Kon'nichiwa! So here's chapter four in all its four-ish glory! You get to learn more about Prince and Ace (sort-of-not-really)! Isn't that GREAT? No? Okay...

Disclaimer: If I owned Maximum Ride then Jeb would have an old college video leaked onto the internet for the Flock to see and proceed to hurt themselves with laughter.

ENJOY

Chapter 4: Morning Sunshine

Fang awoke to the feeling of gentle warmth and a low voice speaking, "Are you awake?" Fang exhaled loudly in reply. Cuddling deeper into his pillow. His pillow was awfully firm and warm and it moved ever so slight—Fang's eyes snapped open to the sight of the "pillow," which was actually Prince's bare chest, Fang looked up at Prince who smiled down at him, the expression was warm and kind. Fang's face immediately turned red. Shit… he thought as his eyes widened, feeling a lot of pain putting throbbing pressure on his skull as the hangover hit.

The two were both covered in a blanket but Fang could tell they were both nude. Bits and pieces of drunken memory of last night rushed back to him so fast his headache grew. "You're blushing," Prince pointed out and Fang sat up fast enough to make the room spin. He groaned and rubbed his temples, closing his eyes to block the light pouring in from the window. "You okay?" Prince asked as he sat up as well.

Fang felt his body burning red with embarrassment as images of last night short circuited his mind. He wasn't actually too sure what to think at the moment. He'd just stick with the despair and embarrassment thing for now. "I… I—uh"

"Don't say anything," Prince interrupted "it is best if you don't say anything about it for a while, give yourself time to think on things before you get ahead of yourself," Prince said knowingly and Fang nodded. "Uh… okay…"

"Do you want to take a shower?" Prince asked, getting out of the bed. Fang looked away from him as the blanket fell from Prince's body. His face still red, "Yeah, sure," he said and Prince came around wearing a dark blue robe, he gave Fang a gray towel. "You know where the bathroom is," Prince said with a nod that said "off you go."

Fang stood and wrapped himself in his towel simultaneously, averting his eyes from Prince. He felt so awkward. As he stood he felt a burning sensation and his eye twitched. He groaned in despair. His ass ached. This morning couldn't have been better.

He tried really hard to walk normally as he left the room, he really, really did. His head throbbed all the way to the bathroom. He locked the door and immediately got into the searing hot water, cleaning his torso of the dried… residue.

Fang sighed heavily as he dropped his head in his hands. The hot water beat down on his hair, causing it to stick to his skin. Fang was definitely thinking on things, on everything he could remember. Strangely, he felt more embarrassment than regret, more confusion than stupidity. Yeah, yeah, he was drunk off his ass, but sleeping with a man? He never thought he could get that drunk.

Fang sighed again. "Damn," he groaned, more irritated by the pain than the thoughts, really. His shower ran surprisingly short, and as he stepped out and realized he didn't bring a change of clothes, actually he didn't have a change of clothes. And if memory served him right, his clothes were all over Prince's room. Fang huffed and dried his hair before wrapping up in the towel.

Fang walked out of the steam-filled bathroom and immediately ran into Ace. He was surprised he remembered her name, everything before Prince and him shagged was a blur. But her familiar breasts triggered the memory.

Ace grinned at Fang as he back pedaled into the wall from crashing into her, holding his towel up. Ace whistled as she checked him out. "Nice, where have you been all my life?" she snickered. The look she gave him was… terrifyingly knowing. Fang felt paranoid now, like she might actually know something.

Fang immediately noticed the empty laundry basket in her hands. "What're you doin'?"

"The laundry, I'm about to go clear out Prince's fucking room since the bitch can't do his own laundry to save his life," Ace rolled her eyes. Fang immediately thought about the mess left behind from last night and blanched. "Uh, I can do it for you, save you the trouble," he said and she smiled, "Stay in that towel and you got yourself a deal, nothing like a half-naked babe doing my chores," she winked and Fang wasn't even fazed , "Sure," he said and took the basket from her.

Fang tried to conceal his awkward walk as he went into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. The place was as wrecked as ever. Chairs and lamps knocked over, clothes everywhere and the bed wrecked and stained. Fang took a moment to despair before putting everything as it should be. Stripping the bed he jumped when a voice spoke from behind. "You really shouldn't let Ace make you do things, she'll take advantage of you," Prince said.

He stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, watching as Fang cleaned up. "I don't mind, I'm kind of used to women making me do things." Oh, shit, Max! The thought hit him like a ton of bricks, making his headache throb. Oh no… Max, she'd tear my ass apart, granted, Prince already succeeded in that. Ow. Fang tried to ignore the pain he felt. "Still, manipulation is Ace's third favorite hobby,"

"What's the second?"

"Cussing,"

"And the first?"

"She's a single, teenage girl with roiling hormones, I think you can guess," he deadpanned and Fang nodded, "Ah..." was all he said as images of her doing her "first hobby" flashed through his mind. He put his clothes aside. "You're not going to get those washed too?"

"It's my only pair." Fang's face went red again. He was not going to spend the whole day in a towel. Fuck. No. "I have a pair you can use," Prince said as he walked over to his dresser, brushing against Fang as he passed, making him tense. Fang had the feeling he did that on purpose. "You really don't need to do that—"

"I insist." Fang grimaced, the things that grew from those words last time wasn't something he wanted to happen again. Fang stayed quiet as Prince dug out some clothes and passed them to him, taking the basket and throwing Fang's clothes in it. "I'll do the laundry, and then we're going out,"

"Going out? Why?"

"You need more clothes, and we need to get a jumpstart on that money making, there's a good mall where we could do both. Stupid ass kids with cash hanging out of their back pockets run around there all the time, and Ace is a star at pickpocket," Prince chuckled as he left. Fang sighed again, and put on the clothes. The pants were a bit long, and it came to Fang's attention that Prince has rather girly hips, luckily there was a belt in the pile of clothes, the navy blue t-shirt was a bit baggy too, but Prince was a good… what? Four—five inches taller than him? No matter, the clothes were at least comfortable.

Fang walked out and into the main room where Ace was pouring coffee. She looked up and frowned, "Damn, you're not in the towel—coffee, Fang?"

"Please," Fang said as he sat at the kitchen bar, his ass burning as he did. He winced, and hoped to god Ace didn't notice. Ace brought him a steaming hot cup of Joe. "So," she grinned, "You have a nice night?" Fang paled. Oh god, she does know?

"What?"

"Did you fucking sleep well? You said last night that you haven't been sleeping well," she specified and Fang felt blessed relief. She didn't know. Hopefully. Fang thought on it, and actually? He had the best sleep he's had in weeks. He wasn't sure whether or not it was a good thing or not. "Yeah," he said simply, drinking his coffee—his beloved hangover tonic. There was nothing coffee couldn't cure.

Ace gave a happy nod, "That's good. I noticed you didn't sleep on the couch, did you sleep in Prince's room?" Fang was getting paranoid about this line of questioning, "Yeah," Fang said slowly, paying as much attention to his coffee as he could. Damn, did his ass ache, Fang didn't like that very much. "The bitch shared the bed, did he?"

A trick question is coming, unless it's this one. Answer carefully… Fang thought warily. "Yes?" Ace laughed, "That's cool, I guess," she shrugged and drank her coffee as Prince came around the hall corner, his hair soaking wet. "Ah, Fang, how are the clothes fitting?" Prince asked, "Okay…" Fang said and Ace laughed again. "You are just the king of the one-liners, aren't you?" Before Fang could say anything to that Ace continued, "Are you ready to go out, Prince?"

"Yeah," he said, one-lining it and Ace rolled her eyes. "Sweetness, c'mon bitches," Ace said, chugging down the rest of her coffee in a single second and heading for the door. Prince nodded for Fang to follow.

Ace walked ahead of Fang and Prince, strutting down the streets like she owned them. Fang couldn't help but eye her swaying hips and nice ass. He jumped when Prince suddenly pulled the collar of his shirt up slightly. "What're you doing?" Fang asked, feeling nervousness. Hell yeah he was nervous, luckily for him he was sober and could mask his emotions successfully again. "Not all of the hickeys faded, you don't want people to see them do you?" Prince asked, his expression just as unreadable as Fang's. "Thanks, I guess…"

The three soon enough arrive at a massive mall complex, it was huge, but Fang expected that from a Los Angeles mall. "I'll go start making some cash, Prince, you and Fang go get some damn clothes and meet me in the cafeteria in like, forty minutes or so," Ace said as they went in, "Right, forty minutes, will do," Prince said, taking Fang by the arm as the three separated. "C'mon, we'll get you a new backpack first," Prince said and Fang nodded, staring down at Prince's hand as he gripped his arm.

