Ghost in the snow

[alles_luege]

Title: Ghost in the snow
Author: creepylicious/alles_luege
Pairing: Bob/Emilie, mentions Gerard/Jared - mostly gen
Rating: NC-17
Summary: It's an urban fantasy in which the Ways were raised by their grandmother after their parents died in a fire, they are also bonded/can read each other's minds and take to hunting after Helena dies. But this story starts in a parking lot with a hooker.
Gerard is washing the blood from his hands at a motel sink somewhere when his cell rings. His cell never rings except when it's Bob with something that just can't wait - like Doomsday. It happened more often than Gerard likes to think about.
Warning(s): violence, mentions of sexual abuse and rape, all things supernatural, sex, death (not of the main characters). Also: emotional incest somehow (bonded boys).
Author’s Notes: This is a Supernatural-AU. If you know Supernatural you won't find much of the plot here. I just took the basic idea (brothers fighting monsters) and ran with it. No angels, no demons, no angsty sacrificing, but it has the Leto brothers being awesome.
Word Count: 22.800
Beta: tygermine
Disclaimer: Don’t know, don’t own, not real



~0~
Mikey doesn't remember the fire that killed their parents, and Gerard doesn't talk about it.

~+~
The first time Mikey becomes aware that something isn't quite right with them (and Gerard gives him a look every time he says it like that, because Gerard never thinks there is anything wrong with them, it's how they are) he is four and Gerard is nearly eight. They're sitting at the table in Helena's kitchen, and she isn't back from grocery shopping yet, and he thinks he really would like some cookies now and Gerard just gets up and gets them for him.

~+~
After that incident, Mikey believes he has the power to control minds.

“You cannot control minds,” Gerard says and Mikey concentrates on pushing thoughts at him. “I'm not going to get you ice cream,” Gerard adds with a smile. Mikey knows he's just doing it to annoy him and he has no idea why he knows that. “Try it on Helena,” Gerard says and nods in her direction. She's in the kitchen preparing dinner. Mikey nods and pushes a thought at their grandma and nothing happens. She doesn't even look at him.

“She can't hear you,” Gerard says softly.

“But you can hear me,” Mikey answers.

Gerard shrugs. “I could always hear you.”
Mikey doesn't know then what it really means.

~+~
The truth, and he learns that much, much later, is that Gerard could hear him before he was born.

“Like a constant drum in my head,” Gerard admits when they are drunk and a bit stoned. Mikey is lying on Gerard's floor. Well, the floor of Gerard's room anyway.

“No words?” Mikey asks. He's thirteen and he knows much more than he thinks he should, because he never learned to shut Gerard out and Gerard never learned that either. Gerard's mind is like an unused part of his own. Like the west wing of the house he lives in.

“No, no words. I don't think you had any back then. Because you didn't know about things.”

“Hmmm...” Mikey answers. He isn't so sure about that, because by the time he was in his mom's belly Gerard was nearly four. Gerard knew things.

~+~
Mikey is 21 when Helena dies. He remembers every minute of her death, the funeral, and of the days after.

~+~
Gerard is patting his pockets for his smokes, leaving red smears and spots on his ruined jeans. That's why he doesn't care at all right now. Killing a shapeshifter is really messy business. Even with a silver knife. He finds his pack and lights one. His fingers stained red. He sits down beside the corpse and inhales deeply, Mikey can see it perfectly in his mind's eye. The good thing about shapeshifters, is that they don't smell. They don't have a scent. Usually that’s what people find creepy as hell. It's unnatural. That's what it is and people always - on some instinctive level - stay away from things that aren't like they should be. It’s a hidden blessing, as all shapeshifters seem to be batshit insane.

I hope you lit one for me as well, fucker. Mikey's voice in his head is amused. Gerard gets another cigarette out and lights it for Mikey. He waits until he can see his brother between the trees and then waves. Mikey rolls his eyes in his head. Gerard laughs. It echoes. “Do you want to kill us?” Mikey asks as he stands beside his brother with a canister of benzine.

“There is nothing dangerous here anymore,” he answers and then adds: “Expect for us.”
Mikey nods and begins to pour the benzine over the corpse. It's always better to burn everything. Helena always said that and she was a smart woman.

“Matches?”

“Don't you have your own?” Gerard asks, he hands Mikey the cigarette and then the matches.

“Sure, somewhere. Maybe in the fucking car...” he takes them and they take a few steps back before Mikey lights one and throws it in the corpse’s direction.

They watch the carcass burn for a while and when it's only ash they scatter that as well. Everything can be brought back, Helena said. Mikey isn't sure about it, because he never saw it, but he is not stupid enough to bet on it. With his life, or his brother's.

“Done?” Gerard asks.

“Yeah...what are we gonna do now?”

“I want coffee and clean clothes,” Gerard mumbles.

Mikey laughs. It echoes loud around them. The night is dark here in the woods.
“Come one then...”

~+~
Gerard changes right there beside the road and Mikey doesn't look. He stares into the woods. It's not that he hasn’t seen Gerard half dressed or naked before, it's just that sometimes Gerard is too much.. Because they are constantly sharing. Everything. Gerard throws his bloody cloths into the trunk and closes the lid. It makes a too loud sound here in the middle of nowhere. Mikey turns around then, smiles at his brother and slides into the passenger seat. He feels tired all of a sudden and knows that Gerard is too.
“Maybe we skip the coffee for now and just find a motel,” he says and Gerard nods.

~+~
He and Gerard are having whole conversations without a single word spoken. Helena was worried before she found out. Worried because by the age of five, Mikey wasn't talking at all. It wasn't necessary. Gerard was talking for him. Gerard always knew what he needed, always knew if he was hurt, if he was scared. Gerard knew everything and never used it as ammunition. He ever thought there was anything wrong with that and he doesn't think that now either. It's handy. They are such good hunters because they don't have to talk. They are quiet like the air if the want to be. Like ghosts.

~+~
Sometimes he can see snippets of Gerard's dreams. They aren't pretty. Mostly they’re about the fire. The one Mikey doesn't remember at all. There is a lot of smoke and heat and a woman screaming. Mikey is sure it's mom's voice, and in these few horrible seconds before Gerard becomes aware that Mikey is in his dream, can share it and wakes up, he is glad. Glad that he can at least hear her. Know how she sounded, even if it's in pain and loss and just shortly before she dies.

“Don't do that,” Gerard says quietly. His voice sounds wrecked. He is breathing in harsh puffs of air. Mikey can hear the blankets rustle as Gerard shifts to face him. Not that he can see much in the dark - not that he needs to know what Mikey is thinking.

“I can't help it. It's not as if I'm doing it for the fun of it,” Mikey whispers back. It's a left over habit from when they were kids and Helena would come around nine to say goodnight and tell them to just go to sleep. They never fell asleep before eleven.

