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"C'mon now." There was a grunt of exertion and a mumble that took Ander's a moment to recognize as his own incoherent words before he realized he was being lifted up. But his legs couldn't hold the dead weight his body had become and they simply collapsed under him. He was tired, so very tired, and he had been perfectly fine sleeping on the ground waiting for Mike. But the strong hands holding Ander's up didn't let him fall.

Oh! He looked up, his head lulling back into a chest expecting to see Mike there. Mike with his stern frown and exasperated eyes and quick sarcastic snarks that would hurt more than they were meant to hurt. But as he looked up he stared into the face of Not Mike. Not Mike had a smile on his face as his dark eyes met Ander's blue ones.

It took Anders a moment to realize he was being bundled into… a car. Not Mike's car. The backseat was a deep black hole that was unfamiliar and scary. Anders turned away but the grip on his biceps grew bruising and then crushing as he tried to get free. He dropped onto his knees with a near whine escaping from his throat only to be pulled back up. He drew back a step and arms wrapped around his shoulders and waist rocking him forward.

"Hush now." The words were calming and pressed along his temple in the way that the foreign embrace was almost soothing. Like a family he once knew before his mother became a fucking tree. He had almost been trapped by it, swindled into fake security, and then he remembered it was just horse shit and the car door was coming closer.

No, no he didn't want to go in. He'd much rather be on the ground back in the alley.

"Take it easy now. You'll be much safer in there." When did he say that aloud? Everything was screaming within him that this was wrong and he should talk his way out of it but his voice felt dry as sand in his throat. Not Mike though was pushing him in and Anders could only scramble back out once he was let go. He lifted his leg, strange how it felt completely weightless, and kicked off the car only to be swung around and thrown head first into the back seat. Not Mike grabbed his legs and then nothing. He must have blacked out for a moment because one moment Not Mike was rushing at him and the next he was gone.

Val didn't understand why Mike rushed out after Anders's phone call.

"It's not like this hasn't happened before." She called out as he threw his clothes on and grabbed his keys with a curse.

Mortals were pulled to them unknowingly. Anders didn't get that. Mortals naturally wanted to challenge Mike. It was the same for mortals with Ty in the sense of knowing well enough to stay away from him and his cold darkness. And it would happen to Axel when he reaches his god status as well. Anders was the mortals' songbird. They wanted to hear his voice, wanted him to talk to them. It was reckless and it was dangerous to forget that.

"I'll call you." Mike had said with a kiss to his wife's head, the scent of her shampoo calming him from the alarms ringing in his head.

It took him a few turns to realize he had no idea where he was heading. He hadn't gotten anything from Anders other than he was beyond pissed. Something must have been slipped in his drink and despite Mike's knowledge of the type of parties Anders liked to go to, something told him this wasn't the usual drunken phone call from Anders he would occasionally get in the middle of the night. His kid brother, though a complete prick, sounded on the verge of panicky and that wasn't something Mike could sweep under the rug as normal behavior like Valerie. Though, to be completely fair, she had more of a reason to hate Anders than anyone else. She had been a victim of his over the top need to one up Mike after Anders turned twenty-one and even she still didn't understand why she did it.

Mike cursed under his breath feeling his worry turn into annoyance before he shut his eyes to feel which direction he needed to go, needed to hunt. Another thing about Anders that drove Mike crazy was his ability to get his brother to use the powers he was so greatly in control of and the dick was always the first to rub it in Mike's face. But if he could find him soon then he could drop him off at his apartment and make it home before the night was over.

Left.

His hands were steering without a thought pulling him to the inner part of the city. Clubs were alive, pouring out with girls barely dressed and men were slowly losing clothing as they went. Couples were walking and making out at the same time and despite stumbling along the sidewalk they remained upright the entire way back. The place was crawling with people and Mike had to pull over to avoid hitting someone. Getting out of the car, he had never felt so old in his life. There were kids Axl's age vomiting in the bushes and he felt overdressed as a guy ran past him in nothing but torn jeans, cigarette dangling from his lips. Mike sighed impatiently as he scanned the crowd half expecting to find Anders leaning against a wall with a smug grin on his face. But no such luck. Pulling his phone out he called Anders back but Anders's voice from his voicemail was the only greeting he got. He looked left and then right before moving away from the crowd.

As Mike moved down the alley, the mass of sound decreased dramatically and the laughing and cheering were beaten to nothing but a murmur. He doubted Anders would be back here but he kept looking anyway knowing he wasn't going to leave until he found him. He deserved as much of Mike's exasperation for calling him out of bed. He was going to make his brother pay one way or another.

Mike wasn't worried at all anymore as his irritation was quickly making him lose his patience. It's why the uncontrollable rage, the wrath that only a god could sustain without breaking blood vessels, had hit him as hard as it did. He was a pretty tempered man, raising three teenagers made him that way, and there was only a few things that could push him from his control.

Seeing his brother being shoved into a car was one of them.

