Aftermath – Chapter 1

By MyNameIsCAL

I do not own Maximum Ride, of course. Big thanks to Mr. James Patterson for creating the characters. Hope you enjoy my new story!

-Iggy's POV-

Fang would never forgive himself. It wasn't even his fault, but he still blamed himself. Not only did he feel responsible for the deaths of all his flock members, but Angel had perished too. Except Angel had to die so we could survive. She had to so we could save the world. Dylan could have just been another casualty, but she told Fang to save him. She said that if Fang saved Dylan, then maybe Fang would have a shot of winning Max over. Well, she was wrong. Fang cursed himself for letting Angel make the decision because of him. Dylan had offered to risk himself too. It was Angel's miscalculation that had led us to this mess, not his. No matter how many times I told him that, he'd never believe me. No one blamed him, not even Gazzy, but Fang still took it hard.

We didn't have Angel's body to bury. To put it bluntly, the bombs went off and it was as if she hadn't ever existed. After we grieved, tensions rose and in order to cope, we split up. Max and Dylan went to California. Gazzy went eastward and was in New York City. Nudge went to Hollywood. Jeb and Ella were dead. But they had already been mourned way before Angel, and I needn't elaborate on those details for now.

It was only Fang and I who stuck together. Nudge was mad at me still and I didn't want to go with Dylan and Max. Gazzy wanted me to go with him, but I knew he didn't want to have to take care of me because he needed to move on by himself and not with me as a burden.

"I'll go with you," were the four words Fang had said first after Angel's death. I remember being taken aback. It astounded me that he would do whatever I wanted, but I soon realized that taking care of me gave him stability.

I guess you could say things worked out though. It still hurt every single day to think about everything we had gone through. There wasn't a day that could pass that I didn't think about Angel. Perhaps she was watching over us though. After all, things had fallen into place for everyone. Max and Dylan got married and had a five-year-old son named Ari, Nudge was a famous fashion designer, and Gazzy was the owner of an entertainment magazine and did some voice acting on the side. And well, Fang and I found love. Unexpectedly, of course.

Right, you probably don't believe me, but it's true. Despite Fang rarely talking, it turned out we were more compatible than we had been (in my case, with Ella and in Fang's case, with Max). I suppose it was because we also grew closer through coping together. Or maybe it was the fact that he really cared for me, more than anyone else ever had.

Fang and I lived on the beach in a quaint, little house. For the last three years we had been together so to speak. Two years prior to that we spent skirting around or anger and pain and eventually our feelings for each other. Our houe was spacious for the two of us, and we spent most of our days on the beach or cooking. Fang spoke little. Usually when we finally climbed into bed at the end of the day he'd talk a little more. It was getting better little by little, I had to admit. Part of me was starting to think that Fang was finally letting go of things.

Today wasn't any different from our usual day. We lay in bed for god knows how long without saying a thing. Then Fang wrapped his arms around me from behind, nestling his face into my neck. The roughness of his check tickled and I let out a laugh as he pulled me closer.

"Good morning," I said, grinning.

"Morning, Ig."

That was always a good sign to hear him talk in the morning. I almost wanted to stay in bed just to see if he'd talk some more. He always told me that all I had to do was ask for him to talk more, but I knew he would be uncomfortable, and well, I didn't mind. Fang was more of a physical being than one who had words to describe everything.

The moment was broke by the phone ringing. Fang's arms slipped away and he was pressing the phone into my hand now. I answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Iggy, it's Gazzy. I'm getting on the plane now. Just wanted to let you know that everything's on schedule. I've got a connection in Denver, so I'll call you when I'm there again." Right, we were supposed to be picking up Gazzy at the airport today.

"Fang and I are going to spend the day in San Francisco anyway. We'll pick you up and take you to dinner," I said.

"Thanks." He muttered something away from the phone. "Alright, I gotta go now. I'll call you later. Bye!"

There was a click to signal the call had ended. I gave the phone back to Fang.

Gazzy was on his way to stay with us for a little while. He told us it was only temporary, that he would go back to New York once he finished up some business, but I got the feeling he was job searching. None of us really needed money, not after what the government had paid us to keep some things hushed up. Gazzy just preferred to keep himself occupied. Fang suggested that maybe he was tired of being alone. But it had been a year since I had even spoke to Gazzy and well, I was anxious to finally get to talk to him in person.

