A/N: this is my first oneshot, and my first piece from a non-Max POV, so please, bear with me.
Nudge POV
I looked over to see Max and Fang, laughing and chasing each other in the sunlight. I smiled just watching them, glad to see them able to lighten up. They had so much to deal with, and it was so hard for them. They were just teenagers, after all. They only had fifteen years apiece under their belts, and yet they were put upon to do so much, to look after me and Iggy, and Angel and Gazzy. I think that if they didn't have one another to lean on, they'd explode. For now, they were just happy, playing in the summer sun.
Angel and Gazzy were trying to fly upside down, and backwards, with mixed results. They too were laughing, happy little kids, able to act their age for once. Well, most kids their age couldn't fly at all, never mind upside down, but you get what I mean.
As for me, I was just flying along on my own, smiling at everyone being happy for once, carefree. Contrary to popular belief, I don't actually have to talk all the time. I just talk because I have nothing better to do. For today, though, I was just flying, enjoying the sun on my face and the wind in my curls. I closed my eyes, just soaking in the beautiful sunlight. Just then, I heard a voice. "Guys? Nudge? Where'd you go? It's all echoey…Where are you?" it was Iggy. I looked back, to see him hovering in the air, confused. Underneath him was a canyon, which explained the confusion. I flew back to him.
"Iggy, I'm right here," I said.
"Nudge?" he asked, turning completely around to face the wrong direction. "I can't hear where anything is, this is worse than being deaf, because it all sounds wrong."
I touched his hand, so he'd know where I was. "Its okay, Iggy. Just come this way."
"Which way? Your voice sounds all weird." I could see he was disoriented, and starting to panic.
"It's okay Iggy, take a deep breath. I'm right here, see?" I took his hand, and tugged on it. "This way." He took the breath, like I said, and then followed, still holding onto my hand. Without it, he was lost.
"I can't even feel wind from your wings, because of the updrafts. This is really bad." Iggy said, tense as a coiled spring.
"It could be worse," I said.
"You're right, it could. I could be here alone, instead of having you here to help me." He said. I didn't know what to say in reply, so I said nothing at all, flying along in silence for a minute. Then Iggy said something.
"Hmm? Sorry, didn't catch that." I said.
"I said, that's the longest I've ever heard you quiet."
"Yeah, I'm thinking more, and starting to talk less. Most of the time, it's really hard, but right now, it's easy."
"Have you ever tried listening?" he asked.
"What?"
"No, really, just listen to the world around you. The echoes in here sound cool, even if they're not informative at all. Close your eyes for a minute and listen." I obeyed, closing my eyes and opening my ears. At first I didn't hear anything much, but instead of talking about how I couldn't hear, I just took a deep breath and listened even harder. Suddenly, I realized that I could hear everything. I heard the warm whoosh of updrafts, the quiet burbling of the stream in the bottom of the canyon. I could even hear animal noises, the chirp of some little bird, a splash from the bear fishing is the stream. The loudest thing though, was Iggy flying right with me, right above me, hand in mine, breathing deep, with a blissful look of his face as he lost himself in the sound, sightless eyes closed. He was so complex, so much deeper than he looked. How had I been missing this? How had I not seen this before?
"Iggy, that's amazing," I breathed, flipping onto my back so I could see him better. He opened his blank eyes and smiled down at me.
"It is, isn't it." He said. He reached down and put his hand on the side of my face, brushing his finger across my lips. I felt an electric tingle run through me, from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes. Then he bent down and kissed me. If before that was a tingle, this was a million volts of electricity, starting from my mouth and going out in all directions, filling me all up. He put one arm around my waist, pulling me closer, so that he was supporting both our weight, and tangled the other hand in my hair. I responded eagerly, with my arms around his neck. I was so caught in this moment, in this bliss, that it was a minute before we heard the whistles. We broke apart, grinning, to see Gazzy and Fang both cheering and whistling. Angel was making 'aww, aren't they cute' noises, and Max was just smiling. I caught her eye and smiled back, happy and a bit embarrassed. I looked back at Iggy, he was grinning. "You don't know how long I've been wanting to do that." He said.
"Too long." I said, then pulled him towards me for another kiss.