Sage was angry and it took quite a lot for him to reach that point. Sage never got angry without a very,very good reason. He'd found one tonight when he'd walked, regrettably so, into the Angels MC Bar, promptly named Angels.

The bright pink neon sign was a beacon to all ,who were brave enough,to call upon an Angel to solve their problems. Sage knew he was brave,most of the time, but he still hated himself for having to come here. Three years of searching had brought him nothing but despair, long lonesome nights that hadn't bothered him at first were slowly driving him mad. He needed to find his brother. He needed to find the only person he'd ever think to love in this world.Time was running out and quick. He could feel it.

After three years of searching he was still confident he could still find his brother. He just knew.He could feel it. Part of his anger stemmed from the uncertainty that rose with each year he searched gnawing at all his hope,mocking his optimism. He was always worried he was looking in the wrong places but those were the only places he knew of.

Sage didn't want to think that his brother had found heaven just yet. They were supposed to have gone together.

Sucking a large breath, Sage sat down at the bar.He didn't mind the smoke, he'd picked up the habit himself when he was extremely stressed. It was the easiest thing to come by in his parts and the least lethal.His fingers trembled in the pocket of his hoodie as he rubbed incessantly at the picture he had of his missing loved one. He clutched it every night when he went to bed, remembering the feeling of cuddling with that warm body.The warm body that gave him a sense of security, faith in himself.

He promised me he'd be back.

Sage grit his teeth and chided himself for thinking those things. They would only depress him even further. Squinting at the bright white lights, not quite used to being exposed Sage read the words that hung above the impressive collection of drinks behind the bar:

Brother,brother

Give me your name

Brother,brother

Give me your shame

Brother,brother

(Trust in me for) my work is not in vain

Brother,brother

I absolve your pain

Sage's eyes watered as he stared at the words, moved by the meaning and freaked out by how desperately he wanted those words to come true. He was shocked by the sudden spring of tears. He hadn't cried in a while. He'd cried himself to sleep for months on end until he couldn't anymore. These were strangers who'd found each other, brothers in arms. Sage wanted his brother in his arms again.

Mouth agape with shallow breaths passing through his lips, Sage just continued to stare, the glare of the lights burning his eyeballs. He felt overwhelmed now. Maybe he'd made a mistake coming here. He liked staying hidden, in his own world. He liked being able to sit for hours on end with nothing but bittersweet memories for company but even Sage knew it was debilitating. Darkness was hell without anyone to share it with.

He used to feel invincible as a shadow.He didn't have much. He didn't have much at all but it had all been worth it. Being invisible was where he was the  most comfortable, the most safe, content.

Until he left me.

No. He couldn't think like that. He wasn't abandoned by choice.

Someone had taken him from me.

It wasn't so far-fetched. It was what he'd feared all his life, ever since his father had died, been murdered. He'd been underage when it happened and wanted no part of foster care. He'd heard stories. People like him and his brother  needed to forge their own lives, no matter how miserable.

My misery was my own to create, my own to deal with.

This kind of misery,however, was the kind he hadn't created for himself. He'd been abandoned twice before and each time had hurt him, burned his heart. He'd felt spurned, like a lover cheated out of the magic of affection. He really thought it'd  be different this time. If he had only one person left to call his own couldn't he keep them?

Sage looked down, his face hurting from all of the lights. This was too much self-reflection.Sage found it quite unhealthy to lose faith in himself. He didn't want to drive himself crazy;he took pride in his sanity. He licked his lips, blinking hard. He'd get one of these guys to hear him out and help him, no matter the cost.

Squaring his shoulders, Sage looked up convinced that he'd let the light have it's way with him for a while. He just didn't expect to see the brown-haired, crazy fellow that had helped him escape a very painful sexual experience.

・ ・ ・ ・

Tomas really liked his leather seats. So when he came out of his office to find Johnny drowning in his own drink, he was peeved.

Johnny was one of his favorite recruits. He hadn't expected to pick him up off his ass,literally bleeding like a goddamn faucet on his club floor. He'd been pissed that his men hadn't taken into account the roughians who'd made their way into his domain. He couldn't blame them though. He'd called a mandatory meeting,fifteen minutes tops. It was just enough time for the dumbass he stared at to get his ass beat. He was happy to open his arms. The boy, man now had seemed eager to help. There was a light in his eyes, that Tomas recalled when they first met. It surprised him how present the young man seemed and stupid. Well, his stupidity deserved to be rewarded.

Tomas was too tired to give him a piece of his mind. Johnny didn't seem to know Tomas was even there.

"You're ruining my furniture, you little shit." Tomas grumbled only slightly catching Johnny's attention. Tomas looked for what held his attention. Looking past  a couple of his men, goons at the moment as their drinks took effect, he spotted a boy sitting at his bar looking as stupefied as Johnny.

The boy looked awfully familiar but he didn't know why and didn't want to find out.

"Ask him what he wants and let him know we don't serve underage kids." He barked at Johnny who miraculously left his trance and jumped a bit in his seat at the sound of Tomas' voice. Tomas managed to keep himself from laughing knowing that Johnny didn't enjoy being made fun of. He always thought Johnny took himself too seriously. "And clean up your mess... fucking pig."