“I know, I just wish...” he trails off. It's not like Mikey wouldn't know.

“I know. I just want to know her too.”

“I didn't know her long enough myself,” Gerard answers and it sounds bitter. Harsh in the empty darkness around them.

~+~
They only took to hunting after Helena died. She never wanted this life for them. And Mikey knows why. It's not a good life as lives go.
It's dangerous and lonely and most hunters die before they're even thirty.
She never wanted this life for them, but she left them prepared for it.

~+~
The first time Mikey kills something supernatural, it's kind of by accident. He doesn't mean to do it. It just happens. It is also up for debate if killing something that is already dead counts. The thing in question is a vampire. An ugly starved thing. It grabs at him on his way home and he kind of reacts by instinct- a quick, soft shove and it falls onto something sharp, pointy and wooden and the next thing Mikey knows, he's looking at a dead creature. It doesn't disintegrate into ash. The puddle of blood is pitiful. He feels coldly numb watching it and he only stops when he feels Gerard solid in his mind. Like an embrace - a warm, firm, ghost embrace.

“I'm okay,” he mutters. He is everything but and Gerard knows it, but his brother doesn't comment on it. Mikey is seventeen.

I'm coming to get you. says Gerard's voice in his head.

“I'm okay,” he repeats, wrapping his arms around his shivering torso.

You're everything but...

“I just killed...” Mikey shakes his head because he doesn't have the words.

It, Gerard says firmly in his mind. It. It wanted to kill you. It was self-defense and it wasn't even human.

“It was starving, it needed blood...” Mikey answers.

Gerard sighs and sends pictures of sunshine and ice cream and mom on a Sunday afternoon in summer into his head. Come home. He whispers into Mikey's mind and Mikey nods.

“Okay.”

~1~
They get coffee and Mikey drinks it while he searches the web for another hunt. Something just doesn't sit right when Gerard says: Hey...look over there.
Mikey does. He follows Gerard's direction in his head. It's so easy to follow Gerard wherever he wants to go.

And? Mikey asks. He doesn't see what the big deal is here.

“You don't have enough coffee in your system yet,” Gerard says with a smile. Mikey rolls his eyes and then looks. Really looks.

A few yards away is a girl. She looks like a hooker. Mikey shrugs again. “You want me to watch a hooker?” he wants to know, taking another sip of his coffee.

“I don't think she's a she.”

“She looks real enough to me.”

Gerard smiles, but doesn't turn away. The girl looks uncertain and then her phone buzzes - they can't hear it, they only know because she takes it out - and she takes a call. After a short conversation she pockets her phone and knocks on a door.

“Someone gave her a room number,” Mikey says, his interest picked.

“Yep,” Gerard answers.

“You want to wait this one out, right?”

“Yes.”
Mikey nods and takes another sip of the coffee. It's really awful coffee even with all the sugar and milk he added.

“Mind if I take the car and go find a Starbucks? I can't drink this.”

“Bring two. This isn’t fit for human consumption,” Gerard says, getting up from the hood of the car he was leaning against and over to the trash can. He takes Mikey's cup with him. Mikey nods a thanks.

~+~
He's shaken and feels like his skin will come apart any second. He doesn't think he can do this much longer. The man above him grunts and comes and William thinks, thank fucking god (even if he doesn't believe in god anymore). He needs to get out of the room, he needs to get out of the fucking state.
The urge to kill something is really strong. He shoves it away like always. The man's breath on his skin makes him want to scream or cry, but William hasn’t cried in a long time. Not since he was thirteen and all this started.
Finally the man rolls over.

“You are so much better than I expected,” he says with a sadistic smile playing around his lips. William's wrists hurt where the rope cuts are too deep and his neck hurts where the man had tried to strangle him. He takes a deep, careful breath and counts to ten.

“You should untie me now,” he answers. His voice doesn't sound like his voice at all. It sounds like a petty girl's. He hates to be a girl. It's just not him. Everything feels kind of wrong.

“And what if I don't?”

“Everything after this costs extra,” William answers.
The man sighs, but William is sure he is willing to pay. His handler would be fucking delighted. William not so much. He has had enough of this...this life.

“Next time,” the man says and brushes soft fingers against his lips while the other leaves a vicious and painful bruise on his hip.

~+~
The girl limps when she comes out of the room. She looks wrecked and Gerard is up and on his way over to her before he can even think about it.

“You okay?” he asks, reaching out to her and she flinches away. He sees a bruise under her sleeve. It looks fresh and he kind of really wants to kill something. She smells like sweat and cheap perfume.

“Yeah...” she answers. Her eyes wide and unsure.

“You sure?” Gerard asks and she nods. “Okay...” he is about to turn away and just let it be, after all he is not here to save people from themselves - only from monsters, and then thinks about it and takes out his sketchbook. He writes his mobile number on the back of some vampire doodle and hands it over to her. “If you should need help? Just call.”
She takes the piece of paper gingerly and nods. He is pretty sure she won't call, but he feels better knowing she has his number.
Mikey doesn't give him shit for it later.

~+~
William stares at the strange guy and then at the piece of paper in his hand. This is...something. He would like to say that it's nothing, but it isn't nothing. This is someone who wants to help. William nearly laughs. He is sure this guy wouldn't want to help something like him.
Only creeps and perverts appreciate what he is and his parents (not his real parents - he doesn't know anything about his real parents) keep telling him exactly that. He is tempted to just throw the number away, but instead he folds it and puts it into his bra. With any luck his handlers (he can't call them parents anymore - not after all the shit he's gone through because of them since they found out that he is different) won't check his underwear before they lock him up in his room again.
He pushes one on his phone and waits for it to connect.

“You done?” the voice on the other side asks.

“I'm done,” he answers.

“I'll be there in ten. Don't you dare wander off!”

“I won't...” William says to the static.

~+~
“You wanted to help a hooker...” Mikey doesn't give Gerard much shit about it. Just a bit, because what he loves about Gerard is that he actually wants to help everyone. He even rescues kittens when he has the time to spare.

“She looked kind of lost,” Gerard shrugs behind the wheel of the Trans Am.

“She looked kind of pretty,” Mikey answers.

“That too. She smelled....”

“Like sex and cheap perfume. I know,” Mikey finishes his brother's sentence. “We can't save everybody.”

“I know, I just...she reminded me of Linda...” Gerard says.

Mikey knows that. She reminded him of Linda as well. Linda, the girl they couldn't save. The girl that got torn apart by a werewolf they were hunting a few months ago. A case of wrong time, wrong place. Gerard never forgets the name of someone they couldn't save and because Gerard doesn't forget, Mikey doesn't either. He doesn't say that it wasn't Gerard's fault, because Gerard knows that. He knows because Mikey knows, or maybe Mikey knows because Gerard knows. It doesn't really matter. Mikey reaches into Gerard's mind and sends pictures of daises and candy bars into his head. Like Gerard used to do when Mikey was upset about something when he was a kid. When they were kids.
Gerard looks away from the dark road and smiles at Mikey. “You're such a dork,” he says, his voice soft.

