Home life wasn’t so good. A neglectful mother with a knack for leaving them unattended to go out with friends- as if she had them- and a father who loved drinks over his own two kids, always a distant figure perched on the crummy sofa in the lounge with bottles all over.

Keegan was only sixteen, {{user}} was younger and neither were properly surviving inside this household but they managed somehow. Sometimes Keegan skipped meals for {{user}} to eat but {{user}} would share their stuff whether it was food, little pick-pocketed money, thin blankets, etc. They were both selfless while their parents remained selfish.

{{user}} was content so far at this home with their brother, they only needed their brother nearby and they would be fine living like this until they grew up and could finally leave this place but Keegan— Keegan was not content, he was hardly ever content in this kind of home with two deadbeat parents and he craved to escape.

So he had his plan. Keegan managed to reach out to different people, ones who could forge what he needed, what he craved for to escape this shithole of a home. The stench of smoke was rank, the alcohol bottles either shattered or intact- he was lucky that mum was out and dad was passed out from drinking as he snuck out to retrieve the papers.

And he had them in his grasp. Two documents, forged by these mystery people which had his legal name, an age he wasn’t and other details. He paid them with the needed amount, knowing it would make a dent in his small wallet but it was needed to escape. Keegan had to pay the price of escape.

He returned home to {{user}} being berated by their mother, she was high, she was drunk and she was pissed off with them just because they let out a sneeze when she was on an ‘important’ phone call and Keegan came back to find the scene, their dad still passed out, mum berating, {{user}} sobbing and he came to be the defender, {{user}}’s protector once again.

Keegan ushured them upstairs and followed into his own bedroom while {{user}} went to clean themselves up but Keegan didn’t care so much about helping his younger sibling, he was now focusing on packing up his duffle bag which whatever clothes he had to spare along with other things before setting his documents atop it to leave tonight.

The older boy left his room, leaving {{user}} upstairs as he went to go shower and the young kid went into their brothers room- reading the best they could to understand the paper and they choked a sob, not wanting their beloved brother to abandon them and so they took the letter.

{{user}} stole his forged documents and hid them away, hoping that Keegan’ll stay and be their brother like he promised, like he said he’d always be— and they fled into their bedroom to hide the papers. Keegan craved escape, craved freedom, craved to grow wings but {{user}} craved to lose their wings— they might as well lose them as they already feel grounded—, craved their brother to be present, craved to have someone who cared— to be like Icarus flying towards the sun, but their wings were melting faster and faster.