And just like that, a cold shard of ice that had been inside my chest ever since we'd split up—well, it just disappeared. I felt myself relax for the first time in I don't know how long. The wind was chilly, but the sun was bright, and my whole flock was together. Fang and I were together.
I sniffed embarrassingly, then lifted my head off Fang's shoulder. Our eyes met. His were so dark and...impassive, like slate. Except this time, they told me something, something that I, for once, couldn't decipher.
He stared back, reading my expression. I don't know how long we stood in each other's arms—it wasn't exactly on my mind—but then his face leaned closer.
"Max," he murmured, not looking away.
I couldn't speak. For the first time—well, practically ever, Fang's normally blank face was showing his emotions. It was disorienting how many things could be expressed in one person's eyes. It was annoying that I couldn't read them all. Was that pain? And amusement? Anticipation? And—could it be—fear?
I forced myself to look away, but my eyes wouldn't obey. They lingered on his chin, his lips, pressed tightly together, and then—
—Then his lips were on mine, again. This time I couldn't resist, wouldn't resist the feelings running through my mind and body. This time I agreed with his intentions, and I kissed him back. This time I didn't think about what my body was doing without my permission. Too much going on to think. I could only give myself over to feelings of being and doing and wanting and acting and kissing...
The chaos in my brain finally gave way to what my senses were noticing—the way his hands were on my face, my fingers wrapped around his head, crushing him to me. I knew this was right, I was whole, and Fang was here, with me.
"Ummm..." Someone cleared their throat loudly, disrupting the loud silence that had fallen. Another giggled.
Fang and I sprang apart like opposite poles of a magnet. Of course I was blushing terribly, horrified that I had forgotten the entire flock was right there, but I glanced at Fang. Could he be smiling and reddening at the same time? Apparently so could I.
"Did they just..." Iggy began, sounding apprehensive.
Nudge and Angel giggled again. "Yes," Gazzy said faintly. He looked a little awed, not to mention nauseous. "Yes, they did," he repeated.
God, I had missed them. Trying to not broadcast every feeling I was experiencing on my face, I hugged Iggy tightly.
"Nice homecoming," he whispered sarcastically in my ear.
I thumped him a little harder than I normally would have done on his back. "Thanks," I said softly, not meanly. I wasn't recovered enough to say anything more intelligent. I don't think I could have strung together a whole sentence at that point, but I wasn't about to tell him that. I squeezed him a little tighter and let go. Then I realized something.
"Where the hell have you guys been?" I yelled. "You should have seen the crap we were in!"
"Right back at you," Fang said calmly. "I told you, we had some Flyboy issues."
Right, because a few gun-toting robots took first place over a school of maniac scientists, a bunch of genetically altered freaks who knew how to fight, and, oh yeah, another few hundred gun-toting robots, all bent on killing us. I glared at Fang, but I wasn't going to let him know how much help we needed. I needed.
"You should have been there," I mumbled lamely. He raised his eyebrows at me, saying I-know-what-you're-doing-so-don't-try-to-change-the-subject without words. Plus a bit more.
I crossed the remaining space that separated me from Gazzy and pulled him close to me. Was it just me, or did he even look older than before? They all did. Why did we split up the flock, again? The reason couldn't have been that important. Suddenly, it all caught up to me—the Itex escapade, Ari, reuniting with half my soul, my parents, Fang...
"Okay, people. I'm dead. Bring on the food."
We ate, and talked, and I yelled at the guys some more. I tried as hard as I could to not think about the future, and what could happen. It didn't work too well.
It was a group decision to sleep on the beach. I mean, how often do poor mutants like us get a vacation? It seemed like we were way overdue, and the lulling waves knocked us out, one by one. Of course Fang and I stayed awake, each stubbornly waiting for the other to fall asleep. I could have been on a bed of mousetraps and still fallen asleep, but someone had to keep watch. And it was not going to be Fang.
The fire reduced to glowing embers, and with nothing to break the monotony, my thoughts wandered back to Ari, my parents. All the things I didn't want to think about.
Jeb, my father. How many times had I fantasized that that could be true, knowing in the back of my head that it wasn't, and never would be? Too many times. And I was still surprised.
Even more disturbing was my mother. Was there no mercy in the world? Dr. Martinez was the only person I had ever cared for who wasn't involved in the madness that is my crazy, twisted life. But even she was. I just can't live without endangering the people around me. Or was it planned that I never mingle with those who don't already know my weight, height, wingspan and name?
Would I ever call her 'Mom' and stop thinking of her as Dr. Martinez? More important, would I see her again, or would saving the world constrict the potential to lead a normal life?