“You love me and you know it,” Mikey answers.

Yeah, I do.

~2~
Gerard is washing the blood from his hands at a motel sink somewhere when his cell rings. His cell never rings except when it's Bob with something that just can't wait - like Doomsday. It happened more often than Gerard likes to think about. Or Bob for that matter. Mikey picks it up.

Unknown caller he says.

Might be one of Helena's old contacts, maybe? Gerard answers. It doesn't happen that often, but sometimes someone from their grandma's past finds them and well, they usually take care of whatever it is. Mikey makes a face. He kind of hates Helena's old contacts, they all want to pinch him in the cheek. The worst is Pastor Jim. He always prays for their souls, as if they weren't doomed already - the thing is, the Pastor doesn't know and he means well. Mikey sighs and takes the call.

“Way,” he says.

“Hi...I, some guy in a parking lot gave me this number?” the voice on the other side says.

“I'm sure you have the wrong number, dude,” Mikey answers.

“No wait! It was...he gave me this number on a piece of a vampire doodle?” the voice says. The guy sounds desperate. Mikey hands the phone to Gerard.

“I gave the number to a girl.”

“I know. I really need help, please...” the voice sounds scared and exhausted.

“What happened to her?” Gerard asks.

“She's fine,” the voice answers.
Gerard doesn't really believe it, but he isn't going to argue with someone who sounds so fucking scared and so fucking young. Not now anyway.

“Where are you? I'm gonna pick you up as soon as I can,” Gerard says and waits until the boy gives him an address one state over. He scribbles it down and says: “We'll be there tomorrow morning. Wait for us. It's the Trans Am.”

“Okay...” the boy answers and hangs up.
When the call disconnects and Gerard looks up from the page of his notebook Mikey gives him a look. “It's not like we have something better to do anyway,” Gerard says shrugging.

“I know. I'll pack our stuff, go and fill up the car.”

“Yes sir...” Gerard answers with a grin.

~+~
The ride is quiet and long and they are driving too fast. Gerard blasts Misfits way too loud, too. He needs it to stay awake behind the wheel. Mikey tunes it out. He can do that after all these years with Gerard around.

~+~
They arrive at dawn. The sun is just a hint in the pale sky and the rest stop looks like the kind no one should spend more than five minutes at.
Mikey looks around and then gets out of the car as soon as Gerard stops in the parking lot.
Gerard scans the area. Something shifts in the shadows. Mikey's head snaps in the direction. Years of training.

“It's okay, you can come out now,” Gerard says, his voice soft and persuasive. Mikey always thought Gerard would've been a great singer. Not the time, Mikes Gerard throws in. Mikey nods, grinning. The shadow makes a careful move forward and when it steps into the pale morning light Gerard has to repress a gasp.
It's way worse than I thought he comments.

No shit. Mikey nods once in his brother's direction. I think you should talk to him and I also think that we should get the fuck out of here and to a hospital or Bob's.

“Hey...hey, come here,” Gerard says. The boy looks uncertain. “We're here to help you. You called us, remember?” The boy nods. Gerard makes a few steps in his direction. Slow and careful because he doesn't want to scare the kid and he really isn't sure how the hell that kid is still standing anyway. There is blood fucking everywhere. “What's your name?”

“William...” the boy whispers.

“Okay, come here, we're gonna take you to a hospital.”

“NO!” William panics.

“Then to someone who can patch you up a bit?” Gerard asks. William takes a step back and Gerard bites his lip. “Listen, you can't stay here and we can't either...”

William nods again. “Okay...” he answers, his voice is wrecked and really quiet. Gerard suspects he can only hear it because it's so fucking quiet here. He can hear Mikey getting into the backseat of the car. He appreciates the gesture. He reaches a hand out and the boy flinches away slightly. Gerard really can't blame him.

“Can you make it to the car without help?” he wants to know.

“Yes,” William answers and takes a few steps. His hands are clenched into fists at his sides. Gerard is sure every step hurts like hell. What he can see isn't pretty and he really hopes that most of the wounds aren't too deep.

~+~
The ride to Bob's is quiet as well. At least on the outside. William is pressed against the window so as not to touch Gerard.

I am really glad I can’t read his mind. Mikey says.

Fuck. What the hell is wrong with the world?

You know what is wrong with the world, that's why you're doing this, remember?

Sometimes it's really hard to remember why I want to save people... Gerard answers bitterly.

He doesn't deserve that and we are here to make it right again.

I want to kill the people who did this to him.

I know. Mikey replies and reaches over to brush his knuckles against his brother's neck.
William glances over and then away again. He stares at the street in front of them and doesn't ask any questions.

~+~
Bob is waiting for them, with his arms crossed over his chest at the front door.

“What did you do this time?” he asks, his voice gruff, but that doesn't mean anything. That's just Bob's modus operandi.

“We need you to fix someone for us. It's really bad,” Mikey says. Gerard nods. He's hovering by the car and waiting for William to get out. Mikey knows he wants to help William, but he doesn't want to touch him, because William seems pretty freaked out about anyone touching him. He only hopes that Bob can work his mojo on that boy.
Bob nods once and waits patiently for William to leave the car. Something ugly and angry shifts over Bob's face for a second - maybe even less - and Mikey thinks that he's feeling exactly the same way. Gerard nods. Me too.

~+~
Gerard is making coffee in the kitchen when Bob comes back and collapses on a chair at the table.

“How bad is it?”

“I called Emilie,” Bob answers.

“That bad, hmm?” Mikey says. Bob nods and Gerard sets a mug of fresh coffee in front of him.

“I want to kill something,” Bob says after a while. Bob doesn't often say that he wants to kill something. Bob is more the zen type of hunter. Kind of retired with a cute girlfriend. He patches them up, gets them guns and cars and ammunition. And Emilie makes them amulets and gets them books and healing charms when they need them. They don't need them as much as other hunters - or that's what Bob keeps telling them. Mikey and Gerard don't actually know any other hunters. Except for Bob who doesn't hunt that much anymore. He's their steady rock. Their island. Their home when they need one.

“Me too,” Gerard admits. Mikey nods once. Sharp. Grim. Gerard doesn't particularly like that look on his brother's face.

“How did you find him?” Bob wants to know.

“He kind of found us,” Gerard says and Mikey adds: “Gerard gave a hooker his number a few weeks ago and that boy claims she gave it to him.”

“You trust him?”

“We trust no one but family,” Gerard answers, seriously. Bob nods.

“But he obviously needs help,” Mikey adds.
Bob takes a sip of his coffee and then lights a cigarette. Gerard does as well. He figures if Bob can smoke in his kitchen, so can Gerard. Gerard usually avoids smoking in the kitchen, because Helena was against it. Old habits die hard.

