Note: This takes place during Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. If you haven't gotten to that book yet, this contains some pretty major spoilers
Fang had been insistent upon taking up the first watch of their first rest since the flock split up. He told Iggy that he'd wake him for the next watch after 5 hours (Gazzy eagerly volunteered to stand for a third one, but Fang and Iggy insisted he get as much sleep as possible); in truth, however, he intended on staying awake throughout both shifts. He couldn't deny that it was he that caused their inseparable flock to separate, and even though they were going along with it, he knew Gazzy and Iggy couldn't be all too happy about it. On the other hand, Fang wasn't taking the full blame for their parting. What was Max thinking, putting her trust in that murderous fleabag?
Feeling confident that nobody would be searching a forest in the middle of North America for bird kids in trees, Fang pulled out his laptop (he'd won custody of the device), flipped it open, and didn't bother to adjust the screen brightness. Might as well update his blog readers on the whole Max-chose-an-Eraser-that-has-almost-killed-us -over-me situation. When he logged on (over 5,000 viewers, huh?), though, he ended up just staring at the screen with his fingers resting motionless over the keys. He wasn't used to having writer's block…
Well of course his thoughts would be distracted. What was Max's PROBLEM? Trusting Ari… Ari! Either she was starting to be a softie, or just an idiot. Probably the latter. Then again, acting mommy/leader for 4 bird kids probably did soften her up some….. No. If anything, her role in the flock would make her even more untrustworthy of anyone associated with the School.
So why the hell did she take in Ari? He was the son of Jeb, who was a manipulative traitor. Not to mention he was an Eraser, whose very purpose in life was to hunt down and eliminate the flock. How could she forget the countless times he nearly took their lives? It was because of him that Max had to donate her own blood because without it, Fang would have died. He became particularly stiff at that memory. Not necessarily because he had been face-to-face with death… More so because that night on the beach, Max had kissed him. Strong, sassy, clever, annoying, beautiful Max had put her lips on his. Yeah, Fang was half-dead and Max only did it thanks to the overwhelming emotions, but…..
Stupid tiredness. Putting all these sentimental thoughts in Fang's head.
"…Fang?" The sound of Iggy's whispered voice snapped Fang out of his mental debating. For a brief moment, Fang wondered if the light from the computer woke him up; duh. Of course it didn't. He must have just been restless.
"Yeah?" Fang made sure to keep his voice down as well so as to not wake up Gazzy, closing his laptop silently. The young boy seemed fast asleep, however.
Iggy shifted ever so slightly so that he was sitting beside Fang on his branch. "I can't get to sleep. Want me to stay up instead? You deserve some shut-eye."
"Nah, I'm fine… I'm just… thinking."
"About Max?" Fang stared at Iggy in mild shock. Either Iggy's lack of sight made his ability to sense the mood right on, or Angel wasn't the only flock member that could read minds. "You can tell me what's on your mind, if you want." Iggy couldn't help but grin at his own remark. Fang? Talk about his feelings? What on Earth was he thinking.
Fang bit his lip. Yes, he'd been opening up a lot more lately, but the only person he'd ever think about talking to involving crap like this was Max. ...Well that option was certainly off. Not to mention he'd only tell Max what was currently on his mind when Hell froze over. "Not just her… The others too," he murmured. That wasn't a total lie; Angel and Nudge were somewhere in the back of his mind. "I don't regret doing what I did, but, I guess I do miss them."
Iggy nodded slowly without looking at Fang (not that it would make much of a difference if he did). "I do too. But this isn't an episode of Dr. Phil, so let's talk about something else. …Something else like what it was like to get lip from Max. And I don't mean backtalk."
So if this isn't Dr. Phil, is this Degrassi? Fang almost said once he realized what Iggy was asking him. "Where did that come from?" was the inquiry that actually came out of his mouth.
"The part of my brain where questions are stored," Iggy responded simply with a shrug to his shoulders. Fang drew in a deep breath, attempting to string together words to describe what kissing Max was like. Sudden… Passionate… Confusing… Brilliant… Exclusive… Magical… Amazing… Perfect…
"It was… nice," he murmured. Iggy hummed slightly, obviously not pleased with this response. What did he expect? This was Fang he was asking, not some motivational speaker. "But seriously, Ig. Why are you asking me this?"
Fang's dark eyes widened slightly. Was Iggy asking because he wanted to prepare to experience it himself? The flock was able to highjack a car, escape evil scientists, and hold their own against wolf-human hybrids designed specifically to exterminate them; nevertheless, anything under the category of romance was not in their job description. It sure didn't seem like Iggy had any special feelings for Max… Then again, did it really appear that Fang did?
