A/N Hey. I know this is late but it came to me when I was thinking a while ago and I decided to write it because it seemed like a good one-shot opportunity. Thank you to any people who have relatives or friends serving in protecting their countries. All the best of wishes goes out to you. I hope you enjoy this. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything besides the plot.

Max POV

I sat across the lunchroom table from him. Staring. His hands were in his lap and he gazed at them, blankly. The look on his face was unfocused. His dark eyes were open but he wasn't seeing anything besides the images flashing before his own eyes. I knew something was bothering him even if no one else did. Their conversation was just a roar coming from my right. He didn't see me looking and I'm sure he was too lost in his own thoughts to feel my eyes studying him. His face was pallor. His hair was limper than usual and mussed from constantly reaching up to run his hands through it. I was worried about him. He wouldn't tell me what was wrong and every time I asked he would shy away from the subject or get defensive. He looked up now and saw me watching. His lips curled up at the sides in an attempt to smile but I could see through the cracks in his armor though, there were very few. I didn't smile back and his faded, knowing he couldn't fool me. He sighed and tilted his head towards the door. I nodded.
"Hey, guys, Fang and I are going to go." I said and our friends acknowledged us before starting up there conversation again.

Fang led me out into the deserted hallway and stood before me as I leaned against the wall in front of him. We stood in silence. After a few minutes of him avoiding my eyes I couldn't take it anymore. I reached up and twined my arms around his neck. His gaze shifted over to me and he looked sad. I stroked my hand along his cheek.
"Fang, I can't take watching you like this anymore. You know you can tell me anything. Anything." I said and he closed his eyes and pushed his face into my hand. He let out a shallow breath and then opened his eyes.
"My dad's birthday is in a week." It was all he had to say and I understood. His dad was stationed in Afghanistan. He wasn't going to be home for his birthday and from the looks of it Fang was tearing himself up over it. He hadn't been able to contact him in a few months for some unknown reason and the fact that he probably wouldn't see him on his birthday was too much. I pulled his face down and rested his forehead against my own.
"Oh, Fang. It's okay. I'll stay with you all day and I'll distract you if you want." I said trying to comfort him. I hated seeing him so broken. My strong and stone-like boyfriend, best friend, life. His head swooped down and captured my lips with his, kissing me gently. He pulled away slowly and I opened my eyes to see his own gazing deeply back.
"I love you." He said and I smiled back.
"I love you, too." I said but the feeling that he still wasn't okay lingered in the back of my mind.

The next day at school he was still distant but better. His eyes weren't as empty. He contributed to the conversation. He never stopped holding my hand. It was on his dad's birthday that he was worse than before. His eyes had circles of shadow underneath them and his skin had lost almost all of its olive tone. His grip on my hand stayed firm and a look from me told my teachers not to question it. I knew I was maybe the only thing anchoring him to the earth right now. I went straight to his house with him after school. I had already informed my mom of everything so I didn't need to call. We walked up to his room and set our stuff down before just lying together on his bed, wrapped in each other's embrace. I wanted to do something to keep his mind off of things but I didn't know what. I didn't even know if that was what he wanted or what was best for him. My head rested on his chest and he absently stroked my hair. It was comfortable in his arms. Familiar. It made me feel worse because it was supposed to be me comforting him. After about an hour I finally sat up and looked down at him. He stared straight up at me his look questioning. He sat up slowly after me.
"What is it I can do to distract you?" I asked bluntly and he didn't answer. Only kept his gaze locked on my own.
"Just being here is enough for me." He finally said and I shook my head.
"Are you sure? There's nothing I can do?" I asked and he started to shake his head but stopped and leaned towards me. He kissed me fiercely on the mouth and I kissed him back, hesitantly at first but growing more confident. His hands wound around my waist and my hands squeezed his shoulders. This was what I had to do to distract him. I knew it was. But I felt guilty doing it. I'd kissed him a million times before and I knew what it felt like but I couldn't help feeling like I was stealing his thoughts away from his dad. Even though this was on a constant loop through my thoughts I continued to kiss him. My face grew wet and at first I didn't know why but then I pulled back from Fang and saw his eyes were red and puffy and wet and his face was streaked with the paths of escaped tears. This was the only time I'd ever seen him cry and it broke my heart into tiny and unfindable pieces. I pulled his head against my chest and let him sob. His tears soaked through my shirt but I let him continue to leak against me because he needed to and I wanted to be there for him. That was how the rest of our evening went. Me cradling him as his body racked with sobs and saying nothing. Only stroking his hair gently.