~+~
Emilie is all business when she enters the house. She nods once in their direction and kisses Bob briefly on the lips before she goes upstairs. They wait in the kitchen for her to come down. She isn't only a witch, she is also a doctor and she usually fixes people with the latter part of her abilities.
She comes down half an hour later. She looks grim.

“I...” she trails off, her hands balled to fists on her side. Bob hugs her and she lets him.

“Will he be okay?” Gerard asks.

“I can fix the cuts and infections and broken bones. The cracked ribs too, but I have no idea...I don't even want to know to be honest, what else they did. What I know is too much already.”
She doesn't say the words 'sexual abuse' or 'rape', but they're there. Loud and clear. So, she really doesn't need to say them.

“Are you guys staying?” Bob wants to know.
Gerard looks over to his brother. They don't have anywhere to be, and honestly, he really wants to catch these bastards who had done this to William.

“Yeah, we're staying,” Mikey answers for them.
Bob nods.

“I'm gonna make something to eat, what do you boys want?” Emilie asks.

“I really don't care. Everything you make is always delicious,” Gerard answers and Mikey rolls his eyes at him. What? It's the fucking truth!

Whatever. She's Bob's girlfriend, just...you have no chance here.

What the hell? Gerard laughs. Mikey grins.

“No telepathy in the house,” Emilie says with a smile. It's the sharp one, the one that means serious business.

“Everything is fine with us,” Mikey answers honestly. She nods once and makes them cut vegetables into tiny pieces. Sometimes she reminds Mikey of Helena.

Me too, Gerard says softly into his mind and Mikey smiles.

~3~
Gerard was kind of obsessed with vampires when he was a kid. It wasn't the romantic side of it that girls seem to favour - like they can't see that these things are killers - it was the immortality and the fact that they were killers and free to do what they wanted. It used to make Gerard talk for hours. He only changed his mind when he was nineteen. He was away with Pastor Jim and Mikey can only imagine what had happened. He suspects something like what had happened to him when he was seventeen.
When he came back he put all the vampire books away and said: “You should never meet your heroes.” And that was that.

~+~
William wakes up and the fear is a burning piece of lead inside his stomach. He can't stay here. Not like this. He can't stay anywhere, is the thing. They'll find him. They always do. He sits up, carefully, because he's still in pain, even if it's better now. Now that his body - this unnatural body - is starting to heal itself again.
He's at the door when it opens.

“Where do you think you're going?” a guy asks.

“I can't stay here,” William answers.

“That doesn't answer my question, boy,” the guy almost growls.

William bites his lip until it bleeds and shakes his head. It feels like it's stuffed with cotton. “They're gonna find me...they always do,” he mumbles. He feels like he'll pass out any second now.

“They won't. The house is protected,” the tough looking guy answers gruffly. “Want something to eat or drink?”

“Tea?” William asks hopefully. He has no plan and this guy doesn't seem like he wants to do him any harm. William remembers him. In flashes of pain and with the light of the setting sun behind him. “You're Bob,” he says.

“Yeah. This is my house. No one is going to get you out of here against your will,” Bob nods, but keeps his hands to himself. He doesn't even try to help William and William is really glad for it. He doesn't feel like touching anyone. He feels like he'll scream the house down if someone tried.
It never used to be that bad before.
He stumbles down the stairs slowly with Bob in front of him. A solid wall of calm.

~+~
Mikey's mind nudges Gerard's and Gerard looks up from the book he was reading. Something about how to kill a demon for good. It seems more like a legend, but if Gerard should ever have the opportunity to dig out a demon's bones and salt and burn them, he sure as hell will try. Can't do any harm either. He shuts the book and nods in Bob's direction and then smiles at William.

“You down for coffee?” he asks.

“Tea,” Bob says.

“Really?” Gerard wants to know, something like slight disbelief in his voice. Mikey snickers.

“We aren't all addicts, Gee,” he says.

You aren't talking about yourself now... Gerard answers into his mind. Mikey laughs.

“No, I'm clearly not.”

“Boys, we talked about this?” Bob throws in on his way to the kitchen. William doesn't look at anyone. His eyes on Bob's back. A fixed stare, like he's used to looking down and never in the eyes. Like he's constantly afraid. Gerard balls his hands into fists.

I want to kill something, too. Mikey's soft voice says. Gerard nods and relaxes his hands. It's harder than it should be. Mikey grabs his hand then and drags him into the kitchen.
William is sitting at the table with a mug of herbal tea that smells like peppermint and raspberries. Gerard is nearly tempted, but he makes a beeline for the coffee in the end anyway.

“Emilie took this out of your body...” Bob says and puts the small chip on the table. It's harmless now and can't tell anyone where William is. Bob was disgusted when Emile brought it back. Every single one of them was.

“Oh...that's how they always find me,” William answers. His voice is soft and unsure. Quiet. He doesn't want to draw attention. Gerard takes a sip of his coffee and Mikey takes out the cigarettes. He lights one for himself and one for Gerard, hands it over. Gerard nods a thank you.

“You didn't know they planted a chip right under your skin?” Mikey asks.

William shakes his head. “Maybe I was out cold when they did,” he whispers. Bob takes a violent drag of his cigarette.

“I really want to make these people pay,” he says calmly. William looks up at him, sudden, sharp and shakes his head.
“They'll find me, they'll kill you...I don't want to...” he shuts his mouth abruptly and bites his lip until it bleeds again.

“You can stay here,” Bob assures him. The Ways nod in agreement.

~+~
Later when he's lying in his bed again, or Bob's, or whatever, he wishes he could have been the girl Gerard saw in the parking lot all these weeks ago. He seems nice enough and William has the feeling he is worried about her. He wants to do something about it, but he really can't. If they find out what he is...he doesn't think it will go over so well. No matter how much they want to help him now. He is not human. Never was, but he really wishes he were.
The girl Gerard saw in the parking lot, of all the forms he can be, he liked that one the most. She is what he thinks Patrizia would look like, the girl he liked in kindergarten. He really liked her hair and how she smelled. She smelled like cookies. He misses that smell painfully on some days.

~+~
Gerard is pacing the kitchen and chain-smoking. Mikey is waiting him out.

“I really don't believe that girl from the parking lot is okay,” he says, turning to face them. They told Bob all about it while William was out like a light.

“I'll look into it. This looks like it's organized. It's not our usual gig, but these people need to be put down.”

“Thanks, Bob,” Gerard answers and doesn't say that he wants to shoot them like dogs. Mikey is the only one who knows that. Who knows that violent, dark side of Gerard. And he's glad he knows it. Is furiously glad that they have no secrets left between them.

Bob nods. “I have seen that kid too, I've seen more of him than you guys...” he takes another hard drag of his cigarette. Bob hates to deal with these things. The things that remind him that people don't deserve to be saved.

