Max's POV;
"You're... leaving?" I asked, bewildered. With Angel's death, Dylan's general existence, and the no doubt thousands of other deaths caused by the Doomsday Group, my voice couldn't manage to sound like anything other than just exhaustion. I was completely drained mentally, physically, and emotionally. Not only had I just lost my Angel -my unofficial baby- but, now, Fang was going to leave again, too? Honestly, I expected it to have somewhat more of a shock value, but, considering my mental state at that particular moment, I felt nothing more than a dull aching around my chest.
"The gang and I have some theories about leads to other DGers that the police haven't caught," Fang explained. I examined him for a second and noticed miniscule signs of lack of sleep and general rest in his expression and physically on his face. I saw dark shadows cast around the bottoms of his already dark eyes and I noticed that his eyelids were drooping a little. It was totally understandable, though. I heard an awkward cough from Dylan as he waited with the Gasman, still trying to comfort him over the loss of his sister. Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to Fang and I felt Nudge slowly meander away from us. She'd always been good about avoiding tension.
"But..." I began, then changed my mind. Shockingly, I couldn't argue. Fang had always been there for me, from our torturous days at the School to when we'd inadvertently fallen in love just a few months ago. I could hardly believe that this was the same Fang who had held me, kissed me, hugged me, shared so many good —and bad— times over the fifteen-ish years we'd known each other. Deep down, I knew I still loved Fang, but I couldn't focus on that right now.
"Max, please," Fang said, putting two fingers under my chin and tilting my head up towards his tired, seemingly aged face. He looked deeply into my eyes and I could clearly see every tired emotion in his deep, dark ones. Normally, his eyes are shrouded in mystery and an inexplicable darkness, but they were totally open now. Totally vulnerable. Kind of like Dylan's eyes.
Oh, right. Dylan.
"Fang, I…" my voice trailed off as I took his hand and, with a small groan, placed his hand by his side. "I'm going to miss you," I admitted, something I don't usually tell people. As of late, though, the dam with which I sealed all my emotions from leaking out my mouth had been faltering. I guessed there were a few chips from everything that had gone on, from Angel being kidnapped to her being… gone now. I refused to believe that she was dead.
"Max…" My name lingered on Fang's lips and hung in the air as he closed the space between us, drawing me into a somewhat awkward hug. I clung to him, struggling not to fall apart for the fifteenth time today. I could feel his chest rise and fall beneath my blotchy, tear-streaked face. The warmth that radiated from his skin wasn't muffled much by his tattered shirt as I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, enjoying the feel of him for the last time, before pulling away from him to look him in the eyes.
"I guess this is it," I said, hating how those words sounded coming out of my mouth. Fang had always been my right-wing man and now, though the pain was nowhere near as intense as it was when I'd discovered his note a few weeks ago, it still felt like he was taking my right wing with him. I peered over his shoulder at his rag-tag mish-mosh gang. They were all milling around, trying to ignore the no doubt nauseating moment going on between me and my… ex-best friend. He'd always be my best friend, but it was hard to call him my best friend when he kept leaving me.
"Yeah," he said, seeming a little pained by his words as well. I'd silently been hoping that he would add something like, "for now," or "just for a while," or "not forever," but I had no such luck.
I nodded, wiping a stray tear from my face. He looked down at me one last time before he turned and snapped out his gloriously dark wings. He nodded to Max II —I mean Maya— and she returned the gesture. I guessed it meant that she was in charge 'till he got back, though I didn't get a chance to ask. He took off, leaving the rest of his crew behind. With a few strokes of his powerful wings, he was thousands of feet in the air, heading off to God-knows-where. It hurt to watch him, but I couldn't look away. Even as he abandoned me again, I still couldn't bring myself to turn away from the one person who I was closest to in this crazy world.
With a solemn sadness in my heart and an empty feeling everywhere else, I watched my best friend, my first love fly off into the sunset that was painted with red hues. Usually, it would be beautiful, but, considering everything that had happened that day, I had little appreciation for the colors. I felt that awful pricking in the back of my eyes, but didn't try to fight it. I knew my supply of tears had run out a long time ago.
Dylan stood beside me, watching Fang fly off, too. He glanced over at me and, though I only saw him in my peripheral vision, I knew he knew I was hurting bad, but nowhere near as bad as it would be later. Right now, I was somewhat numb from the shock of today in general, but it would all come crashing down later. However, I planned on crossing that bridge when I came to it.
Dylan's strong arm snaked around my shoulder and I leaned on him for support. It was so nice having him there. Don't get me wrong, I love my flock (well, what's left of it), but it was nice to have someone who understood. Granted, Dylan wasn't my age, but he was made for me. No, literally. He was engineered to be my perfect match… but, I'll cover that another time.
Nudge and Gazzy stood next to me and Iggy came to stand beside Dylan. Total sank down in front of all of us and I wondered if he even cared that Fang was gone. Since Angel was the one who'd talked me and Fang (you know, when he was actually in the flock) into letting us keep Total, so I knew he missed her. I put my arm around Nudge and patted Gazzy on the shoulder, giving him my most convincing smile. Granted, it wasn't really that convincing, but hey. It was something.
My small, broken family all watched yet another member go.
God, was this going to hurt in the morning.