After he got a new pack they dropped into a few clothing stores, and got just about everything Fang needed in about twenty minutes. They were already in the cafeteria eating some chicken stir-fry. Fang hadn't really spoken much the whole time, and he knew Prince has notice, I mean, it wasn't that hard in the first place. "So," Prince began, wiping his mouth after finishing his meal, "have you noticed the group of men across the cafeteria that have been following us since we've gotten to this mall?" he asked casually and quietly, taking a sip from his cherry coke.

Fang blinked. No, he hadn't. Usually he's so aware of everything but he's spending so much time paying attention to Prince's every twitch he hadn't noticed. Fang resisted the urge to look around for this group. But he nodded like he knew. "Erasers?" he guessed. Finally, something else for him to worry about, Fang was just about losing his mind, if a fight broke out right now, he'd be so happy.

"C'mon," Prince said, standing and taking his tray. Fang stood as well, and he saw what Prince was talking about. Out of the corner of his eye, Fang saw a group of male model-like men—at least five—all stand and take their trays as he and Prince did.

After dumping the tray Prince casually strolled out of the cafeteria and up the escalator, Fang following, his hands in his pockets, making sure he looked as bored as possible. Prince was pulling the calm approach, Fang's personal favorite. Granted, he would have totally gone for that fight…

Fang could see the suspicious group taking the elevator. At the second level Prince and Fang faded into a large group of people. Fang following Prince through the shifting crowd and into a clothes store. Without even looking, Prince snagged a hat off a shelf and slipped it on Fang followed the example and slipped into a hoodie. Prince walked towards the dressing room and ducked inside one, grabbing Fang and pulling him in just as the suspicious group broke from the crowd.

"Do we wait now?" Fang whispered and Prince nodded, taking a seat on the dressing room bench. "How long?" he asked and Prince shrugged, "We still have twenty minutes until Ace expects us to check in, maybe you can rest your ass,"

Fang scowled, "Yeah, no thanks to you, my ass hurts like hell," he deadpanned and Prince laughed quietly, "I told you I didn't have lube," Prince defended himself, grinning sadistically. "Yeah, and I told you to fucking improvise…"

"And I did,"

"You used my saliva! You could have used something better!" Prince scoffed, "What? You expected me to run to the kitchen for some jelly or whip cream and just leave you there, helpless, naked, and alone? No, in fact, let me emphasize on that… fuck no." Fang scowled a little deeper, Prince mirroring his expression. "Damn you," Fang finally said and Prince smirked, "I guess this means you're not that panicky about last night?" he asked and Fang frowned, "Honestly… I have no idea how I feel about any of this, I'm…" and Fang hates to admit this, "I'm confused."

"What's to be confused about?"

"Um… I'm straight, was fucked by a man, and am not freaking out half as much as I should be, but I'm still freaking out, believe me, I am—!" Prince shushed him gently, Fang didn't even noticed his voice rising. "Look, I realize this is different for you, but if you calm down it's not really that bad."

Fang blinked, "So, you're… gay?" he asked and Prince shrugged, "I don't know."

"How the hell can you not know?"

"I don't have a preference, I don't desire men over women, or women over men,"

"So you're bisexual?"

"No."

"Damn it! A straight answer would be nice!"

"That is a straight answer."

Fang scowled again and just sat down to the left of Prince, completely fed up now. Like hell he'd take this shit… Prince chuckled, leaning over as he brushed Fang's hair out of his face and kissed his cheek. Fang's face turned bright red but his expression still remained a scowled. "Oh, come on," Prince laughed and kissed his cheek again. Fang turned up his nose but his heart rate shot through the roof and he tensed like hell. "Don't be stubborn," Prince said, forcing Fang to look at him and he kissed his lips.

Fang still remained tense as Prince kissed him. This wasn't like last night's kiss though, it was softer, gentler, more caring than lustful. Fang liked it. Fang started to kiss back, his cheeks red hot but not out of embarrassment this time. This was very different from last night indeed. Prince's hand rose up, cupping Fang's cheek, his other arm going around Fang's waist and pulling him closer. Fang's arms slipped around Prince's neck so he could touch his soft hair, his fumbling fingers making Prince's hat tip.

