We all walked downstairs, the six of us plus Angel's winged dog. Max never let go of my hand. Iggy went into the kitchen, and the three younger ones followed us.
"Come outside with me. I want to talk to you," Max said softly. We walked toward the sliding back door, and Max turned around and gave the kids a look, which telegraphed "alone", and they reluctantly backed off. We went out the back door, and onto a very nice wooden deck, looking out into a seemingly infinite land of woods. The lights at the corners of the deck were low, and it was only then that I noticed a swimming pool to my left; in ground, with some nice ambient lighting.
"So, what did you want to talk to m—?"
The second I slid the door shut behind me, I was knocked for a loop. Max pushed me up against the wall next to the door, hard, and held the sides of my face with her hands. She stood on her toes, putting forth all effort to slam her lips against mine, in a kiss that screamed, I love you with all of my heart, and I'll die before I let you go again. Her lips were soft, warm, and welcoming. I was frozen, though. I felt weird, awkward, stiff… as though I had never kissed anyone before, and that this strange girl was somehow mistaken. Well, as far as I could remember, I hadn't kissed anyone before. But as she moved her right hand around to the back of my head, and her left down, under my arm, onto my back, pulling me closer, deeper into the kiss, I relaxed, and I began to reciprocate. Max opened her mouth, and I followed suit, allowing our tongues to explore, to dance with one another. My arms instinctively slid around her, my right over her left shoulder, my left around her waist, resting on the small of her back, pulling her closer to me, letting her know that it was ok, that I was comfortable with this. This was… beautiful. I could never have expected this morning that I would be kissing a gorgeous blonde with wings. The kiss seemed to last a long time, although it was probably only for a minute or so. Eventually, we both needed air, and we broke. Max looked me in the eyes, looking exhilarated.
"Uhh… s-sorry," she said, panting. "It's just… I thought you were dead for the longest time, and for so many nights, I cried myself to sleep. I always thought… you know, 'what I wouldn't give to have him back for just one minute', and I wanted to tell you how much I missed you, and we always used to come out here and talk, and…" Her speech was getting faster, and she was sounding like I was forcing her to explain herself. "And when we got out here, it was like… I couldn't stop myself. All these years of wanting, of hoping, of wishing you were back here with me, and now I have you, and…" she trailed off, swaying into me, our lips meeting again. I was growing accustomed to the way her mouth moved, to the way she would hold me, and even though she was feeling… probably the deepest love anyone could feel, I was just starting to experience the beginnings of puppy love infatuation. I mean, look at it from my point of view: if some gorgeous girl told you that you have a wonderful romantic history (which you can't seem to remember), and then she starts kissing you as if you were Prince Charming himself, how would you feel? We broke again, and this time, she didn't talk… she only smiled. I knew in that moment, beyond any speculation that I had harbored before, that this place, this home was where I belonged. Those kids in the house? They were my family. My family. And Max? She and I had loved one another ages ago… and I was already starting to feel something very strong for her, despite the infinitesimal amount of time that I had known her, which was about an hour or so. No girl kisses a boy like that when it's just a "hookup". No girl kisses a boy like that when she's not 110% sure that he's the one and only match for her. No. This was real, and it was finally starting to hit me, harder than ever. And when she looked into my eyes, I was just… sure, somehow. I knew that this wasn't all just a big mix-up. Fuck all the questions, fuck my past, fuck the background story… I was here. It was now, and I just knew… some voice in the back of my head just told me that this was all true. This time, I initiated the kiss. I threw my arms around her, and I kissed her to the best of my proficiency. I know, I know, I didn't have much experience in the matter, but I doubt she cared. I kissed her, as passionately as I could, the wave sweeping over me, like nothing I could have expected. Somewhere, buried, deep inside the catacombs of my mind… I knew she was my lover. We kissed deeply, like celestial lovers separated by space and time, coming together for the first time in eons. Well, that was kinda what we were. Minus the embellishment.
We were scared apart by the unmistakable sound of the slider door opening. Who poked their blonde head out but… Angel. She looked from Max to me, and then smiled a great, satisfied smile.
"I love you guys," she said, sighing.