Just a one-shot for you all. Enjoy!
"Gazzy, get your ass off the top of that tree right now! Wings or no wings, if you get hurt, I'm leaving you for the wolves." Max screamed, glaring at Angel as the young girl scolded her for her use of profanity. The eight-year-old happens to have a superior complex larger than that of her sixteen-year-old leader.
"The tree branches block the sun from setting the pinecones on fire!" Gazzy whined from the upper canopy, fogging up the magnifying glass he fished out of the trash during the previous day's dumpster excursion at McDonald's.
"Exactly! Another forest fire and the fire department will have your face plastered on their trucks!" Max hollered, hands resting on her hips.
"Another forest fire and the fire department will have your face plastered on their trucks!" Gazzy mimicked, his voice perfectly replicating his older flockmate's tone.
"Thin line, Gaz." Max growled, perfectly dodging the three flaming pinecones aimed at her feet. An unconvincing 'oops' was muttered from above.
"Gazzy! Pinecones?" Iggy criticized, popping in to Max's defense. "Ant hills, buddy. Ant hills."
"Where?" The younger boy exclaimed, jumping down from the treetop above.
"Don't kill the poor ants!" Nudge shrieked, stealing the glass out of Gazzy's hands. "Ant murderers!"
"You're right! How about I smoke up some bunny rabbits for dinner?" Gazzy poked, reaching behind Nudge in attempt to reclaim his precious toy.
"You're sick!" Nudge spat, chucking the lens deep into the woods.
"Max! Did you see what she just did?" Gazzy yelled.
"He was gonna kill a bunny!"
"Ever heard of sarcasm?"
"Ever grow up?"
"Alright, enough!" Fang groaned, clasping his hands over his ears. "I get it, there's not much to do out here, but please, for the love of God, shut up!" Five jaws rested on the ground as Fang spoke his first full sentence of the week, or ever since the Flock had bunkered down beside Lake Mead.
"It speaks." Iggy stated, patting his buddy on the back.
Piss off. Fang thought, knowing that it had not gone unnoticed that he had been especially silent since the little mishap in Nino Pierpont's ski home. Long story short, the Flock had been blown out of that home and forced to take shelter in the good 'ole outdoors. And sure, that wouldn't have been anything new two years ago, but the Flock had grown accustomed to air conditioning, electricity, and most importantly– privacy.
Because two years ago Maximum Ride did not have breasts. Or at least Fang had never noticed them. But now, straining against the cotton of her t-shirt, it was blatantly obvious that Max did not have a bra on. It wasn't that Max never wore bras, she did, but laundry obligations had been neglected for a full seven days. Why put something filthy so close to your body?
Has she no idea what she does to me? Fang sulked, running his fingers through his dirty hair. He could really use a shower. A shower with Max– Fang's mind raced into dark corners. His thoughts and dreams had developed more X-rated tendencies, the likes of which would have him castrated if Max were to find out about them. It certainly didn't help that she changed behind a tree ten feet in front of him. Had he even a morsel less dignity, he'd blend into the forest surroundings and perv on her like a thirteen-year-old boy. But he had too much respect for Max to ever go through with it.
And he didn't want to lose a testicle so early on in life either.
Nudge and Gazzy's bickering picked up again, unsurprisingly due to their track record. Their sibling rivalry was stronger than that of Gazzy and his own biological sister. Max shrugged and threw Fang a defeated pout.
"How about a game?" Max suggested, trying to throw the kids a distraction. It wasn't like there was a monopoly board around- Gazzy cheats anyways- but surely something could be figured out.
"Truth or dare!" Gazzy proposed, mentally scheming.
"No. Not after last time." Max vetoed.
"That's not fair! It was only one bomb and it was mostly Iggy's fault!" Gazzy whined.
"Do not throw me under the bus you little sh–" Max kicked him in the shin, "sh...rek" Max rolled her eyes.
"We can play hide and seek!" Angel suggested.
"Fang always wins!" Nudge complained, remarking on Fang's ability to just about disappear. "What about bus stop?"
"The heck is that? Seeing who can stop a bus and not die?" Gazzy questioned.
"No. It's like a competition between two people. Whoever makes the person uncomfortable wins. If they say 'stop' or prevent you from doing whatever you were doing, they lose."
"Any other rules?" Gazzy asked, seemingly sold on the game. Mischief was his expertise.
"Just that you alternate turns. Can't have one person hogging all the fun."
"I have one," Max butted in. "No bombs!"
"But Mom!" Gazzy protested.
"But nothing. Who's starting?" Max dictated.
"Me!" Nudge's hand shot up.
"Me too!" Gazzy challenged.
Nudge gave Gazzy the stink eye and touched his neck, a place where he had always hated being touched. No reaction. Gazzy shot his tongue out at Nudge and in his perfect rendition of Jeb's voice said, "Nudge, sweetie, these nice doctors want to take you for a test. Don't fight, sweetie. Time to be a good girl." Nudge winced, but remained strong, not letting Gazzy's stupid mimicking capability win him this game, especially because she had been the one to propose it.
