A/N: Okay, who wanted Fax to kiss? Don't be ashamed! RAISE YOUR HAND.

Lessons 9: Always smell nice.

Fang

What is a kiss? Any way you think of it, a kiss is still very sacred. It's only done between lovers, right? Wait. Is it only exclusively for couples?

Is it when two pairs of lips touch? Is it the process where one person tastes their partner? Could it be as simple as a peck on the cheek?

A kiss can be friendly, like between a parent and child. A kiss can be intimate, like between two lovers. A kiss can be sexual, with the use of tongues.

An accidental kiss is... what?

Max

I've never been familiar with kissing. I'm an angel, remember? But just because I am doesn't mean I'm incapable of kissing. I've done it a number of times but all those experiences left me... sort of blank.

We angels can experience love too. Our love is not as passionate and fiery as those devils. When those devils love, they love. No kidding. When it comes to love, it's serious business to them.

I don't really know what happens if an angel and a devil fall in love with each other and I don't really want to know. Ignorance is one of the few pleasures I've decided to keep to myself and not for others to see.

As for kissing, I've heard from rumors that a devil's kiss will leave you wanting more. It's a sign that you are ruined forever.

But kissing... That's the area I'm most inexperienced of. I've dated, several times in fact. But most of the outcomes of those dates didn't end up with me receiving a kiss.

Oh, I wanted to. I wanted to experience the Kiss. Yes, the one with the capital K. I've overheard several angels back in Heaven who talked about their Kisses.

The Kiss is wonderfully amazing. Enlightening. Eye-opening to otherwordly possibilities. Sweetly painful. A breath of fresh air. La-di-da giggles.

Something forbidden.

To be honest, those angels ended up... not in Heaven anymore. I don't know what happened to them but I can tell you it had something to do with that Kiss. Ruined, ruined, ruined. That's what they are now. Possibly.

What should I do? I'm going crazy here!

Fang

Angels. Angels are just so... Enticing. Phenomenal. Something else. You just can't help but push their buttons and show them the world outside their boxes.

You want, you want, you want. Everything you have ever imagined of doing; you just want to do it to those angels.

They're like tabula rasa. Blank canvases that you just can't help but draw on. There's just something about a blank space that makes you want to shape it from your imagination.

Forbidden. They're definitely that.

Devils and angels have never really lived together. Just look at how far Hell and Heaven are from each other; they both occupy the ends of the spectrum. You're either here or there. You're either left or right.

The best pleasures in life is going against what is forbidden. Once you go destroy that forbidden "paradise", you find exhiliration. An indescribable euphoria of pure rebellion. Why do you think Earthlings do drugs or break their own rules?

So once the angel whispered that damned question in my ear, did you think I would be reasonable? Did you think I would pull away and act like a gentleman?

I'm a devil. Devils don't back away from challenges once they see one.

Once I saw those rosy lips spread into a curve of invitation, I couldn't help it. I just couldn't.

I bit her. I bit her lower lip.

And she slapped me. Damn, could she slap.

It's the worst day of my entire existence.

Max

WHY? Why would you bite a person's lip when they're practically BEGGING to be kissed?

WHY DID YOU BITE MY LIP, YOU GORGEOUS BASTARD? I wanted you to kiss me! I wanted you to ravish me with those sexy lips of yours!

Ruined. My dream Kiss is ruined. Destroyed. Pounded viciously by a thousand pairs of elephant feet. Flushed down the drain together with last night's deep-fried tofu cubes.

I'm so angry right now that I can't even think of anything good. All I want to do is kill that bastard and rip him apart into bloody devil bits. So frustrated! I just want to break down and cry and throw a tantrum.

I feel like an Earthling child sobbing because they didn't get the gift they wanted for Christmas. I wanted my Kiss, not a bite on my lower lip. It wasn't even a sexy nibble! It was the kind of bite you use dig into that Baconator. YES, mouth wide-open, teeth bared, and all!

I don't think I can take it anymore. I don't want to continue these lessons anymore.

An hour before the sunrise, I woke up and ran out of his apartment. Sprinting up several flights of stairs to the roof, I kicked the door leading to the roof and unleashed my wings.

It has been many weeks since I unfurled my wings to their full length. I walked towards the edge of the roof and sat down, my legs dangling over the edge. After my heart rate slowed down to normal, I began to feel relax so I leaned back and laid down on my back.

Staring up the predawn sky, I closed my eyes. So relaxed am I that all of my dilemmas poured out of me and the rush of emotions flooding inside made me dizzy. Hurt, confusion, frustration; my Heaven-influenced brain couldn't take it all.