Out of the rest of the flock, Gazzy was the only one who knew about Fang and me. Fang was reluctant to really let anyone know. As soon as you took Fang out into public, he gained a more inward composure. There were things I wanted from him, but they were also things he was not ready for. Marriage, telling the rest of the flock, and being comfortable in front of other people. He had only agreed to let me tell Gazzy because I talked to him so often before he had stopped calling me for a year. Max and the others didn't really care to know why Fang and I were living together still. We hadn't even met Ari yet. Then again, Fang wanted nothing to do with Max, and so she had resigned herself to not talking to him ever again.

Fang helped me to dress. After he finished, he kissed me softly on the lips, and I had to resist the urge to pull him towards me and back down onto the bed. He was sweet like that though, believe it or not. Then he smoothed out my hair and told me he was going to change too. I sat on the bed and waited for him.

It was a cold and rainy December morning. Fang wrapped me in a jacket and a scarf and led me to the car by hand. I held onto it for a second after he guided me into the car. He chuckled and squeezed it before letting go.

You would think that silence was uncomfortable, but between Fang and me, it probably said more than even I could ever say. There was something about Fang's presence that made me feel safe.

"I made a lunch reservation."

I raised an eyebrow. Lately he had been surprising me more and more, especially with talking. And now lunch? I felt myself smile. "That sounds great."

We rarely went anywhere far. The grocery was really the only place we went regularly besides the quite café down the street. I guess I didn't really like crowds. It was all just a little too overwhelming. Fang only talks around other people if he needs to, which is pretty much never. I think since we had started living together, he's only maybe said one thing to a stranger and it was because he had accidentally turned the corner and knocked a kid over.

The dirty smell of the city and the ocean mixed together. It made me appreciate living in such a remote place away from the hustle and bustle. Fang took my hand as we exited the parking garage.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Usually he'd only hold it when he had to. He had this fear of exposing himself to the world. Then again, maybe I was insensitive to those kinds of things because I couldn't see.

"Nothin'," he murmured. "Just wanted to hold your hand."

I gave his hand a squeeze and he returned it as we crossed the street.

Lunch was simply amazing. It was a restaurant Fang and I had frequented right after the flock had split and before we had found a place to live. One of the waiters even remembered us. We always ordered the same thing, which was good because Fang didn't have to say a thing.

"So what do you want for Christmas?" I asked Fang.

He lift my hand up and pressed it against his face, letting me know he was smiling. "Just you."

I felt myself grin. "Well, what's gotten into you lately?"

His smile turned into a smirk and he let my hand go as we began to eat our food.

PAGE BREAK!

I remember when it happened. Fang and I were walking along the beach. He hadn't been sleeping, but it was my birthday and he insisted we do what I wanted. As usual, he wasn't talking, and I was trying to convince him that it was okay if he was upset still, even if it was a year later. Just as he took in a breath, ready to say something, I tripped over the sand and grabbed him, pulling him down on top of me.

"I'm so sorry!" I gasped.

He must have been dazed because he stayed there, on top of me. Somehow his arms ended up under mine, and so I had my hands rested on his back, my fingertips just brushing up against his wings. Fang's fingers ran through my hair once.

"Iggy…"

I pulled him towards me, finding his lips. It would be any moment before he pushed me away and took off, I told myself. He was kissing me back though, his fingers tugging my hair. For a while, I thought I was dreaming.

Later when we got back to the house, he told me he was sorry for not getting me a birthday present, but I told him that what had happened would make up for it with a grin, half joking. Then he lifted my hand to his face to let me know he was smiling.

I'm not saying that Fang didn't care for me before our true feelings were revealed. After all, he had let me choose our house. He took me around to a bunch of places, and at first I thought he hated it here, but I soon realized he wanted to be away from the rest of the world like me. Whatever Fang did, he never felt it was enough. Fang even went as far to color code things for me with colored duct tape because (if you didn't already know), I could feel colors.

You would think living with someone who doesn't talk, or rather, living with the person you loved more than anything else in the world who didn't talk, would be hard. It wasn't at all. There was understanding in our silence. It was some kind of connection I still had yet to figure out.

We picked up Gazzy and brought him home for dinner. He sounded tired, but I also felt like something was bothering him. For now, I let it go. Maybe he'd talk more tomorrow after he got some rest.

I lay in bed with Fang now, our arms around each other.

"Ig?" It was always good to hear Fang say my name.

"Yes, Fang?"

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight," I replied.

"Ig, I love you."

I pulled him closer. "I love you too, Fang."