Thinking fast, she licked the side of Gazzy's face. "Ew, gross!" He exclaimed, pushing her away.
"Ha! I win!" She cheered, dancing in circles.
"Not fair!" Gazzy whined.
"Totally fair!" Nudge retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. He backed away in disgust. "Next challenger!" She sang, throwing her hands up in the air, victorious. As if Gazzy were that hard to pick off.
"You're going down." Angel challenged, crossing her frail arms over her chest.
"I'll let you start." Nudge smirked, arrogance on her tongue. Angel simply smiled and shook her head in a way that scared the crap out of all who witnessed.
The young blonde skipped up to the taller figure of her older flockmate and best friend and started pulling strands of hair out of Nudge's carefully made-up braid. Living sans running water for a week didn't stop her from looking flawless. Nudge's arm hair pricked, her breathing hitched, and it took every ounce of her strength not to yell for her younger opponent to stop. Gathering all of her will, she resisted, at the expense of her hairstyle. Nevertheless, everything must come with a price.
The corners of Nudge's mouth stretched into a smirk, approving eyes studying Angel as she backed away, her first method of attack proving ineffective. Nudge was the one behind the offense this time around, and she took a step forwards to Angel and looked her dead in the eyes.
"Dead kittens, puppies in a blender, Celeste in the middle of the ocean, everyone you love dead, bloody unicorn, the word 'moist', clowns taking your blood, creepy crawly spiders in your hair, fried worms, Eraser drool, polka dots on stripes!" She rambled, repeating the mantra three times over. Distraught was plastered all over Angel's face, but she did not conform. Nudge muttered something inaudibly to herself and stepped back, building up her defense.
"Nudge, Nudge, Nudge," Angel cooed, "this tall, blond, handsome young man happens to have been in your thoughts and I think that the whole Flock should know that you have a whopping crush on–" Nudge's hand clasped firmly over the racing mouth of the mind-reader.
"I win!" Angel cheered, her words still muffled by the palm of Nudge's hand.
"Crush?" Max poised, cocking an eyebrow.
"Um, it's... embarrassing." Nudge admitted sheepishly, avoiding eye contact from four sets of curious eyes. Angel already knew who her heart was set on, but she was no psychic, and was entertained by the conundrum she had put Nudge in. Payback for all the years of sleep talking her ears had been sentenced to.
"Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!" Gazzy chanted, nudging Iggy to do the same.
"It's Niall Horan." Angel giggled, covering Nudge's real secret while still guaranteeing the entertainment value of Nudge's embarrassment.
"From One Direction? Really, Nudge? Really?" Iggy critiqued, shaking his head from side to side in a disapproving manner. He had thought that Nudge had gotten over her dumb infatuations with male celebrities long ago.
Nudge didn't speak, an extreme rarity, and allowed the game to continue. Iggy had already stepped up to the challenge.
"Alright little blondie, show me what you got." He smirked, bidding her the first go.
"I got your private collection of audiotapes engrained in my head. I don't think your culinary skills can pay your way out of my therapy bills." She harped, arrogance binding her words.
"Trash talk never fazed me, little girl. Nice try." Iggy smirked, relaxing his arms across his chest.
Angel sighed and stepped back, just as a crack of thunder sounded.
"Storm's coming," Max stated, "we should go find cover before the rain starts pouring on us."
"But the game!" Angel protested, cocky that she'd have Iggy defeated by her next turn.
"The game can go on when we get under cover! Now where was that cave, again?" Max turned to Fang.
"'Bout six miles west, eight o'clock." He replied.
"Follow." Max ordered to the five people she was responsible for, shaking her wings out of her jacket and taking off. She knew they'd be out of sight behind her, even with her enhanced raptor vision, but made no effort to slow. She needed some time alone, a luxury she hadn't had since they got blown out of their last home.
She needed distance from the constant nagging of the younger ones, their cries for chocolate and television not really on her high to-do list. She and Fang had managed to fly into town and gather a few necessities while the kids slept on their first night in the woods, though they hated leaving Iggy on watch without them around, but the kids still longed for the privileges they became so accustomed to with a firm roof over their heads.
And it was as if Max could do anything about it.
Her thoughts turned as she found the cave, disappointed that it wasn't as concealed as she had hoped it to be. Fang had made a habit out of venturing out to this location every other night or so after the kids had gone to sleep. It didn't surprise Max; Fang had always been one to enjoy his own company.
That, and he probably had- um- personal needs.
The Flock arrived no more than two minutes after their leader, dropping all of their bags onto the cave floor.
"Sick crib." Iggy snidely remarked to Fang. Not that Iggy could see it, but the cave was rather tight and had an eery gloom to it. Sure, it could fit the six of them comfortably, no doubt, but it didn't leave much room for personal space.
"It'll keep your obnoxious ass dry." Fang replied quietly, his frequency at a low that only Iggy could fully hear.
"Alright, guys. Settle down for a bit, Fang and I are going to run a quick perimeter. One aerial, one ground, you know the drill. Iggy's in charge. If we aren't back in an hour, up and away immediately. Meet back at our first campsite and lie low. Iggy, you know the protocol if Fang and I don't make our way back their in reasonable time." Max spieled.
