Okay, so I'm a new fan of Maximum Ride, and I just finished Fang. I started my obsession this summer. I'm a bookworm, and one fine sunny day this summer I had nothing to read. I was at my grandmother's house, and she LOVES James Patterson, and has virtually every one of his books. She has the Angel Experiment, but doesn't have the rest of the series. HOWEVER, I started reading it, and soon, well, I was hooked. So here's my first Maximum Ride fic. Tell me what you think... I'm not sure if I like it...

Disclaimer:I don't own Maximum Ride, even though I think it would be TOTALLY AWESOME if I did.

Not Twenty Years Later...

Safeway

Max's POV

I lazily walked into the Safeway store. I wasn't buying stuff for Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel and me. It was just for me. Angel and Gazzy were in High School, Nudge was in college already and Iggy… Let's just to say the least, he owns a restaurant. To say the most, it was a freaking FIVESTAR restaurant.

I sighed. I walked to the dairy section of the store, and went to get milk. I didn't exactly care what kind of milk I got, just that I got it. I randomly took Whole Milk. I spun around to put it in my cart when I saw a familiar dark figure. I gasped, and the milk dropped out of my hands.

I swallowed nervously. This can't be Fang, part of me said. He said to meet you in twenty years. It hasn't even been ten. No, this is just a guy who looks like Fang. Yeah. Just a coincidence, Max. Don't overreact.

Is it really a coincidence, Max? Are you sure it isn't Fang? The Voice asked.

Shut up, Voice. I'm kinda trying to figure this out on my own, okay?

The Fang-like figure whipped around at the sound of my gasp. He blinked at me calmly and grinned a little. "Fang?" I asked tentatively, quietly, as if afraid that if I said his name too loudly he might disappear.

His smile got bigger. "Max," he said. "You look well."

"Thanks, you too." I had no idea what to say after all these years without seeing him. But it felt really good. "It hasn't been twenty years yet," I said.

"No," he said, still grinning in the way that it was brighter than the sun's rays.

"But I'm kinda glad that it hasn't been twenty years yet." I looked at my sneakers.

"Yeah," he said, and reached down to pick up the gallon of milk I'd dropped and put them in my cart.

"Thanks, but you know I would've done it myself."

"Not with that look on your face."

"I've missed you, Fang." I blurted. I'm not the most emotional person in the world, but being around Fang after so long was 1) really weird in a good way and 2) mixed my feelings so I had no idea what I was thinking, let alone saying.

Fang looked away. "Me too."

We both were really awkward together. I'd opened up first, because, well, though both of us are stoic and sort of not emotional, I guess I'm the more emotional one of the two of us. Fang shifted his feet restlessly.

"Where are you staying?" I asked.

Fang shrugged. "The woods."

"The woods? Fang, you know you can come over to Mom's house. She'd tell you where I live, and you could stay with me."

Or he could have, you know, stayed at a hotel. Said my Voice.

I thought I told you to shut the hell up! I thought.

It would have been easier and he'd have spent less time on it.

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

"I…" Fang began, but never finished. I blinked in surprise. Fang was never at a loss for words. He just, you know, never says much. And, yes, there is a difference. Think about it.

"So you're at the woods huh?"

"Yep," he said.

My breathing and heart rate were fast, well, faster than usual. I swallowed. My palms were sweaty. I could feel them. I rubbed them nervously on my jeans. "Right. So do you need help or anything? You know, um, getting the groceries back to where you're camping?"

"No, it's okay. You?"

"Sure. I got a lot of stuff."

"For Angel and Gazzy?" His eyes lit up with the hope of seeing some members of our ex-flock.

"No, just me. Angel and Gazzy live at my mom's. They go to High School now."

Fang stared at me for a moment before answering. "Sure, I'll help."

Look, it's not that I had a ton of stuff. I had a lot of stuff, sure, but not like TONS. I had a secret reason to why I wanted Fang to help me. I wanted to keep talking with him. I wanted him to stay at my house as long as he wanted.

I paid for the stuff- mine andFang's. He fought against it, he didn't want me to pay, but I had more money. I had a job, and I had no idea what Fang was doing out here, what kind of career he had. By the way he was dressed, it told me he had mucho less money than me.

We flew to my apartment. I had a car, but I didn't take it to the Safeway because I wasn't going to buy that much anyway.

The wind whipped my hair around. I closed my eyes, feeling at peace. Just being with my old right-wing man felt right. I sighed.

Once we got there, I took out my key and opened the door. "Just put the stuff in the kitchen." I told Fang.

He nodded and went in. I followed him and put down my stuff. Fang looked around. "Well… see you, Max." he started for the door.

"What? Wait, Fang! Where are you going?" I said, running after him.

He shrugged. "The woods, where I'm camping."

"Don't go." I said softly. "Please. Stay here."

Fang looked at me up and down. He lingered on my face. "Why?" his voice was quiet.

"Because," I said, "I don't want you leave. Not yet."

More like not ever. The Voice said.

Will you ever shut up? I asked it silently. Guess what? It didn't answer. So I took it as a yes.

"Max," he said gently, actually reaching out and stroking my face tenderly, "I have to go. If I don't go, I'll never go."

"Then stay. It's better than leaving and seeing me again ten years from now, let alone the possibility that we'd be dead." I knew I was rambling on like Nudge, but I was trying everything, anything, to get him to stay just a little longer.

"If we were dead by then, at least we'd see each other in Heaven." He whispered, stepping closer to me.

"How do you know? There are so many people in Heaven…"

"Here," he said, interrupting me. "I'll do something both of us want to do."

The hand he'd been stroking my cheek with slid back, and he used his other hand to hold my other cheek and kissed me. My mind still shorted out whenever he did that, but I quickly closed my eyes, not wanting this moment to stop, and instinctively threw my arms around his neck. I felt like this would go on forever. And I absolutely loved it.

Oh, Lord, this was so, so good. I hadn't had that Fang taste for so many years; I'd forgotten what kissing Fang was like until now. And now here he was. And I realized I'd never stopped loving him. I love you, Fang.

Fang broke away for a moment. "I love you, Max. But I gotta leave."

"If I kiss you again, you never will." I whispered and kissed him again.

He didn't fight it. He just held me close, kissing me as I kissed him. He broke off again to take a breath. "You were right. I can't leave now." And kept kissing me.

Man, I haven't kissed him in so long; I've missed feeling like this. I haven't seen Fang in forever, but I still loved him like I used too, possibly even more.

So, how did you think of it? Coqui asked anxiously.

I'm a sort of new fan to Maximum Ride, and so I'm not too sure about if I kept them- especially Fang, whom I find hard to write, in character. I think Max's and Fang's love for each other is extremely deep, especially Fang's. I wrote this because the plot bunny simply wouldn't leave me alone. During school, while I was supposed to be asleep… Please review, because Coqui was simply so *yawn* bothered by the stupid plot bunny *yawn* that she couldn't sleep!

~Coqui's Song