He marched back to his office, having come out in the first place to check the condition of his premises, sporting a headache and stark curiosity for the figure sitting at his bar.

He hoped he hadn't misplaced his faith in Johnny.

・ ・ ・ ・

Sage would remember that face anywhere.A little part of him had wished to see it again, soothe his worries like that night three years ago.

It was crazy how big his ears were. His ears were the first thing Sage had noticed sticking out from the side of his big head. Sage wasn't complaining about that. He just didn't like the look he was receiving. It wasn't his fault the guy couldn't hold his drink.

His face had darkened but it didn't make him any less handsome.

Sage watched him stand up suddenly and Sage became acutely aware of how he'd felt around him when they'd first met. Scared half to death due to the unwarranted attention from those old timers, sick because his brother hadn't come home yet and hot, not because of the crowded club but because of the searing look he'd received from his crusader. A part of him wanted to feel guilty about not showing some gratitude but he thought to hell with it. The last person to have tried to instill some manners in him was dead. Manners didn't save his father's life from the evil that surrounded them in his youth. He'd been running all his life, it was only fitting he'd continued doing so.

Watching the handsome stranger approach, Sage felt hot all over again. His emotions never got the best of him most of the time and he didn't like that they were now. The only thing keeping him in his seat as the stranger stormed towards him was his love for his brother and the need to see him again. If not he would have booked it by now and away from this skin-tingling stare.

He should have been uncomfortable with the recognition. He feared being found out even as an adult now. He took different aliases on the streets whenever he took on new jobs. He'd found a somewhat permanent one, a very profitable but dangerous one. He needed to make sure he could break away from it once he found something better, making connections was only going to put him in danger. In retrospect, he shouldn't have taken the job. For one, he'd sworn to his brother to stay away from drugs. And two, deep down, Sage hated seeing people make stupid decisions, beg for the very thing that could kill them, confused by how sweet it was.

"Where've you been?" The stranger asked him abruptly, thankfully a safe distance away,standing above him.

"What the fuck? Were you expecting me?" Sage asked eyes narrowed. He didn't mean to be rude but his guard was up.

"You've got a dirty mouth on you." Was the only response he received. He wanted to roll his eyes and without thinking he did. "What are you doing here, kid?"

Sage cursed his boyish looks. His brother had always teased him for having such a baby face, round and soft, enticing to anyone interested. It didn't help that he was blonde and blue-eyed either. He was any man's fantasy.

"I'm not a kid. I've come here for business." He said. His voice even. There was no use in getting himself kicked out. If he played nice, the Angels played nice too.

"We don't serve underage-"

"Like I said, I came here for business. I didn't come here to drink... and you smell." Sage didn't look the guy in the eye as he said this,wrinkling his nose. Was it childish? Maybe, but he took him for a child anyway. He really did smell too. Sage had always found the taste and smell of alcohol repulsive. The stranger was bathed in it.

"You took me by surprise." He defended himself.

Sage bit his lip, unsure about this whole conversation. He wasn't the priority, his brother was. It had been three years since they'd first seen each other. It gave him some relief knowing he wasn't the only one who had remembered their encounter but he still found it creepy. The guy was a looker but that's all Sage wanted to do with him, look. He wasn't interested in getting to know him.

"Me too." Sage admitted. He looked up as his mouth twitched in amusement at how appeased the guy seemed to be by his admission. He wasn't lying but he didn't know why he was telling the truth anyway. This stranger wasn't the one he wanted to see the most.

"I'm Johnny." Sage looked back down, blindsided by the smile that had taken over Johnny's features. It was a really nice one. He'd craved something like that,that kind of fondness. His brother liked to smile, Sage liked to sulk.

Johnny.It sounded like something you were supposed to grow out of.

"I'd rather not tell you my name, just yet, until you've agreed to help me." Sage managed to get out, air leaving him as he blinked yet again. Damn that distracting mouth.

"We don't take kindly to demands." He heard him say as the chair next to him was pushed out.

Sage gulped as the space between him and Johnny was now gone. He could see the guys legs, thick thighs, hitch themselves on the bars of the chair, feet encased in dark black boots. He avoided staring at his face, choosing to admire his,hard,muscled chest visible due to his soaked shirt. Sage's mouth watered and wasn't so sure of himself anymore.

Sage had grown balls that had never led him in the wrong direction. However, they were doing just that at the moment. They had never tingled like they were now as he looked at the pointy-eared bastard in his view.Gosh, he was getting the hots for this guy instead of looking for his brother.

Sage cleared his throat, "Sorry...I'm at my wits end. You're my last resort."

That was pitiful.

Sage was stiff now from anticipation as silence reigned between them. Even though he could hear the rumble of the drunken men at the other end of the bar, he wasn't distracted.This man right beside him, legs dangerously close to brushing his, was doing things to him, inappropriate but pleasant things that he wasn't so sure was going to do him any good in the long run. He didn't want to catch fire from the feverish sensations that plagued him.

"Are you going to run away again?" Johnny asked softly.

Sage was stunned by the intimate tone and badly wanted to appease him but he couldn't guarantee anything. He wasn't so foolish to make promises he couldn't keep like his brother had done, intentional or not. He was firmly aware that promises were made to be broken.

・

aaron rhodes as Sage

song: all of the lights(interlude) aka sage's theme song.