This is so messed up, I thought angrily. I would say it's not fair, but that sentiment is so overused with our lives that I think it's lost meaning for me.
Fang must have noticed my expression. He was studying my face when I looked up at him, and it came rushing back to me. The kiss...the implications.
The tension in the air grew stronger. I imagined the words that no one dared speak hanging in the space between us: What next?
He was sitting across the fire from me, gazing at me over the smoldering ashes. I stared back and made a split decision. No matter what, it wasn't going to get weird with us. He was my best friend, and I wasn't going to lose him to some strange hormone-crazed bout of uncertainty. Although this didn't feel like it could be caused by chemicals...it was much stronger than that. Not that I had any doubt about how strong chemicals were. Hello, I have a pair of freaking wings!
I stood up abruptly and sat beside him on the sand. "Look, I want—"
"I couldn't do it," he interrupted softly. I could feel the surprise on my face.
"Do what?" I said, matching my tone to his.
"Lead them, the flock. With only three of us, I sucked at it. And you do it all the time with six. I mean, I knew you had some major boss-issues, but apparently you have to serious leadership problems to survive. We didn't do so well." He snorted. "Forget that. I didn't do so well."
Given, this ranked pretty high on Fang's length of dialogue list, but my mouth was hanging open because of what he'd said, not how much. He stared into the fire. "You couldn't have done that bad. I mess up all the time. You think this is prime childhood for everyone? Not exactly. Plus you had the added bonus of lacking half the flock, which screwed us all up."
Fang looked up from the dying fire into my eyes. "You don't mess up all the time," he said.
I couldn't look away from his face. The night was dark and shadowy, and his eyes stood out from his cheekbones like a streetlamp.
We were sitting so close together. When had that happened? I spoke quickly, to get myself back on track. "Well, you not doing well could be a good thing. It means you don't have the same issues I do."
He leaned even closer. "Or it could mean that you are the only one who can successfully lead the flock," he whispered.
Um, whoa. Fang's feeling honest, was the only thing I could think before I felt his lips on mine. He was soft and warm, and his hand was resting on my neck. My eyes closed involuntarily, and I lost myself into the kiss. We both wanted this so badly. Then I realized that this was exactly what I came over to put an end to.
It took everything I had to break away from him, and he was still so near. He hesitated before moving his hand to his side, sliding back. We made eye contact at the same time. He was hurt; I could see it.
"Fang, we can't do this."
Great, I had used the cliché line from basically all the badly made movies. Smart move, Max.
I grimaced. "I can't risk splitting the flock up again." There, that sounded slightly more un-scripted. "I don't think I could take it. They could take it. If this doesn't work out—"
"What makes you think it won't work out?" he murmured gently.
I had to think about that one. "It's not that it definitely won't, it's if it doesn't. I can't..." I trailed off.
His fingers cupped my chin, lifting my eyes to look at his. "Max," he said. He peered intently into my eyes, trying to read my mind. At least that's what it seemed he was doing. I was definitely doing the same to him.
"Yes," I breathed mindlessly, totally lost in his eyes. His gaze intensified, and he slid over to me. Our legs touched.
"Max?" he said again, softly, with an unspoken question in it. Words were beyond me.
Fang took my silence as an answer. He paused, started to turn away, and I made up my mind.
No matter what, we weren't going away from each other. Ever. It just wasn't going to happen. I don't care what it would take, but we belonged together, the entire flock. Including Fang and I.
As long as that was the case, why not make the best of it?
That breakthrough propelled me to act, and not to wait. I didn't think, didn't hesitate.
I brought my lips to his ear and whispered, "Yes," as strongly as I could. The word resounded in me, feeling true and right and wholesome. My answer wasn't going to change.
He saw my face, and mirrored it with his own. That was all the answer I needed.
I seized his face with renewed strength and kissed him with all the force I possessed. His response was immediate. I melted into his lips with abandon. Fang did the same, and I lost contact with everything but him, his lips, his face, the reckless feeling running through my body. I felt like I was being electrocuted over and over again, but the current was so much more powerful than electricity, more alive, and I didn't ever want to stop.
A/N: Ugh. Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
Okay, so this was the original first chapter to my story, The End, which you should read if you haven't. Then I decided it was waaaaaaaaaaaay OOC and re-wrote it. Some people liked it better than the replacement, so I am putting it up as a oneshot, and if you read this and then skip to chapter two on The End they'll be happier. I guess. I personally think it is horrible, and the new one is much better, though still not perfect. It's just one of those pieces that you can't get right, you know?
Phwew, that was a long paragraph. Kind of. Blegh.
Um, review. I think that's about it. I really do want to hear from you all, though. Especially if you think it is an abomination and befouls the name of Fanfiction.