The two nearly jumped out of their skin when someone knocked on the dressing room door, they're passionate kiss broken. Prince gestured for Fang to stay quiet. "Occupied!" Prince called, "Damn it, Prince, let me in!" Fang recognized the voice as Ace. Prince stood and opened the door. Thank god, because it really was Ace. She slipped inside and the dressing room became even more crowded. Fang was suddenly hit by claustrophobia, his heart rate rising unnaturally and his breath becoming uneven.

Ace shut the door and locked it. "There is an assload of fucking Erasers here," she said, jiggling the door to make sure it was locked securely. Of course, Fang was pretty sure everybody knew you could kick those frail doors open easily. "Yeah, we know, that's why we're here. How'd you find us anyway?" Prince asked and Ace scoffed as if it was obvious and he was an idiot. "I have a tracking chip in you back pocket, dipshit."

"You—you do?" Prince was completely surprised by that. Fang? Equally shocked. "You'd figure that if you're constantly trying to kill me you wouldn't let me do your laundry," Ace rolled her eyes. "What?" Fang asked but Ace continued, "Now, let's get the fuck out of here!"

Ace unlocked the door and slipped out, Prince glanced at Fang before following, and Fang followed last. The hell was she going on about…?

The three strolled into the biggest crowd they could, Fang and Prince leaving their shoplifted items behind to avoid alarms and bringing attention to themselves. They followed the large crowd to the first level before separating. That's when they spotted the first Eraser group; they spotted the group before the group spotted them so they were able to duck out of the way in time before being seen.

"Would a fucking clean escape be too much to ask for?" Ace asked no apparent person. "We just need a distraction," Fang said and Prince nodded, "That's easy." Prince cupped his hands around his mouth and as loud as he could he shouted. "SEVENTY PRECENT OFF SALE THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE MALL!" and the whole mall fell into chaos. "Now or never," Prince said and Ace grinned like crazy. The three ran through the mall to the closest exit without sticking out like a thumb since everyone was running like a bunch of fucking maniacs, the mall cops going mad themselves, trying desperately to calm the chaos.

The three escaped and hightailed down the streets. Fang seriously began to miss flight. He couldn't just up and away here in the middle of the city. As much as he loves Los Angeles, every Pro has a Con. After several blocks they all stopped running. Laughing and breathing heavily. "That was fucking ingenious, Prince!" Ace cackled and Fang actually grinned. Prince smirked smugly, "Thank you, I try my best."

After a while their laughter calmed, Fang finally asked, "So did you managed to get money?" Ace nodded, "Oh yeah, I stole four wallets, and two purses. Believe it or not, both the purses were from male Erasers…"

Fang, not questioning that at all, moved on to more important questions. "How much money?"

"Like hell I know, but we should extract as much shit as possible from the debit and credit cards before they're shut down. The hard cash I haven't counted. Let's hit an ATM, eh?"

"Agreed," Prince said. Amazingly enough, they sucked a lot of money out of the cards, but Ace claiming have gone through so much trouble gets half of it. Fang had half a mind to argue but as soon as he started she ripped his arm out of his socket, so he agreed she could have half.

Now the three were happily eating at a shmancy restaurant, Fang's arm in its socket where it should be. Ace sat with Prince to her left on one side of the booth while Fang sat alone on the other side. They all were eating appetizers—Well, Ace had her own appetizer of absurd size. Fang was actually getting impressed with Ace's ability to put food and drink down. "So…" Ace said around a mouthful of fried ravioli. "I've been meaning to ask… about this group… of people you travel with."

"Ah, my Flock, yeah, what do you want to know?" Fang asked and Ace shrugged, her large breasts bouncing as she did. Fang swallowed. "I don't fuckin' know, just tell me 'bout 'em!" Fang sweatdropped a moment before speaking, seeing Prince trying to conceal a smirk out of the corner of his eye.

"Uh, well, there is the two youngest and the only real siblings in the group, Gasman, and his little sister Angel—"

"Why the hell is he named 'Gasman'?"

