also posted to my a03, ludgerkresnik, and my tumblr, inkedsnow.

He knows he shouldn't be out so late, by himself. Ion knows this, it was one of the deals he made with his brother when he first moved in with him. Yet, there's a draw to how empty the streets are, how there's little flicks of light buzzing around before fading out. They flit around his head, teasing him. He tries to catch some in his hands, but they always go just out of his reach.

Since he was a child, he could always see and hear things that aren't there. At first, Ion had been terrified when he gained awareness of his ability. Eventually, the fear had slowly dissipated, and he found friendship in the dead, the fae and all the creatures that lived around each corner. Some weren't friendly, but he stays away from them. They always seem to have red eyes, and always seem to stare. He's grateful his brother keeps crosses hanging up in their little apartment, because that makes them stay away. He remembers how he had told his parents when he was a child about seeing these things, and was expecting them to laugh it off as a child's imagination or scold him for telling lies. Yet, they embraced it. They told him he was 'special', he had a gift that was granted to him from a higher force.

They would tell him not fear what he would see, as they would have a message for him to pass on. The dead linger for a reason, they tell him. Yet, when they would visit his grandparents in their little village, he would see such beautiful creatures playing about. He always wanted to approach them, but his parents would always stop him. 'They're dangerous,' They would tell him. "They are not as sweet as they seem." So he marveled at them from afar, with only a childlike innocence.

One fairy flies ahead of him, and he chases it, around corners and through alleyways until it disappears and he's left staring down a long, unlit, unused gravel road leading to the woods. There's a heavy feeling unease and he looks over his shoulder. Maybe it's time to go home, he thinks.

Yet, when he tries to head back, all it seems to be is the gravel road. The rocks crunch beneath his feet, and he feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Where did the fairy lead him to? Why are they all gone?

His heart pounds in his chest as his pace quickens, he can't help but feel like something is watching him, and that something isn't friendly. Ion breaks into a run as he hears what he's sure are footsteps behind him.

The road seems to be going on for forever, and something cold touches his arm and wraps around it. He yelps.

" Hey !" The voice is sharp, and he nearly falls from being stopped. "Geez, why were you running?" The person sounds irritated, and Ion turns around. For a brief second, he swears the person's eyes were red. Maybe he's just tired.

"O-oh um…"

"Whatever." The boy says, obviously a little irate. "What're you doing out here?"

"I was walking around, and got lost." Ion replies, sheepishly.

"Well," The boy says. "You're going the wrong way. C'mon, I'll show you." He lets go of Ion's arm and beckons for him to follow. Ion isn't so sure, considering how the fairies had led him to this seemingly never ending road. The boy stops walking, and turns around. "Are you coming, or not?"

Ion quickly gets going. He stays behind him, just in case something goes wrong and he can high tail it out of there. It feels as though they had been walking forever, but finally, he sees streetlamps. He goes to thank the boy, but finds that he's gone and everything around him is back to normal.

In his pocket, he feels his phone vibrate and pulls it out. There are multiple calls and texts from his older brother. The time reads back to him, in bold and foreboding numbers. 3:30 AM. He starts running.

It takes him nearly a half an hour to get home by foot, as he had refused to answer his phone. He would rather delay what would be a long lecture, and possibly even being yelled at by his older brother. Ion prays to whatever force is out there that Mihai had gone back to bed when he gets home.

Yet, when he unlocks and slowly opens the door, he finds the kitchen light is on and Mihai is sitting at the table, slouched over with a coffee mug in front of him. His brown hair is askew, and his mouth turned into a grim frown.

"Ion." Mihai's voice is low as he tries his best to sneak past. "Where have you been?" His voice is low, but Ion can just hear the seething anger.

"I-I couldn't sleep." Ion licks his lips. "The-the fairies kept wanting to play so…"

He watches as Mihai rubs his hands against his face, and listens to him breathe out a heavy sigh. "Ion, you're too old for this." The anger is gone, and he just sounds tired . "There are no such thing as fairies."

"There are!" Ion exclaims, feeling rather insulted that his brother doesn't believe him. "They're always around!"

"Then ignore them. You need to sleep!"

"It's fine." Ion replies as he crosses his arms over his chest. "I can do just fine without sleep." Mihai gives him a look of disbelief. "Even back home, I did just fine with very little sleep. You saw my school reports!"

Mihai drums his fingers against the hardwood table, he can feel his patience growing thin with the boy. He knows Ion is adventurous, and is always curious about the going ons around him. That's what he was told by their aunt when she contacted Mihai. He's too much , she had said. From what he knows, Ion was the first to know about any festivals, any concerts, and everything that was going in the little city he had been living in. Please, take him. You're his brother, he's supposed to be your responsibility now.

Moving to another country isn't always so easy on boys just entering into their teen years, and Mihai understands this. And it's even harder after losing parents, and having to live with what is an estranged relative.

"I'm going to make an appointment with your therapist in the morning," Mihai finally says, voice heavy with exhaustion. He doesn't want to argue with his little brother.

"I don't need a therapist!" Ion protests, his voice growing in pitch. "I'm fine !"

"Ion, please. Please just see her." Ion stares at Mihai, almost glowering. It's too late to argue, and it's too late to turn this into some sort of impromptu counseling session. He has to be at work in a few hours, and he can't really go in sleep deprived. Mihai watches as Ion's nose wrinkles up, and a pout forms on his lips. "Just one session, okay? If you don't like her, you won't ever have to go again."

"I'm fine." Ion insists. "I like it outside when it's dark."

Mihai sighs, and runs his hands through his hair. He's too tired for this. "Just...just go to bed. We'll talk when I get home from work."

This, Ion doesn't argue with. He retreats into his little bedroom and falls onto his bed. There's shuffling, and he hears Mihai's bedroom quietly shut. It's always hard for him to sleep, especially after an adventure like that. He doesn't understand why his brother doesn't believe him, or understand. He seems to still hold in superstitions and beliefs from their home country, so why can't he believe in ghosts and fairies? It's not fair, Ion sulks.

There's a little glow, and one of the fairies appears above him.

"You got me in trouble," he whines. " And lost." It doesn't answer, but they never do. They never speak to him, but they laugh and they do sing. Yet, it's always in a language he doesn't understand, and is convinced isn't real. It plays with his hair for a few minutes, before disappearing again.

He wonders about that boy he saw, barely distinguishable in the dark. The eyes have burned their way into his mind, and maybe his mind had just been playing tricks on him. He's not sure. Ion decides that while Mihai is at work, he'll go and find that road again, and maybe he'll run into the boy again. He has to thank him, after all.

Those are his last thoughts as he slips into a heavy slumber.

Actions