All She Need is a little Push.
By: puppet-dancer
Three long hours of flight has left Maximum Ride exhausted and quite beat out of her game. Without Fang to knock out some sense out of her, the flock worries about Max's night flights. She will go out to who knows where and then end up beat and exhausted after her return. Iggy and the Gasman theorize that it's one way for Max to forget about Fang.
Even if she cannot admittedly tell them to their faces, they know how hurt she is when Fang left her. Add to the list, that Fang has found a new love interest on MAX II, now known to come with the name of Maya.
"It looks suicidal." Nudge says when they found their poor exhausted flock leader sprawled on the couch, legs dangling on the edge and face ragged.
"Just leave her be. She'll come around." Iggy gestured for the others to leave their flock leader alone. Eventually, Max will get through with it. Iggy knows this. After all she's been through; Max can deal with it to the end.
She usually does.
As night came to its toll, everyone readies themselves to go to slumber. Angel has found comfort sleeping with Nudge that she has grown tired waiting for Max to tuck her to sleep. While everyone slept, Max rose up from her deep slumber and prepared to fly her on her night cruise again.
Before she took off into the night, she found her share of food on the table secured inside a plastic Tupperware. Iggy must have put it out for her, knowing that she will be hungry after long hours of sleeping. Sitting down to a stool, se began to eat her share of dinner. It was delicious. Iggy has his way of satisfying her hunger even if the choices of ingredients are quite limited.
As she happily munched on Iggy's cooking, she was caught unaware of a shadow lurking from behind her. Dylan, who is still wide awake watches Max from behind. Just like Fang, he concealed himself perfectly in the dim light.
"Are you satisfied?"
Max jerked around, arms in defense. Dylan smirked as he moved into the light coming in from the window. Max took a deep sigh and lowered her defenses. She covered the Tupperware with its plastic lid and placed it back inside their little food compartment. Dylan was silent but his gaze never left Max's.
"How long have you been watching me?" Max asked.
"Long enough before you noticed me." he replied.
Max turned away from him and towards the door. She turned on the knob in a silent click and let her body be showered below by the moonlight. Her shadow casted a long figure on the floor and Dylan found it amusing to watch her shadow, her wings unfolding.
"Tell me Max, what are you reasons for taking off late at night?" Dylan asked, moving closer to where Max stood underneath the faint moonlight. The flock leader ignored his question. He watched as Max's wings flapped up and down; brown and white feathers landing softly on his feet.
Dylan bent down to snatch a white colored feather to his fingers. He watched it closely, admiring its brilliant white beauty and its softness that reminded him of the clouds on a morning flight. He dropped the feather back to the floor and unfolded his wings.
"What are you doing?" Max asked. By the sound of her voice, it is hinted she doesn't want any company with her in her night flights. Especially not Dylan.
Dylan moved beside her and did the same flapping of wings. Max jerked as his wings touched the tip of her own. She moved out of the house and into the front porch. She looked up to the moon dreamily smiling down to her face as she imagined her night flights with Fang when he was still part of her flock.
She misses him of course. But there are things that cannot be forgiven. Yetforgotten.
"I am not asking for your company. I just want to feel the adrenaline rush you always feel during these night flights." Dylan took off like a sizzling bullet in the air, his wings outstretched and magnificent in the faint glow of the moonlight. "This feels great!" he exclaimed in elated happiness.
Max smirked as she too took off into the night. She flew pass Dylan and buried herself deeper into the clouds. The wind underneath her wings felt good for her. She closed her eyes to savor the moment but found it hard to fight back the tears.
She misses Fang so bad. So bad that even flying cannot cower away her feelings for a lost love.
Dylan who was flying beside her noticed the tears lingering on her eyes. With a rough flap of his wings, he moved ahead of Max. Max sensed him flying before her, his heels just inches away from her face. She stopped on her speed and steadily straightened her up in the air.
"What gives, Dylan?" Max protested.
Dylan straightened up his flying as well, eyes locked into Max's own orbs. "It's hard getting your attention when you are thinking of him."
Max narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
Dylan smiled wearily. "It means, it's hard making you reciprocate my feelings for you. You are still stuck in your own crossroads. When will you realize that you're the only one not moving on? Have you seen Fang? Have you seen his emotions towards your clone? Do you think he still thinks of you the way he does when he is still part of your flock? Part of you." Dylan added, his voice hinted a sound of melancholy.
Even so, he was right.
Max turned her back to him. "Who gives you the right to tell that to my face?" she clenched her fists on her sides and flew up, hovering with the clouds, away from Dylan as much as possible.
She hated him for that, but in summation; Dylan was right.
To remove the heavy feelings in her chest, she spent the whole night flying in the air; speeding like a bullet, making a new record.
Max's night flight soon came to an end when the sun began to slowly peek into the blue-green horizon. She began to fly back to their little hideout only to find Dylan sleeping on the front porch, right arm covered his eyes. Max approached him and heard him snoring. So she left him there with a good gesture of placing an old blanket of Nudge on top of his body. But before she slumped back to her couch to sleep the whole day away, she knelt down before Dylan's sleeping figure and wiped a stray lock of his hair from his eyes.
Frankly speaking, Dylan is gorgeous. It's hard not to resist him. But there are times when he goes beyond his limitations over Max. That's what makes her angry over him. But still, she needed him so she needed to forgive him.
After she left him that night, she began to fly in a fit of rage but slowly she began to realize Dylan's words. She has been affected so much of Fang's departure that she completely forgot her role as the savior of the world and a flock leader to her 'brothers' and 'sisters'. Dylan was right. Fang chose to move on with his life. It's now her time to do the same thing as well.
"Thank you." Max whispered as she planted a soft kiss on Dylan's cheek before she went inside.
Little to her account, Dylan was wide awake, only pretending to sleep when she came back to their hideout. He was waiting for her to come back safe and sound. He needed to be reassured that she is all right. After all, Dylan is in love with her. He promised Fang he will be there for Max now that the latter cannot be with her anymore.
Lowering down his arm from his eyes, he touched the spot where Max's kiss lingers and he smiled on her little gesture of thanks. Even if it only meant nothing for her, just a friendly kiss of thanks, for Dylan, the kiss is more than just thanks. It's a sign that Max is slowly moving on with her life without Fang. And to a new life with him.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I just adore Max and Dylan pairing. But I still prefer Fang to be with Max, after all they've been through in the past books. But Dylan has proved to himself that he can reciprocate a much better view of love for Max than Fang can, so I guess that's my reason for writing a fanfic for this couple. A change with the a pairing.
I hope you liked the story. Do review.