one genuine crackpot holding a gun on them.

"Get your filthy hands off of him, you pervert," hissed the woman,
her head jerking to the side, matted brown hair falling into her
face. Ignoring it, she held the gun out. "He's my angel. He's come to
take me away from this pestilence and death God has unleashed to
punish the wicked."

Oh, shit. This, Casey decided, was not good at all.

***

As the gun waved dangerously, Zeke tried to move Casey again. He did
not want the woman to hit Casey if she stared to shoot, and while
Casey was smaller, he was standing in front of Zeke, and had large
wings to hit. Not a good combination.

Once again, Casey didn't move. Barely even shifted, and, in the back
of his min, Zeke wondered how strong Casey really was. It must have
taken a hell of a lot of strength to power those wings, enough to
actually fly. Especially when he was carrying Zeke, who weighted more
than he did.

At this point, the rest of Zeke's brain yelled for it to shut the
fuck up.

The woman began to rant about angels raining down fire and death, and
Zeke hoped this wasn't caused by the virus. He didn't want to become
a raving lunatic.

"Move, Case," he hissed, hoping their nutball wouldn't hear.

Of course, their luck wasn't that good.

***

As soon as Zeke spoke, the woman froze, and a small smile crossed her
lips. "I understand," she said, voice calm, eyes resting on the pair.

Casey didn't like the attitude change at all.

"I have to pass a test. So I can go to Heaven. A test of cleansing."
Her eyes focused on Casey. "Don't worry my beautiful angel. I will
kill the sinner, and we can fly away together."

Before either one of them could react, she fired. Casey yelped, as it
felt like someone had pinched his wind, hard. He looked at it. Red
blossomed from the middle of the wing, running over and between
feathers, painting them. It was beautiful, thought Casey, still in
shock.

Then the pain hit, and Casey gasped. It hurt so much that he couldn't
even scream.

"CASEY!" yelled Zeke, hands flying up to touch the wing. Casey
flinched, then whimpered as the pain flared even higher.

Deep inside him, the heritage of all descended from dragons began to
flicker to life.

"NO!" The woman's scream echoed Zeke's. "You made me hurt my angel. I
hate you!" She fired again.

This time, she missed both of the men, but Casey heard glass shatter.

"FUCK!" Zeke yelped, pain clear in his voice.

Everything froze for Casey. He couldn't move, not even when something
sharp slashed across his cheek.

She had hurt Zeke.

His lover.

His... mate.

Anger boiled up inside of Casey. A rage so powerful that his vision
turned red. A growl escaped him, and something inside him snapped.

Casey attacked.

***

Zeke took a step back, ignoring the stinging pain in his back as he
pressed himself against the shelving. Eyes wide, he watched as Casey
literally growled. A deep, chest rumbling, mad dog growl.

The feathers on Casey's wings ruffled, and Zeke's jaw dropped as he
saw green sparks begin to flicker over them. Wind rose out of
nowhere, spiraling around Casey, pressing Zeke harder against the
shelving.

The green sparks vanished, and Casey screamed. Light, the same pale
green as the sparks, formed just in front off the winged boy's face.
It crackled, then shot forward to hit the ground under the woman's
feet, exploding it outwards with a deafening 'boom.'

Flying backwards, the woman hit the wall, head snapping back. The
sound of her connecting with the wall reminded Zeke of the time he
had used some pumpkins from target practice.

She slid down, limply hitting the floor, and laid still.

Casey echoed her fall a second later. Zeke barely caught him.

Arms around Casey, Zeke stared in horror at the woman, who had blood
tickling down her face. Then there was a faint glow, and he was
caught in a whirlwind of feathers. Casey settled closer to him, his
wings gone.

Frantic, Zeke checked Casey's pulse, and sighed in relief when he
found it. A feeling of deja vu hit, and Zeke was reminded of the
night this whole thing had started.

Shaking it off, Zeke scooped Casey up. The other boy was paler than
normal, blood dripping from a cut on his cheek. Zeke didn't know what
the hell Casey had just done, but it must have taken a lot out of him.

Looking at the woman, he couldn't tell if she was dead or alive. To
be on the safe side, however, he was going to restock in another town.

Carrying Casey to the car, Zeke laid him inside, making sure to
buckle him in. The he got in behind the wheel, and started the engine.

"Let's get the hell out of Dodge," he mumbled as he drove them out of
town.

The End

Next part: We get to see some more people, and the fandoms begin to
trickle in. *grins* Hope you guys are still reading.