Pretty soon I have a hankering headache. This was my first time experiencing something like this. Never have I felt more than one emotion in a single time frame. I vowed never to feel this way again.

My angel senses started tingling so I slowly sat up, rubbing my temples to ease the pain. I opened my eyes and stared out into the horizon where flickers of sunlight started popping out.

You better pick up, you crazy angel, I thought and sent it to Nudge. (We don't have "smartphones" in Heaven. We use the old-fashioned telepathy to call each other. You know what, Earthlings don't even have telepathy. Let me rephrase that.)

As soon as the first rays of the sun eased out, I heard Nudge's mental voice.

Max? What is it? Did something happen?"

Half-relieved and half-annoyed, I replied, "Well, duh. I don't wake up this early to inquire about your daily life."

She giggled. I smiled too at the sound. God, I missed her laugh. "So what happened? Did you learn anything about seduction?"

I really wanted to reply sarcastically but I knew that once I did that, this conversation would turn into an hour long speech. "Of course I did. You don't trust my studying skills?"

"So what happened? Tell me! I'm going crazy here!"

"I can't do this anymore. I've had it with these lessons. I want to go back."

She gasped. "What? No! You promised you'll help me!"

I sighed. "I know I did, Nudge. It's just... I'm so frustrated about the devil who's giving me the lessons!"

"Don't tell me... Did you two kiss?"

My reply was immediate. Perhaps a little too quickly. "What? NO! Why would you think that?"

"Well, whenever someone wants to quit doing something, they usually blame their partner saying they're frustrating. That usually means you've either fallen in love or you're thinking thoughts of death and is resisting."

"Well you can get it through your mind that I have not fallen for him and never will. Besides, it's true! I'm tired of him!"

Now she's the one who sighed. "Okay, what did he do?"

"Like I'd tell you, missy. I'm going back. I think I've learned enough lessons to teach you about the basics of seduction."

"No! I want you to learn everything! I don't just want to learn the basics; I want to learn everything there is to know about seduction!"

"If you wanted to learn everything in the first place, why am I here then? Why aren't you the one taking the lessons from him? Why should it be me?"

"Because you promised, Max! You promised!" I swear I heard a stutter there.

That was not the reason I was looking for. "Nudge, you know you're going to have to tell me the truth one day."

"I will! I will! Just not today... So please, don't leave now. I'm begging you. Please learn all the lessons. ALL."

"Just one more month. That's it."

"Thank you! I promise I will tell you why it had to be you."

"I'm taking your word on that, Nudge. Don't think I would forget."

"Yes! Okay, I have to go. I have cleaning duties for today."

"Fine. And double-check the places you've cleaned. This is why you haven't had an advancement for the past six months."

"Whatever, Mother! Bye!"

I dropped my head into my hands and shook my head. I really wanted to go home. What am I going to do when I face the devil?

The art of seduction complicates a lot of things... Damn it!

"WHY?" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

The hungry squawks of pigeons answered my call. Well, then.

Fang

I'm ready to die. I spent the last four hours mentally preparing myself for death. I'm ready and not afraid.

The front door opens and the angel comes in, sweaty and breathless. In her sleeping attire. With her beautiful wings unfurled and practically sparkling to be seen.

Suddenly a gunshot rings out in my chest and my heartbeat sprints to a decathlon. (This really has got to stop. It's getting annoying.)

Since I'm already sitting in the living room when she came in, I ask her, "Where did you go?" I woke up this morning and she wasn't in her usual throne in the kitchen island.

Max takes a few deep breaths before facing me. Slowly, she folds her wings back and stretches her arms over her head. "Um, I went for a... run. Out in the park," she replies, still avoiding to look at me.

I raise an eyebrow in suspicion. "At four-thirty in the morning? With your wings out in the open?"

She waves a hand at me. "Please; I'm not that stupid. I put a glamour on them so that no Earthling can see them. Like I'd ever make a mistake!" She walks over to the loveseat and lets out a groan.

Now interested, I pull off the pillow on my stomach and face her. I straighten myself on the couch that I'm practically on the edge of the seat. "Why are you so tired? I thought it's hard for you to get tired once you start running."

She shakes her head and waves a finger at me. "I thought so too. But then I remembered I'm here on Earth, where the air is heavier and more polluted than in Heaven. After the first mile I was practically wheezing, trying to get a breath of fresh air."

I really couldn't relate to her story since I don't like running. Or any kind of exercising. So I stand up and go to the kitched to get her a glass of cold water. Once I got that, I walk back to the living room, only to see her already sprawled out on the couch.

I smirk and gently put down the glass on my crappy coffee table. I kneel down in front of the couch, to the side where her head is smushed between two throw pillows. Reaching out a hand, I slowly shake her awake.