“We'll catch them and bring them to justice,” Gerard says, leaning against the counter. He lights another cigarette and Mikey gives him a look. He lost count and he suspects Gerard did as well. Sometimes Gerard really doesn't seem to care about his health at all. “Just...let me. I can't deal. I really can't deal,” Gerard admits quietly.
Mikey takes the few steps across the kitchen that separates them to stand beside his brother, so their bodies touch. The bond, the link, that something is always stronger when they touch and he thinks that Gerard really needs to be touched now. Needs to feel something else, have something other than his own dark thoughts swirling around his head. He sends calm and rainbows and unicorns into Gerard's mind and Gerard smiles. A small smile, a quiet one. A calm one. “Thanks.”

No problem.

~4~
Gerard takes to hunting things close to the border the second week in. He hunts a vengeful spirit just a few towns over. He's back by dawn and he's not even bleeding. Mikey waits for him with coffee on the veranda. It's dark and chilly and he's buried deep into his hoodie. Gerard lights a cigarette and then takes the mug. He takes a careful sip and smiles.

“You're itching to be on the road again. So much for nature versus nurture,” Mikey says.

“I know. I used to dream about how we would get from gig to gig in a shitty van...before the thing with Helena happened.”

“She really wanted us to have that. That life, that band...a normal life,” Mikey answers.

Gerard nods, takes a drag of his cigarette. “This isn't that bad, even if it isn't what she had in mind.”

“I think she knew that we would end up needing what she taught us one day,” Mikey muses. They don't talk much about Helena anymore. Not about Helena the hunter. They like to remember her as the grandmother she was. The parent she was. “I miss her cookies.”

“Me too,” Gerard answers softly like he's afraid someone else could hear.

~+~
William doesn't know why he doesn't leave when he's feeling better. He can do whatever he wants now that he is free, but he has nowhere to go and he has no clue about the real world. He has no skills, except...well. He doesn't think he could feel save out there either. And Bob and the Way brothers don't make him leave. Maybe it's as simple as that.
Sometimes he wonders about the brothers. He supposes it's normal to know someone so well that you don't need words when you've grown up with that person. Still. They're having whole conversations without speaking a word. It makes him feel less of a freak living here. And no one touches him. His wounds heal far slower than they should, but then this time was really bad. It was so bad that he passed out a few times during...
He turns around and stares at the wall. He really doesn't want to think about this anymore. He can't forget, but he doesn't want to remember either.

~+~
Mikey shakes his head, but doesn't stop Gerard. He knows it wouldn't do any good anyway. They have still no lead on the people William described and Gerard feels restless and useless even if only in his head. But that's what counts in the end.

“I'm coming with you,” he says.

“You don't have to,” Gerard answers. “It might not even be a Chupacabra.”

“You sure as hell hope it's one,” Mikey grins behind his coffee. He's still wearing his pajamas. Gerard is still dressed because he didn't go to bed at all. He was up all night reading, doing research, smoking far too much, not eating enough and having too much coffee.

“I've never seen one. Every time I think it's one it's something else. I'm like freaking House!”

“I know. It never is Lupus. It's kind of sad,” Mikey says.

“Oh, fuck you!” Gerard laughs.

“You offering?” Mikey answers in his most innocent voice and a second later - maybe not even that long - his mind is filled with filthy, filthy porn. He collapses laughing onto the floor and closes his eyes. Mikey likes to see Gerard like that. He likes that he can do that with only a few thoughts. He sometimes wishes he could do that with other people too.

Gerard stops laughing and sits up. “You know, I think it's good that we only can do that to each other. We won't hurt us. I know, that we wouldn't be as careful with other people.”

“You would like to make them feel the pain of their victims,” Mikey says softly.
Gerard shrugs. There are no secrets between them. The truth is always there. Sometimes it's ugly like right now. The thing is, that Gerard thinks he should be sorry for wanting that and he just plain isn't. And Mikey can't make him understand that it really doesn't matter, because they can't do harm to other people's minds. They can't do anything to other people's minds. They tried.

~+~
The fifth week in he asks. The Ways are gone for two days and Bob is constantly on the phone with them or his girlfriend Emilie, or other people. William likes her, even if she says she's a witch. But who is he to judge? He is a freak of nature.

“What are they doing?” He doesn't look at Bob who is making pancakes. He is looking into his mug of herbal tea. He likes the kind Emilie brings. It tastes like apples, raisins and lemon grass.

“Hunting,” Bob answers without turning around. He likes that Bob doesn't try to bullshit him.

“They never bring anything back...”

“They don't hunt that kind of animal.”

“Is it dangerous?” William asks. He has a vague idea of what the Ways are hunting.

“What do you think? They don't only pick up strays, William.”
William likes that Bob is saying his name. No one said his name that often before. He was always someone else, something else. Whatever the client wanted him to be.

“They are hunting criminals, right?” he asks.

“Sometimes,” Bob admits and his tone says that he doesn't really want to talk about it. “You want sugar or syrup with your pancakes?”

“Sugar,” he answers.

~+~
William couldn't figure out for a long time why he was so badly hurt by the knife these guys had. Why the last time was so bad, why he didn't heal like he should have. It was like his body betrayed him. His body that he didn't like in the first place anyway.
He discovers why one Wednesday evening when no one is around and he's alone in the library. He likes Bob's library, it's cozy and a bit dusty and warm. He likes to curl up on the small old couch and read for hours. It always smells like patchouli in there. Just a bit, just enough that he knows that Emilie likes the room a lot as well. When he spends enough time in here, he smells like patchouli himself.
He is putting The Picture of Dorian Grey back when he stumbles upon an old looking book about urban legends. Bob has a lot of these and he suspects that most of them belong to Emilie as living together tends to get one’s book collections mixed up.
He picks it up and just reads, because he has no clue which book to read next. He reads about vampire legends before he reaches the chapter about shapeshifters. The word alone rings true inside him. Like that's what he's called. Like it's his true name, the essence of his nature. Things fall in place as he reads on. Ways to kill a shifter: Silver. He closes the book carefully and gets up. It's easy, really, he just needs to get out the silverware and try his theory. And if the silver-knife doesn't burn his skin and hurts like hell, well than he is obviously no shapeshifter but another freak of nature.
He takes a deep breath before he takes the knife out and it feels strange, it feels too hot in his palm. He leans against the counter and presses the knife into the skin of his palm. He bites his lip as it hurts so fucking much. The knife slides out of his hand as he tries to process the pain and the sheer possibility that he is this thing. The book said that all shapeshifters are crazy in some way, that all are out for blood. He felt that. He felt like he could rip someone apart without a second thought. He isn't sure why he didn't. Maybe it had to do with the drugs they gave him. Tranquilizer. Emilie said it. His system was full of it. It's strange, he thinks, that his blood would be so normal. That his being a freak doesn't show in it. He's glad for it now, of course. He is sure they wouldn't have let him stay if they knew what he is. After a few minutes spent only trying to breathe, he cleans the knife, finds the first aid kit, bandages his hand and goes back to the library. He needs to find out more about shifters, about where they come from and ...everything, really.