Anders dropped down to his knees to pull away, a strangled cry echoing the otherwise silent alleyway, spurring Mike from his stupor. His steps felt stronger, as if the earth was shaking in his stride until he was running. Anders was thrown into the back and the man who had thrown him lunged forward before Mike tackled him to the ground.

It was a wonder how Mike was able to speak. All he could see was white burning lights as he fisted the man's shirt and shook him violently.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The man shrank beneath Mike, his face pale and his mortal blood screaming at him to prepare for death. While Anders relished in the way that mortals were naturally pulled him, wanting to hear his poetry, Mike would be able to contest to another part of being a god. Their powers may have diminished overtime but nothing could change the blood-burning wrath that fuels them into incoherent rages. And no mortal would be able to withstand a god who was pumped only by vengeance and lust for blood. It was terrifying because they lost all and complete control of themselves and no amount of reasoning could stop a god on a rampage.

"I…I…" The man stuttered. Tears began forming in his eyes before they widened in panic. Mike looked down to see the growing puddle of piss forming on the ground and then back at the man. The man was beyond terrified. As if realizing what he had done he could only hold his hands up to protect himself. Mike threw him down only just containing himself from unleashing his god instincts to destroy him.

"Go. Now." He grounded out, the electricity in the air radiating from him. Mike felt everything coming back into sense, the pounding in his ears, his blood pressure struggling at such raised levels, the shaking of his hands. The man said nothing and ran in the opposite direction completely forgetting everything that was in the alley just wanting to get away while he still could.

The anger swelled so suddenly again like a candle relit and it felt like a wildfire was coursing through his veins fighting his control. His instincts were shouting at him, jeering him on to hunt and chase his retreating prey. But a sound from behind him made him spin around ready for a fight. The fight, however, left him when he saw Anders weakly struggling to get out of the car only to fall to the ground in a heap.

"Shit." Mike sighed bringing a shaking hand to push his hair out of his face.

Anders jolted awake, the grips of a nightmare still clawing at his throat making it hard to breath. When just the hint of air came through his lips he heaved in oxygen like he had just resurfaced from drowning before dropping onto his back with a groan. Pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes he just laid there for a few long moments to let his heart rate speed down. He was in his room, dressed in sweats he had completely forgotten he owned because it had been a while since he slept in clothes and for that matter alone, and he couldn't particularly place a moment in time when he had actually made it into his bed.

He should have known better than to sit up as fast as he did because the spike of a migraine stabbed at the space between his eyes making the room spin in a nauseating way. Standing up was worse and he threw a hand out against the wall to stop his fall. Everything was focused beyond comprehension with his senses on overload and Anders just sagged against the only thing keeping him upright. Knees still shaking, he pushed away a moment later. It was surprising Anders realized that he was this hung over and still able to move.

Anders walked through his apartment, the carpet feeling sharp on his feet and the light from the windows making his migraine grow, and almost didn't see Mike sitting in the chair. When he did though he felt the familiar gut wrenching twist of his stomach he hadn't felt since he had been seventeen sneaking in from a party. Mike had the same look on his face, mouth pressed into a firm line, eyes down, and palms pressed against his thighs. He knew well enough that Mike wouldn't say anything and Anders also knew that he had two options. He could go back asleep and hope that Mike would bugger off when he got back up or he could get the lecture that was sure to come over with so Mike could leave after that.

"Didn't think you'd still be here," Anders said flatly because he didn't think he would be able to keep up his sarcasm at that moment. That's how horrible he felt. He needed to build up to it he thought. Opening the fridge to find the ingredients for his hangover cure only made his stomach flip.

"How much of last night do you remember?" Mike leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees still looking down.

"Not a whole lot." Anders said slowly feeling his grasp of reality coming back.

"You need to be more careful, Anders. You know that…"

"Here it goes." Anders sighed rolling his eyes before pressing them shut to stop the dizziness. Not his best idea.

"Would you grow the fuck up?" Mike snapped the stress from last night filling him after the adrenaline began to drain down.

"Why should I? Being a disappointment to you is way more fun." Anders swallowed the tap water though it tasted like ash in his mouth. His stomach felt hollow and sore from misuse and he had had enough blacked out nights to know the feeling of vomiting all night left on his body. Water though, water was good because he had something to do other than look at Mike who was expecting him to wring his hands together like he was six again.

"You called me remember. Like you always do when you need someone to clean up a mess you can't talk your way out of."

"Obviously a mistake I made on poor judgment from the alcohol last night." Anders looked up at Mike with a disarming smile that usually irritated his overbearing big brother enough to send him on his way.

"Would you shut up and start thinking about someone else for once in your life you selfish prick?" Mike saw Anders's tactic for what it was and didn't budge. Anders lifted a brow not used to his brother taking his bait and throwing it back in his face. "I can't keep doing this. I can't keep coming to get you when you fuck up. I have to work with Ty about all this god shit now that he knows and still keep Axl in school."