"Uh, he has an… intestinal problem, we mostly call him Gazzy." Ace said nothing to that and just chugged down her raspberry lemonade. "Um, then there's Nudge, she's… talkative, as an understatement. Then there's Iggy, he's my age and sadly completely blind—"

"Blind? He's defective?" Ace asked, and Fang shook his head, "No, no, he used to have exceptional sight but…"

"Experiments?" Prince asked quietly, frowning as he poked at his fried calamari with his fork. Fang nodded and Ace scowled, "Fuckin' bastards…" she grumbled just as the waiter came around with their food. They sat quietly until he was out of earshot again. "Then there's the leader of our group, Maximum,"

"You mean you're not the leader?" Prince asked. He blinked in thought, "huh… I guess you are the type to lay there and take orders like a bitch," he shrugged and Ace snickered. Fang scowled and tried very hard to not let his face turn red. "Anyway…" he continued, "Max also happens to be my girl—"

"Ha! The shit explains everything! Gotta let her be the boss or you don't get any sex, huh?" Ace snickered and Fang scowled his deepest yet. "No…"

"Oh, I see, there's another guy screwing with things?" Ace asked, nudging Prince. Fang had that paranoid feeling again; it was like Ace new something was going on… Fang felt on edge. Ah, but he could still look collected. "Yes, his name's Dylan… he's an avian hybrid too but he's a clone from some other sap. We've been told he was made to be Max's 'perfect other half.'"

"Why would that matter?" Prince asked. Prince's intrigue with Fang's love-life made Fang shrink into his seat. "Awkward" and "uncomfortable" were a couple words that came to his mind right now. "You shouldn't let what others' say stop you from doing what you want, fuck Dylan, Max is yours."

There was a moment of silence that was broken when Ace snorted, "What bullshit are you reading these days?"

"Emily Dickinson, actually," Prince said as he wiped his mouth with his napkin, "Dick who?" Ace asked and Prince chuckled, rolling his eyes in a "never mind" fashion. Fang smiled, he really liked their company, as unnerving as it can get. Ace and Prince were enjoyable to watch.

"She's a poet, I think…" Fang said and Prince nodded, "Yes, my favorite poem is 'Hope is a Thing with Feathers.'" Ace laughed at that, but Prince only smiled at Fang. Fang wasn't sure what emotion to put into this situation and kind of just sat there awkwardly.

"So," Fang began, "I guess since the Erasers have found our location you're going to want to leave the city, right?"

"Nope!" Ace chirped cheerily and Fang raised an eyebrow, "Wha—?"

"I'd say we still have a weeks-worth of safety, it'll take 'em a damn long while to figure out that we're hidden under the identity of a fucking pop star," she snickered. "They don't expect us to stay after attacks anyway, it catches them off guard," Prince added.

Huh… I've never thought of that… come to think of it, neither has Max. Fang thought to himself. He smiled, "Well, that's kind of convenient, not having to worry about getting out immediately."

"I know, right?" Ace said as she stuffed her face. "So you still have time to see the city, and we can still grab a good amount of cash before having to evacuate," Prince said, as he tucked a napkin on his lap. He was very… dainty when he ate.

"I've seen too much of this city," Fang said as he poked at his meal, "Oh yeah? How many times have you been to LA?" Ace, who had somehow managed to get tomato sauce on her forehead, asked. "A few times, I've really lost track. Every time I've been here bad shit happens."

"Looks like you need a good experience here," Prince said and Fang raised an eyebrow, "Want to go to a fair?"

"A fair?"

"Yeah, you know, fairground, funfair, carnival?" Ace said, "There's one going on nearby. We should go!"

Fang ended up not even having an opinion in this. He's learning that when it comes to Ace, if she's made a decision, it's either go with hers or get fatally injured and left behind. Fang's already dealt with her ripping his arm out of its socket when he tried to negotiate the cash, he figured that it'd be best on her good side, so he'll just do what she says.

Sora: What the hell was this filler supposed to be?

Hiroko: *Pout* Don't even start Sora, I'm not listening this time!

Sora: But this-

Hiroko: NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA-I'm not listening! NA NA NA!

Sora: *Pout* B-but... I'm supposed to be the immature one... :(

Hiroko: NA NA NA NA NA NA NA!

Sora: DX WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

Hiroko: NANANANA-A-are you... crying?

Sora: PFT! No! I'm too awesome to cry! XD

Hiroko: And to think I almost thought you had a heart... -_-*

Sora: I do have a heart! I share one with you! You're heart is all black and shriveled though, and since I only get a little bit... Yeah! :D

Hiroko: Ugh... R&R people!