~+~
“What the fuck?” Bob asks. He looks from Mikey to Gerard and then back to Mikey.

“It's not as bad as it looks.”

“It looks like a fucking bite,” Bob says gruff.

“Damn shapeshifter. You know they're crazy as fuck,” Gerard answers. His voice strained and his face a mask of pain.

“I'll get the first aid kit. You need Emilie? She's not coming back from her shift til morning,” Bob says.

Gerard shakes his head. “I'm fine. Glad the bastard is dead though.”
Bob nods.

Mikey sees William out of the corner of his eye and thinks: Well, shit.

Gerard follows his direction and sighs. He really doesn't want to deal with this right now. I guess we need to tell him that there are evil things out to get him.

I'm sure he knows that there are evil things out there to get him. To hurt him, to tear his body and soul to shreds, Mikey answers disgusted. He always is when he remembers what was done to William.

“Come here,” Gerard says reaching out for him. Mikey takes his hand and holds on.

“I don't need this.”

“Yeah, whatever. We both know you do,” Gerard replies just as Bob comes back. Mikey lets go of his brother's hand and waves William to come into the living room. William is wearing one of Mikey's hoodies and pajama pants. He suspects Emilie's. There are little dancing skeletons on them.

“I didn't listen in...I just...I heard the car and...” William trails off. He looks afraid. Mikey sighs. He doesn't want William to look like that. He hates it.

“It's okay. Come one, sit down,” he answers and William takes the few steps to sit down beside Mikey on the sofa. There is still room between them, but not as much as there used to be. Mikey can even feel William's body heat. It's progress.

It is, you know, Gerard's mind whispers and Mikey smiles briefly at him.

I know.

“You want tea?” Bob asks, he cleaning Gerard's wound. It doesn't look that bad when it's all clean.

“Yes,” Mikey answers for them both. William nods.

“Let me patch this idiot up and I'll make some. Coffee for you, idiot boy?”

“Yeah, and don't call me that,” Gerard grimaces when Bob pats his side to make sure the bandages will hold.

“I think you're good to go. Emilie will look at it tomorrow anyway. Don't even start with me,” Bob warns and Gerard sighs, biting back his protests.

~+~
William is nervous about whatever they want to tell him. Bob puts mugs down on the table and then disappears into the library.

“Thanks Bob!” Gerard shouts and Bob gives him the finger.

Gerard looks to his brother and Mikey lights a cigarette, takes a drag and says: “So, I'm sure you are wondering what the hell the crazy talk about the shifter was.” It's not a question, but William nods anyway. “We hunt things. Supernatural things.”
He says it just like that. Like this is normal. It's not. He knows. He knows because he is one of these things.

“Are you killing them?” he asks in a whisper. He knows the answer, but a part of him needs to hear it nevertheless. A sick, perverse part of him.

“Yes.” That's Gerard.

“Even those that aren't doing any harm?”

“You have to understand that there aren't any that aren't evil. It's in their nature,” Gerard says.
William sakes his head. He isn't. He isn't evil. He knows he isn't, but he can't say that.

“I can't stay here any longer,” he says instead of any of the stuff he wants to say. His hands are buried deep inside the hoodie.

“What? Why?” Mikey asks, his body shifts and he makes to grab William's hand. William tenses and Mikey says: “Fuck!” His fingers curl around the edge of the couch instead. William breathes out, closing his eyes.
He wants to tell them the truth but he didn't before, so...what would be the point now?

“I just don't think it would be a good idea.”

“You think we're freaks,” Mikey says.

William laughs. He is startled by it himself. It's torn out of his body, he shakes with it. “No, I don't. Trust me. I really, really don't.”

“We read minds,” Gerard says and Mikey gives him a look.

Are you a fucking idiot? he wants to know.

Gerard grins. William is shocked. “Not other people's. Just each others,” he adds.

“I...” William has no idea what to answer to that. But it sure as hell would explain a lot of weird stuff if it were true.

“He's being a dick. Just ignore him. We're telling you because we think you should know these things. We can prepare you...for when you're gone.”
William doesn't want to leave, but he really doesn't think it's a good idea to stay among hunters of supernatural things. Sooner or later they'll find out.

“You don't have to go, you know? We will. We don't live here anyway.” Gerard's voice sounds firm and sure.

“Is this your fucking excuse for hitting the road again?”

“There might be a Chupacabra two states over,” Gerard answers.

“You always say that and it never is one.” Mikey sighs and lights another cigarette. The first one is burned to ashes and he didn't even smoke it.

“You're staying with Bob and Emilie and we’ll hit the road again and when we come back...well, maybe you'll feel more comfortable around us,” Gerard says, getting up from the chair he was sitting in. Mikey gets up to help his brother. He waves a bit when they reach the stairs to the room they're sharing.
William waves back and thinks that he is truly fucked, but he really wants to stay. Just a bit longer.

~5~
Gerard’s obsession with the Chupacabra started shortly after he put all his stuff about vampires away. Mikey thinks it was because of this one X-Files episode, but he can’t say for sure. On the other hand, most of Gerard’s obsessions started with an X-Files episode. But he’d rather die than admit it. Something in his subconscious just reacts to these things.
The Chupacabra is Gee’s Yeti. Mikey doesn’t blame him. No one ever saw one - not that they know about. Bob would have told them if other hunters came across one. Bob didn’t say a word.
Sometimes Mikey thinks Gerard is obsessed with it because it is some kind of vampire animal. It’s complicated and stupid, but that’s how Gerard’s brain works.

~+~
The thing turns out to be a rabid wolf. For a moment Gerard is really excited about it because he thinks it might be a hellhound. They put it down and leave the town behind.
Gerard stops at some diner a few hours later for coffee and because he just can’t stand being in the car anymore. No matter how much he loves the car, sometimes he just needs to get out of it and be a normal human being again.
Mike leans against the car and smokes a cigarette while Gerard goes inside to get them coffee. He is sure it will taste horrible, because diner coffee always does. Watered down until it only looks like coffee, but tastes like muddy water. Maybe, Gerard thinks, maybe I spend too much time thinking about coffee.

Do you now? Mikey’s amused voice says into his head.

Oh shut up. It’s coffee. It should be good. People are writing poems and haikus about it.

Why can’t you surf porn sites like every other normal guy? his brother asks.

I do that too, but there is more to life than sex.

You wouldn’t know, you don’t have any.
Gerard can feel Mikey smile and shakes his head. The waitress looks at him suspiciously. He gives her his most charming smile and orders two coffees to go and some pie. They haven’t eaten in hours.

