The bell rang and Max headed out of the class room to meet Ella for lunch. Max liked the layout of her school, the rooms made like a thick border around a quadrangle shaped oval where seats and large trees were planted to eat around.
Ella jogged up to Max and bumped her shoulder in greeting,
"Come on I found a bench over here we can sit at unless you want to sit with your lover boy."
Max rolled her eyes and fell onto the seat next to Ella; she'd been on this subject all day,
"Come off it will you, I don't like Fang like that! We're just friends," Ella raised an eyebrow unbelievingly and Max muttered more quietly, "and anyway even if I did like him like that it doesn't mean that he does." Ella's mouth opened in surprise as she smacked Max's shoulder.
"You're kidding me right? How on Earth can you say that! Have you seen the way he looks at you? God you'd think you're the blind one."
Max turned away to hide a blush but instead turned away to see Fang talking with one of the cheerleaders by her locker. Seeing Fang with her hurt more than Max would have liked to admit. She could see Fang laughing at something the blonde cheerleader had said and without knowing Max had started to growl.
"Are you alright Max? What's up?" Ella asked confused, slightly worried she'd seen an Eraser or something.
Max's head snapped around just as Fang spotted her.
"I've got to go," she said hurriedly before almost running way to the corridors of the school.
Fang was barely listening to what the cheerleader had to say as he saw Max suddenly head off. He watched her until she'd gone down one of the darker corridors, down to the old toilets and janitors quarters if he remembered correctly. Fang saw Ella look around for something until seeing him, he gave her a questioning look but all she did was shrug. Frowning slightly he turned around to Brianne, the head cheerleader; she'd been trying to convince him to go in the tryouts next year. Ha as if, and anyway he and Max probably wouldn't even be here they were already doing the year twelve classes.
"Er sorry Brianne, I've got to go," Fang cut in before walking off without waiting for a reply.
He found Max a further way down the corridor, no one ever went down this far so the school never bothered to turn the lights on so he watched her in semi darkness. She wasn't doing much just leaning into the wall by her fists, folding his arms he watched her for a moment and he could bet that probably hurt just a bit.
"I know you're probably fine but I saw you run off and a just wanted to check you were alright."
Max stiffened before turning around, glaring at him.
"Yeah well I'm fine thanks so you can go back to chatting up your little blonde girlfriend."
Fang sunk back into a comfier position and raised his eyebrow,
"Blonde girlfriend? Nope don't have any of them, I know a pretty nice brunette but she can get a bit bossy so-" Fang cut himself off with a bit of a shrug feeling quite evil, he knew this would tick Max off. Max just glared at him for a moment before she started to make growling noises too annoyed to say anything while she made the action of choking Fang.
That was when he saw her hands. Frowning worriedly he pushed of the wall and grabbed her hands in one fluid movement. He studied them silently for a moment holding them just tight enough that Max couldn't pull away,
"You need to get them cleaned up," he said after a while. The skin over her knuckles was cracked and bleeding, there was already some bruises coming up on parts of her fingers. Max tried to pull away from Fang again with no luck so instead she just snarled at him,
"I'm fine why don't you just go away and sweet talk that brunette you like so much."
Without looking up Fang answered,
"I already am."
Max stopped fighting against Fangs grip but before she could say anything he quickly kissed her and strode off out of the corridor.
The trip back home was very quiet, the others in the Flock had sensed Max and Fang mood and not even Nudge was talking. Ella had not seen Max for the rest of lunch only in the last subject, English, but under the strict rules of Mr Krank (who fitted his name perfectly) no one was allowed to speak and that meant not chance of asking Max about what had happened and why her knuckles were now bandaged up. Ella had asked Max about it when they'd gotten out of class but all she got were one word explanations, the largest being 'I hurt myself'; Well duh.
Ella shrugged to herself, maybe things would get better tonight.
They didn't. As soon as they were able Max and Fang both locked themselves away in their rooms saying they had homework to do. None of us believed them, not to mention it was the last week of school this year, but we let them go they needed to sort this out themselves.