"I may be a bird kid, but I'm still a teenage bird kid. I'm just… curious," Iggy answered reluctantly. Normally, he'd at least try to aim his blank gaze at someone's face when he spoke to them, but now he was staring completely off to the side. "…I've never kissed a girl. And I really want to. But, would I ever get the chance? I've got wings, no eyesight, and don't even know what I look like. I mean, I've got a general description, but am I, y'know, cute? I'll never know for sure. Yeah, I'm gonna ask you what a girl looks like every time I wanna know. But that shouldn't even matter. If I can't tell if her face is pretty, what's the point in making that a priority? Maybe, in a few years, everything will calm down and we'll be as normal as winged kids can be. I just want to at least know what it'd be like if someone out there- outside of the flock- accepted me for me."
There was a moment of silence as his words swirled around in the darkness. Iggy had gone on and on about the properties of making a bomb, and maybe expressed the unfairness of being blind, yet he'd never said so much about something like this. Fang opened and closed his mouth a couple times before speaking. "Dang, Ig…. I didn't know you felt that way," was all he could think of to say. Iggy shrugged again, now staring unseeingly down at his lap.
"…Fang?" Iggy murmured after another silence.
"Yeah?"
Iggy hesitated before continuing. "This whole 'end of the world thing' could be legit. I'm not trying to be a party pooper, but we might not be around much longer. I might not have the chance to meet a girl that'll kiss me even though I'm different. I'm getting' kinda desperate here… So, uh, will… you kiss me? Just so I know what it feels like?"
Sudden hoard of Erasers? Everyday stuff. The flock splitting up? That could be handled. Stuck with needles in dog crates? Just childhood memories. Near death battles? Simply an adrenaline boost.
Having one of your best, male friends ask if you could kiss him? Dangerous, unheard of territory that Fang didn't know if he should venture into.
But Iggy was looking right at him (it was scary, really, how he could make nearly perfect eye contact with someone when he couldn't even see), and had just poured at least half his heart out, and turning his offer down would create a new world of problems…
"…Sure." A grin that Fang wouldn't have seen in the darkness if he didn't have raptor vision appeared on Iggy's face, along with unmistakable embarrassment.
"Thanks, man… And just FYI, I don't have some homo crush on you or anything. These are just desperate measures," Iggy assured him.
"Yeah, I know," Fang replied, knowing it would've been pointless to nod. He almost wished an Eraser or anything would jump out of the bushes below, distracting him from this uncomfortable situation. Still, he reassured himself that this wouldn't alter his brotherly relationship with Iggy at all, and slowly closed his eyes. There. Now both of them were in the dark.
Slowly, Fang brought himself closer to Iggy on the branch, getting a feel for where he was in relation to his own position. Good lord, this was going to be so awkward…. No. He couldn't let it be. Iggy deserved to know what a real kiss felt like, because as he said, they may not live long enough for him to experience it for real. Fang parted his lips slightly- barely a centimeter- and puckered them just a tad, lightly resting one hand on Iggy's shoulder. Time seemed to slow down as Fang's mouth made contact with Iggy's.
Both of them were inexperienced and had chapped lips, so it wasn't the neatest kiss ever, but at least Fang had tilted his head so that their noses didn't bump together. They stayed there, frozen in the moment except to reposition their heads a bit. It felt like they'd never pull away, when in fact the kiss only lasted around ten seconds. Fang felt the lightest of light blushes sweep across his pale cheeks as he leaned backward so that his forehead was no longer pressed against Iggy's. He tried to ignore the reprieve that exploded inside his chest once he acknowledged that he hadn't felt any sparks.
The blonde nodded slowly, making a small "hm" sound. "Not bad… It'll be a lot better with a nice girl wearing some cherry lip gloss, but not bad." Fang didn't exactly know how to respond to that, so he stayed silent. "Well, good night, Fang." With that, Iggy heaved himself onto a higher branch and stretched out to sleep, as if he hadn't just locked lips with one of his best guy friends. Well that certainly got over with quickly.
"…Night, Ig," Fang muttered, shaking his head and laying back on the branch. This little incident, without a doubt, was going to be stored in the very back of his mind.
"One more thing, Fang… Let's never speak of this again, okay?" Iggy called quietly from above. Fang let out a little sigh of relief.
"Agreed."