The next few days at school went on slowly. He remained closed off to the world growing more and more distant. I was terrified I was losing him when I saw him at school on that next Wednesday. His skin was its normal olive tone and his eyes were alert. As soon as he spotted my face his own lit up and he rushed towards me not stopping when he reached me, only taking my hand and dragging me into the school building and taking me into a side hall. He held both of my hands now, smiling.
"What is it?" I said smiling at his happy demeanor.
"He's coming back." Was all he said, "Max, he's coming home." I understood after a second of thought and hugged him tightly to me.
"Fang, that's amazing. I'm so happy for you." I smiled as I pulled away from him. "When is he going to be here?"
"On Friday." He said, "I want you to come with us to meet him at the airport." His statement caught me off guard.
"What?" I said.
"I want you to meet him. Max, I love you and you've never met my dad. Please, just come, for me." I nodded.
"Of course I'll go."
"You will?"
"Yes, I would love to. I want to meet him. He means a lot to you and that means that he means a lot to me." I smiled up at him and he returned it. The school bell rang for first period and we let go of each other but kept one set of our hands clasped together while we headed to class.

We sat side by side in the airport seats. Fang's arms were on his knees and he leaned heavily on them. His leg was involuntarily bouncing up and down. People were walking in huge masses past us going both directions. Fang's mom was standing by the pole across from us. She stared into space. I tried to coax her into a seat earlier but she had refused all of my attempts. My hand was rubbing Fang's back trying to ease his nerves.
"Fang, what are you scared of? He's your dad. You'll be fine." I whispered to him. He looked sideways at me.
"I just don't want him to be different. You know? Changed. I want him to be dad. I know it's almost impossible for me to hope for but I can't help…" he trails off and I understand.
"I know what you mean." I said and he leaned his forehead against my own like normal.

"Fang?" A voice said across the way. We looked up from our position and saw a man standing there wearing army fatigues and holding a duffel bag at his side. His hair was the same color as Fang's dark locks only while Fang's was long and untamed, the man's was close cropped and neat. His skin was slightly darker than Fang's but his eyes were black as night just like his son's. Fang stood and walked over to him without saying anything. When he stood right in front of him he hugged him fiercely as if he would disappear the moment they let go. I stood slowly from my seat and watched the scene of them clutching at each other. Fang pulled away after a few long seconds and made way for his mom. Their reunion was much more intimate. Fang walked over and took my hand in his pulling me closer to his dad. When his parents pulled away his dad looked over at me and then at Fang and mine's clasped hands. He smiled. Without warning he pulled me away from Fang and into a tight hug.
"You must be Max. I've heard a lot about you." I nodded against his shoulder.
"And me a lot about you." I replied as he pulled away. "It's nice to finally meet you." I smiled and he returned the gesture.
"You as well." He picked his duffel up off the floor where he had dropped it and looked at us all. "Well, then. Let's get going." That was all he had to say and we were moving. We ate dinner that night together and I didn't feel like an intruder. Fang's dad welcomed me into the family immediately and even joked with me about some of his son's tendencies. In that moment, I knew he was just as Fang had said he would be. Kind and welcoming but he was also solemn, like every word he said counted for something and he shouldn't waste any. Every movement he made was precise and planned out. He was changed physically but not completely mentally. It warmed me that Fang didn't lose the one person he loved and missed the most.
"What are you smiling about?" Fang asked me. I realized he was right and my mouth had tipped up at the corners.
"Nothing," I said and ate the rest of the meal, happy.