"Paranoid, much?" Iggy commented.
"It shouldn't come as that much of a shock to you anymore." She replied, rolling her eyes. "No bombs while we're gone." She added.
Fang followed the blonde out of the mouth of the cave, beginning the first circle of their aerial perimeter check. It became routine to them over the years, but they knew better than to let their familiarity with the protocol overshadow their execution. The hundred meter radius took no time at all as they doubled it to two, slowly but surely forming a spiral that extended to five miles.
"Everything looks good from above." Fang verified, angling his feathers to the canopy below.
"We're making good time too. We beat our record there." Max stated, dropping to a crouch on the forest floor.
"Eleven minutes twenty-two?" Fang checked, knowing the unlikelihood that he and Max had different times. The pair had always been in sync, whether they knew it or not.
"Uh huh. Let's try to match that time on the ground."
"We're only covering the half-mile, right?"
"Do you think it's enough?"
"Yeah. Everything was clear from above."
"We have to train the others to do these. It's boring as Hell." Max complained, her eyes quickly scanning every inch of her surroundings as she moved at the same pace as her partner.
"It's not all that bad." Fang shrugged. He honestly couldn't say he minded them in the slightest. It gave him plenty of time to be alone with Max, where he could be himself, and the silence of it all was never a bother to him.
"Says Mister I-watch-paint-dry-for-fun."
"We can make it more bearable." Fang idly suggested.
"How?" Max pushed.
"I can beat you at that game Nudge came up with."
"Doubtful."
"Let's finish this quadrant and I'll be more than happy to show you up." Fang smirked, arrogance on his tongue.
"Race you." Max challenged, already five strides ahead of him. Fang knew he couldn't win, and even if he could, he knew that Max wouldn't compromise the safety of the Flock by going faster than her vision could keep up with. Instead, he obliged to trail behind her, their paces nearly identical. They matched their aerial time indeed, leaving them a full half hour to spare before needing to return to the Flock without sparking panic. It wasn't unusual for them to take their time before heading back, but normally they would be talking over plans or the hot gossip of the Flock, aka Iggy's latest run-in with nitroglycerin or Nudge's complaint of the day. Never would they waste their time on a juvenile game.
"Here, why don't you just quit now and save yourself the embarrassment." Max teased, arms crossed over her chest.
"You know as well as I do how stubborn I am." Fang retorted.
"Ditto." Max reciprocated, casually leaning against a tree.
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Ladies first." Fang gestured, taking a small step towards his female leader.
Max grinned and dropped to a squat, eye-level with Fang's ankles. Her nimble fingers quickly untied his shoe laces, before meeting opposite ends together and uniting them with one large knot.
"Max, st...ah, oh. Nice try." Fang caught himself, smirking as Max shimmied back up. "But it's my turn now."
And with that, he grabbed the back of Max's neck and pulled her in, locking his lips with hers. The last time he had done this, she had run away for the hills, and while it would crush him to have history repeat itself, he had put himself in a win-win situation. She'd either run away, crowning him the victor, or kiss him back, which in his mind, was the far more favorable outcome.
Of course, he had planned this move since he learned about this game, and was lucky enough to be burdened with perimeter checks as to not have had to lure Max out into the woods like an age-old pedophile. He'd been wanting to kiss her since the last time in the cave, but she had run away and he was too scared to get rejected like that again. It had taken him months to recover, not only his ego, but the notion that she didn't share the same feelings for him as he did her. That stung more than a roundhouse kick to the ribs.
This kiss took every neuron of courage Fang could squeeze out of his body.
And Max kissed back.
Hesitantly at first, but then again, that could've been from shock. Without any warning or indication, Fang attacked her mouth with his lips. It would set anybody back a few seconds, even someone with kickass reflexes. After Max got over the initial shock, she found a rhythm with her lips that complimented his. Fang's hand lightly made its way to the small of her back, and her fingers found there way into the locks of Fang's hair. The pair stayed connected at the lips for a few amazing minutes, which simultaneously felt like ten seconds and an eternity, before Max pulled away.
"Flock." She panted, glancing down to check her watch. They didn't have all night, and the Flock would panic if they betrayed their micromanaged time frame.
"Goddamn responsibility." Fang muttered, loud enough for Max to hear. Max rolled her eyes and kissed him once more before turning and pushing off into the air. Fang flapped his wings rapidly to meet her side-on.
"Just so you know, that counted as your turn." He smirked.
"Did not!" Max protested, slowing down enough for Fang to be able to keep up without having to overexert himself.
"Did too."
"That's so not fair."
"Life's not fair." Fang shrugged.
"I'm gonna get you. So. Damn. Hard."
"Well I'm not gonna protest to a–"
"Not in that way you perv!" Max cut him off.
Fang rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up in surrender.
"You drive me crazy, you know that." Max stated.
"Well you've been driving me crazier for years." Fang remarked.
But he couldn't deny that he didn't love every last second of it.