11:00
There was a knock at Max's door and she rolled over to watch the door quietly open and Fangs moonlit shadow slip into her room.
"Couldn't sleep either hey?" She said as she shuffled across the bed so Fang had enough room to sit down. Fang was silent but Max waited for him to speak and after a while he did.
"I wanted to say sorry."
Max quirked an eyebrow and Fang continued.
"For kissing you today, I shouldn't have done it."
There was silence between them before Max said,
"Neither of us apologized after the other night."
Fang was silent again for a moment.
"So you're not angry at me?"
Max shook her head.
"No I don't think so."
Max could swear she could almost see Fang smiling in the semi darkness and she shuffled further across the bed and patted it so Fang could lay down next to her so they could see each other face to face. They laid like that for a while before Fang looked over Max's hands.
"How's you hands going?"
"Sore." Max replied and Fang nodded.
"You'd better not let the other's see."
Max nodded slightly and subconsciously stretched her fingers.
"Yeah and defiantly not mum and dad. They'd probably think Erasers have come back or something."
The next morning Fang and Max came down the stairs together and Ella secretly watched them and guessed that they must have fixed up whatever went wrong last night. As they were working like clockwork now, just as usual. Max would turn the kettle on, Fang would grab cups and other necessities for their drinks while Max did toast. Toast would pop as kettle clicks off, they swap jobs. Max makes drinks and Fang does toast.
Nudge came over to the kitchen and whispered to Ella as she sat down on the seat next to her,
"Is it just me or are they even more finely tuned to whatever wavelength they share then normal?"
Ella took a drink and quirked her head to the side watching Max and Fang.
"You know what I think you're right. I'm sure they used verbal commands and stuff before and since when did they swap jobs half way?"
Max spoke up but didn't stop her job,
"Maybe he does better toast and I make better drinks? And it's rude to talk behind peoples backs, literally."
"And it doesn't help when they can hear you," Fang added.
Ella rolled her eyes,
"And it's rude to be such a cute couple but refuse to go out."
Max and Fang looked at each other for a moment as they swapped drinks and food before sitting down together by Ella and Nudge.
A little while later Angel walked into the room and sat on the opposite side of the table.
"I'm not complaining but why do we have a public holiday in the week before Christmas holidays?"
"It's for people who work to have a day to rest before school holidays start and it gives students a day to relax between tests or a day to study really hard." Max replied taking her plate over to the sink and then patting Angel's bed hair down with a smile. Ella hid a grin as she noticed Fang watching the girls.
"Hey Angel," Ella said sweetly. "What's Max and Fang thinking at the moment?" Angel was silent for a moment while Max glared at Ella. Fang looked as unemotional as ever except an occasional twitch in his jaw. After a moment Angel replied,
"I'm not allowed to read their minds but I know what you're thinking."
Max grinned and hugged Angel's shoulders lightly,
"Well I'm sure we would all love to know what she's thinking wouldn't we."
Ella opened her mouth in protest but she was too late.
"Ella thinks you two would be good parents."
Ella pouted. Well that plan had backfired terribly hadn't it?
Max pulled back a laugh and looked over at Fang and she swore she could almost see him blushing. She ruffled Angel's hair before taking Fang, Ella and Nudge's (who had left the table around when Angel entered) plate.
"Well I hope we would," Max said with a laugh. "We practically raised the Flock our selves."
"Especially me," Angel piped up. Fang gave a slight nod in agreement remembering having to go back to the school to save her.
Ella was going to say something in reply to this but then the phone rang and she recognised the number as a friend of hers so Max and Fang took this time to head out of the kitchen.
Max shook her head as they got out of the kitchen. Fang just shrugged,
"She's your sister."
"Mm and don't I know it."
"She's right though."
"Yeah? I thought you said I was a 'fighter not a mother'."
Fang shrugged,
"Who say's you can't be both." Fang paused for a moment before adding, "You wouldn't be too bad."
Max gave him a small smile,
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Max softly punched Fangs shoulder.
"Well we won't know for a while will we?"
"Of course," he said in agreement with a nod before they headed in different directions through the house.