~+~
The sex thing was kind of awkward at first. It started earlier for Gerard, of course and Mikey didn’t have a clue the first time Gerard was jerking off. Needless to say he caught on really fast.
Gerard wanted to try a barrier then. Something for privacy. It was only normal to want that and Mikey wasn’t exactly keen about knowing which girl or guy his brother was mooning and jerking off over.
It didn’t work. It didn’t because none of them could stand it. The empty space inside their heads that used to be a solid presence, a pulse, another heart. A part of their beings. It was like missing an arm or leg. It just didn’t work. They could do it for quick masturbation. That was bearable, but later when Gerard and Mikey started to have sex for real with other people, it just didn’t work.
The first time Mikey reached for his brother was kind of an accident, he was too lost in the blowjob he was getting and the barrier just slipped. Gerard didn’t say anything about it and Mikey was glad. But it happened again.

“You need to manage that…”Gerard said after the fifth time.

“I don’t want to. It’s unnatural to not have you there,” Mikey answered and he felt miserable just admitting it. He felt wrong somehow.

“Don’t think that!” Gerard’s arm was around him just a second after he said it. He tugged at Mikey until Mikey leaned into him. Feeling Gerard’s breath on his skin and his fingers digging into his flesh a bit too hard. Gerard was mad at him. Mad that he would think there was something wrong with him. “Well, then just…I don’t know. I guess we can’t make it really quick, hmmm?”

“That would make the other people kind of miserable?” Mikey said. His voice soft. Gerard patted his knee.

“Yeah, okay…whatever. It’s not as if you’re thinking coherent sentences when you’re having sex.”

“Right back at you,” Mikey said.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, whatever. It’s not stranger than knowing you hate strawberries.”

“I know you think that it’s unnatural and wrong.”

“It is unnatural and wrong,” Gerard said with a grin.
And that was that.

~+~
Since they turned to hunting, Gerard didn’t have as much sex as he used to when they were living a normal life with Helena.
He didn’t seem to care about it either. Mikey sometimes wondered about it, but he had to admit that they really don’t have the time. There is always something else to hunt, people to save, things to salt and burn. Life on the road is busy.

“You think you would’ve had more sex as a rockstar?” Mikey asks, nursing his coffee, it isn’t that bad.

“You know me, probably not.”

Mikey grins. “Yeah, you would’ve wanted to save the fucking world with fucking music.”

“And art!” Gerard adds seriously.

“Instead you’re hunting things that go bump in the night.”

“Everyone needs to make a living.”

“We don’t make a living. We live off our grandmother’s money…” Mikey answers.

“Well… at least we don’t have to steal,” Gerard says, taking another sip of coffee. “It’s really not that bad,” he adds, musing.

Mike drains his cup and throws it into the trashcan. “It’s time to get out of here.”

“Road or a motel?”

“We could visit Pastor Jim…” Mikey says.

Gerard thinks about it for a second and then nods. “Okay. We can make it in a few hours and his cooking is really good.”

~+~
Pastor Jim looks older than Mikey and Gerard remember. Mikey thinks it’s because he took Helena’s death pretty hard. He still welcomes them with open arms and makes them eat their vegetables as well.

“So, what brings you guys here?” Pastor Jim asks.

“We are hunting people. An organisation, Bob thinks…they…” Gerard waves his hand helplessly.

“They sell kids. For prostitution.” Mikey finishes the sentence and knows Gerard thinks these words just don’t do the horror justice. They don’t, but Mikey isn’t sure there are words that could.

There aren’t, his brother says.

“Give me the facts. You guys could have called but I’m glad you’re here.” Pastor Jim sounds a bit mad at them.

“Bob was handling it while we were handling other things.”

“The Chupacabra I heard about a few towns over?”

“It wasn’t one…” Gerard answers unhappy.

“It was a rabid wolf,” Mikey explains.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Pastor Jim says. His voice completely deadpan. Gerard appreciates the effort.

~+~
They stay in the living room after Pastor Jim promises his help and then excuses himself for the night.

“Bob should have called him,” Mikey says.

“Bob knows what he’s doing,” Gerard answers, taking a drag of his cigarette. “But I do wonder as well.”

“If Bob didn’t want Pastor Jim to know…think we messed it up?” Mikey wants to know. He’s playing with the rim of his mug. No coffee. Just hot chocolate. Pastor Jim doesn’t even keep coffee in the house. It’s a strange, strange world they are living in.

“Maybe? Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“We should call him in the morning.” Mikey says. He drains his cup, takes the blanket and curls up on the couch with Gerard.

“Sure. Night Mikes.”

“Night,” Mikey yawns.

Gerard grabs his hand under the blanket and squeezes. Everything’s gonna be fine, he assures.

I know.

~+~
Bob calls them and he does it before they even had coffee, because Bob is a heartless bastard.

“’ello?” Gerard mumbles into the phone.

“I had a call from Pastor Jim this morning,” Bob says. He sounds calm, but then Bob usually does sound like that. It doesn’t mean that shit isn’t going down.

“We wanted to call you about that…” Gerard answers.

“Sure you did. Listen. How much did you tell him about William?”

“Just that we found him and that he was held captive and the other stuff.”

“What other stuff, Gerard?” Bob wants to know.

“That he was raped. Jesus.”

What is going on? Mikey asks and Gerard opens his sleepy, foggy brain up to him.

“Nothing about the chip? The drugs? The knife wounds?”

“No, we didn’t want…it’s bad enough we know about this. He doesn’t need all that horror in his life on top of what he deals with every day,” Gerard says, sitting up. The room is pleasantly warm and he is sure there is breakfast in the kitchen.

“Okay.”

Gerard is too slow to keep Mikey from grabbing the phone. “What the hell is going on, Bob?” Mikey asks.

“I think you guys should come home, now,” Bob answers.

“That doesn’t sound reassuring at all.”

“It’s not that bad. Just pack your stuff up. I need to tell you guys something.”

“It’s not Doomsday is it?” Mikey asks.

“Would I tell you over the fucking phone if it were?”

“Yes you would.”

“There. You have your answer.”

“I still don’t feel reassured.”

“Get your asses back home, guys,” Bob says and hangs up. They know it won't make any sense to call him back, he will just ignore it until they get their asses on his porch and to the front-door.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Gerard says.

“No shit.” Mikey gives him back the phone and Gerard stares at it for a while before he puts it on the coffee-table.

“What the hell is going on? If Bob doesn’t want Pastor Jim to know?”

“Don’t ask me. I can only read your mind.” Mikey shrugs and untangles himself from the blankets to get up. “I’m going to shower and you are…going to make tea. I guess. You know what is unnatural and wrong?”

“That Pastor Jim doesn’t have coffee in the house.”

Mikey nods.