"Oh how noble, Mike. Really. Taking in three young kids." The sarcasm was thick in his voice making Mike's fist curl tight making Anders feel more like himself by the minute. "You buggered off like Mum and Dad without a thought about anyone else and you know it."

"Oh please you…" Mike rolled his eyes.

"Do whatever you want Mike. Say I'm selfish. I gave up a long time ago trying to live up to your fucking expectations." Anders gave a bitter laugh tossing him arms out to his sides even though they felt like lead.

"Expectations? You mean like being a smart kid that doesn't get thrown into some arsehole's car!" Mike shouted looking at Anders incredulously.

"I'm not a kid Mike and I would have had it sorted eventually. You forget that I took care of myself long before you came along like the hero you're pretending to be because before you couldn't be bothered." Anders said in the familiar aloofness. Mike snorted putting his hands on his hips. He couldn't help it. The challenge in Anders's tone was there and it was in his nature to prove him wrong. To win.

"You were sure doing a hell of a job of it last night when you called me scared out of your mind."

If Anders could have gone any paler he would have. His face lost all color and if the angry tension weren't between them Mike would have thought he was going to faint again. But Anders didn't and his eyes narrowed with his small smile that was fixed on his face. His cheeks flushed a slight red and his body went completely slack.

"I'm not Axl, Mike, I don't worship the ground you walk on. You're not Dad. You're not Mum." Anders said with a lot more anger than Mike had seen in years. What should have been anger and frustration his little brother covered with sarcasm and aloofness making him appear more like the little shit he liked to be seen as but Mike knew better. He had seen the subtle rage that had always bubbled within him. Growing up and always being smaller than the others, even Axl at sixteen was a head taller than him, their dad going off, and then the moment when Mike told Anders that morning in the woods the family secrets. He knew Anders wanted the others to think he didn't care, so that he always had the upper hand, but he knew. He had seen it. And this was just like all the others times. It pissed Anders off to know that no matter how far he pushed his older brother, Mike always knew.

Mike sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. "I never wanted to be that to you, Anders, and you know it. But Axl needed…" But Anders didn't let him finished and just waved his hand in Mike's direction, feeling the ground beneath his feet start to shift again.

"Yeah whatever, Mike you keep telling yourself that. What you needed was to be in control of something because for the first time since you turned twenty one you weren't and that had nothing to do with what Axl needed." He hissed from over his shoulder walking back to his room. If Mike wanted to stay he could sit in Anders's living room waiting for him. Before long Valerie would call and Mike would run home back to suburbia and they would go through another six months of not talking to each other.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He said in a low dangerous voice. Normally Anders would just ignore him maybe send a flippant comment at his retreat but the way Mike said that made Anders feel the chill in the room. Now Mike was challenging him, calling him out, and Anders wasn't going to let Mike win this time.

"Coma Robb. There wasn't anything you could do about it. That was supposed to be your big reality check? Get over yourself, Mike. Where were your brothers you so generously brought up when you were out getting pissed with Robb? Or all those other times you went out testing your powers. Where were we when you would spend all night in the hospital?" Mike tensed feeling the ice-cold grip he always felt when Robb was brought up. Anders saw it though, the chink in Mike's superior armor, and he stepped over the invisible line between them so he could stare at Mike. "Robb wasn't even in a coma for more than an hour before you Valerie started making eye fucks with each other."

Mike was shoving his brother before he thought about it and the balance that was still missing from Anders sent the younger of the two falling to the ground, his arm grasping out at the couch to catch his fall. But he didn't make it and fell to the ground with a thud sending the room spinning.

Mike ran a hand over his face cursing low under his breath before he bent down to extend a hand.

But Anders flinched away.

Mike stopped, his heart drop to his stomach at such a rapid speed that he almost choked. Anders stared at him, too shocked at his own reaction before he pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes again, hiding them.

"Just go, Mike," Anders groaned dropping to lie on the carpet until his living room just stayed in one place. Mike, the worry lines around his eyes making him look older than he was, blew out a long breath. The frustration left him with nothing but his tired body. Anders wasn't looking at him anymore and curled an arm around his waist. Mike knew Anders better than he thought though and he wasn't going to get anywhere else with this conversation. Anders was an adult now. Not a kid like Mike kept thinking he was. If he wanted Mike to stop hovering, he would.

"Call me if…" He wasn't sure how worse Anders could get at the moment. Grabbing his coat he left, retreating back to his suburbia and letting Anders win this round.

Anders waited until he heard the truck start outside before he rolled onto his stomach bringing his arm over his head and his knees to his chest riding out the wave of nausea.

Mike didn't know Anders that well though. Not completely. Because if he did he would have seen that Anders had been lying. Not about what he had said in their argument. Mike had been a prick before and a nag now. But…Anders remembered. All of it. Most of it. The important parts. Anders remembered being scared.

It was the bits that Anders didn't remembered that terrified him.

a/n: Thanks so much for all the responses guys! I honestly wasn't expecting that much feedback for it. Here you guys go. Their relationship is so complex it was difficult to write but I think it came out pretty decent. Review and let me know!