~+~
They have an unplanned stop in a small town a few hours away from Bob’s. Gerard only wants some coffee and they kind of get stuck in it for hours, because it’s apparently haunted.

“It’s like these things are finding us. What the fuck!?” Gerard wheezes. He hates running. He always hated running. He doesn’t think he will ever get really used to it.

“A haunted diner; must be our first.”

“You have a checklist for this shit, don’t you?”

“Don’t you know that already?” Mikey asks.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“I so agree with you.”

~+~
The mind reading thing doesn’t work like people usually think it does. Mostly they can feel stuff more than hear real words. It’s because the brain processes a million things at a time and you have to concentrate to filter out what you want to know. Or you have to think it at your brother. Like having a conversation, but faster, because there is nothing between your brain and your brother's.
He supposes that they could hide things if they wanted, but it never was an issue. Maybe because they always were like that. Gerard doesn’t know and he really doesn’t care.
It’s true that there are no secrets left between them, but it’s also true that they don’t know everything about each other. Minor things get lost in the maelstrom that is the other’s brain. Like knowing that Mikey has a list of supernatural things he would like to see before he dies. Gerard didn’t know that before. He may have come across it once, but his brain didn’t think it was important at that time, so he forgot.
He doesn’t think he will forget it now. It’s such a Mikey thing to do.

~6~
William doesn't know what the hell is going on but he doesn't like that Bob is up that early and that he was woken up by a phone-call that wasn't from the Ways.

“What's going on?” he asks.

Bob puts a mug of William's favourite tea in front of him and William's stomach drops. “We have to tell them.”

“Tell them what?” William asks. He doesn't look at Bob.

“William...”

“I really don't know what you are talking about.” He grabs the mug and doesn't realise that it's too hot. Too hot to hold it like that for so long.

Bob gives him a look. “I didn't think we would have to tell them. I wanted to wait until they found out or until you were ready to tell them, but the shit is about to hit the fan.” Bob sits down across from him and he looks a bit pale, tired.

“You knew the whole time?” William asks quietly.

“Not the whole time. Pretty much from the second week. You know we aren't idiots, Emilie and I.”

“I didn't think...” William starts.

“I know. You were afraid. I get it. After what those people did to you and after you learned what we're hunting,” Bob interrupts.

“Things like me,” William says.

“You're not a thing, William.”

“You hunt us...I mean...I am a shapeshifter.” It's the first time he says it out loud. It tastes foreign on his tongue.

“You are one of our own, William,” Bob answers in his no nonsense voice. William really likes Bob's no nonsense voice, especially in this moment. “Drink your tea.”

“Okay.”

~+~
Gerard is half asleep when they park in front of Bob's. Mikey nudges him carefully.

“I'm awake...” he mumbles.

“Yeah, clearly.” Mikey mocks.

Gerard yawns and stretches in the car. He hits his elbow against the window and curses. “I kind of hate Bob for this shit.”

“Get out of the car. He's on the porch already. And his arms are crossed over his chest...”

“Great, the no nonsense pose...just great.” Mikey smiles. “I hope he has coffee.”

~+~
Bob has coffee because he is Bob. He puts two mugs on the table and waits until they drain them, refills and sits down, which means business.

“So, what the hell is going on that you don't want Pastor Jim to know?” Gerard asks.

“He is kind of single minded,” Bob says.

“What?”

“He only sees good and evil.”

“I can understand that. It's easy. But why are we having a discussion about the 'grey zones'” Mikey asks, he makes the quote marks with his fingers and all. Gerard snickers.

“I'm a shapeshifter!” William says. Mikey's head snaps in his direction.

“He knows how to make an entrance,” Gerard throws in. He is shocked. That's the only thing...he looks to Bob and Bob nods.

“Okay...you knew he was a shapeshifter this whole time?”

“Yes. I live with him, guys.”

“No kidding?” Mikey asks. He is still staring at William.

“You were...you are the girl from the parking lot!” Gerard says. It all clicks into place suddenly.

Mikey rolls his eyes. Trust you to find that important. He is the enemy, Gee.

No, not really. He is the victim here. Gerard answers. His inner voice firm and strong. Mikey smiles. You were testing me? he asks disbelief colouring his voice.

Mikey shrugs. “Yeah.”

Gerard shakes his head. “You don't want other hunters to know. Other hunters that shoot first and then ask the important questions.”

“We usually don't help supernatural beings. We kill them,” Bob nods. Gerard looks at William, but the boy doesn't even flinch. He is sure that Bob won't let anything happen to him.

I know that feeling all to well, Mikey says.

“Yeah, me too,” Gerard answers.

Bob rolls his eyes at them. “What did I say?”

“No telepathy in the house,” they say in unison. Gerard sees William smile.

“No one will hurt you anymore. We're gonna find those bastards and we will...do something you really shouldn't know about,” Gerard says, he reaches his hand out and waves him to come over. “Come on Bill.”

~+~
No one ever gave him a nickname. It's stupid, really, but he feels warm all over. He takes the first steps in the Ways' direction before he can even think about it. Gerard makes room on the couch for him. He is squeezed against his brother and he doesn't seem to mind. None of them do and William really envies the feeling of closeness for a moment. He wants that back. He wants...a lot of things, but he should concentrate on what is right in front of him. What he can manage.
He can feel Gerard's body heat when he sits down. It doesn't freak him out.
Gerard lights a cigarette and Mikey snatches it before he can even take the first drag. “Fucker,” he mumbles and Mikey laughs.

~+~
Bob shows them his research. He has a few concrete leads. Mostly it's about children disappearing and no one really caring about them. Children that are somehow different. Somehow not quite right - whatever that means.

“If they had known about me and Mikey when we were younger...” Gerard says. Bob nods. He was obviously thinking that too.

“What would they have wanted with two boys that could only read each others minds?” Mikey asks, curious, and that's why Gerard loves him.

“We can't harm other people, but we can harm each other,” Gerard says.

“Oh....that's sick.”

“It's sick, but I'm sure that those people would love it.”

“I don't like the direction this conversation is taking,” Bob throws in.

“We're too old anyway,” Mikey says.
Gerard keeps quiet.

“Don't even think about it!” Bob tells him stern.

“I'm not thinking about anything,” Gerard answers.

“You're such a fucking liar, Gee.”

“You know there is this spell that could make us young for a week...we could be bait. I'm sure Emilie could manage that spell.”

“NO!” Bob's voice is firm and it's his firm no nonsense voice on top of that.

“It's a good plan!” Gerard says.

“That's not a plan. That is a suicide mission!” Bob replies.

Mikey nods. “He's right, that's fucking dangerous...” Bob throws him a grateful look, “ and should be the last resort,” Mikey finishes smoothly.

“I hate you both. You have no idea about the proportions of my undying hate,” Bob says. Mikey pats his knee awkwardly.

“It's the last resort,” he says.

“Undying hate,” Bob repeats.

part two