"What?" is what I managed to hear so I shake her some more. Finally, she turns her head and looks at me. Her red-rimmed eyes and tired expression strike through my Anxiety Machine.

I reach out behind me for the glass. "Drink this," I say and watch her sit up. She takes the glass from me and greedily drinks the water in just five swallows.

She hands the glass back and says, "Thanks. I really needed that." She flashes me a tired smile and grabs one of the throw pillow. She hugs the pillow tight while folding her knees to her chest.

I sigh and once again put away the glass on the table. I stand up from my kneeling position and decided to sit down next to her.

Relaxing next to her, I grab her before she could fall forward on her face. I pull down her head so she's using my shoulder as her pillow.

"You have such a bony shoulder, Fang," she murmurs as her eyes start to close. I chuckle and wrap my arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. "Stop laughing! It hurts my head!"

I chuckle some more but stop when she punches my gut. I try not to double over in pain and instead endure it by breathing through my clenched teeth.

A few minutes of silence pass and I check to see if she's asleep. So I turn my head to look at her but she stares back at me with curious eyes. Don't always rely on deep breathing whenever you check to see if someone is asleep.

"Do you know why men love cuddling?" I ask her in a low voice.

She slowly shakes her head. Max yawns and nudges me to answer.

"Men love that particular essence of pure woman. Not tainted by perfume or artifical smells. Just her. A mouthwatering spice secreted by a woman in her cleanest form."

Max raises her head off my shoulder and stares at me. "Do you feel like that too?"

I shrug, temporarily depressed when she pulled away. "Sure, I guess. Though I'm not really the hugger type."

She laughs and puts her head back down on my shoulder. Happy, I smirk down at her. "To conclude, don't always wear perfume. Too much perfume puts men off sometimes."

"But we women always have to smell nice; is that what you're saying?"

That question has a very easy, DUH answer. "Well, yeah. Who would hug a woman who hasn't washed herself for three days?"

"So tell me honestly. What was the best woman essence you've ever 'smelled'? Not to say that you smell women on a daily basis or that you have a woman essence fetish."

I laugh. "None. Well, there were some who smelled fine. Not really memorable."

"Do you remember one, though?"

"There was one Earthling who smelled like peaches. I don't even like peaches that much."

I feel her glare on the side of my face. "Can you tell me what I smell like?"

My head sharply turns to her. "You want me to smell you? Do you really want me to do that?" I suddenly remember the worst crime I have ever done. Oh, the shame.

She also remembers it because her brown eyes turn cold and she pulls away. "Right, about that. Do you want to say something about that?"

I clear my throat because my heart suddenly renders me unable to swallow. "I'm sorry I... bit your lip. I-I... I just-" She raises a hand so I stop.

"Good enough. Now tell me what I smell like."

I'm speechless. I didn't know angels can easily forgive. I thought they were the type who would hold a grudge for eternity. "That's it?" I ask, since I can't seem to wrap my mind around the fact that she so easily forgave me.

She crosses her arms and stares hard at me. "What? You wanted a more humiliating, more emotionally painful punishment? I could make you dance naked in the middle of the park while holding a sign that says-"

I vigorously shake my head. "No, definitely not."

"Good. The essence?"

"Why are you so interested with that? You smell fine!"

"I wanna know what my essence is! Now tell me!" She looks so cute when she slams her foot down like a child. Oh, Max...

I mirror her posture by also crossing my arms across my chest. I slowly lean down so we are mere inches away from each other. I take one long deep breath and exhale slowly through my nostrils.

All I smell is her. Her, her, her. Intoxicating angel.

"Cherry blossoms blooming on the first day of spring. That mild cherry fragrance dancing in the breeze. Of course, I can only smell that essence if I literally stick my nose into your neck and take a whiff."

Her face turns the exact same shade of the cherry blossoms. "No, my neck is not for your nose-y functions." She even covers up her neck to emphasize her point.

I raise a brow at her. "I thought you wanted me to know your essence, Max." Really. How can this stubborn angel be so shy when it comes to skinship?

She swallows loudly. I heard it! "I didn't know you had to use your nose and glue it to my neck just to know my essence. Nevermind!"

Max starts to stand up but I capture her arms and pull her down. "No, no. A promise is a promise. I'll tell you what your essence is. It's the least I can do after doing that."

She shakes her head. "No need! I really don't want to know now!" she exclaims, while trying to pull away from my grasp.

But I don't listen to her and stick my nose into her slender neck. She squeaks cutely and tries to push me away. I smile at her discomfort.

I trail my nose up and down on one side of her neck. "Fang," she whispers, discomfort clearly ringing in her voice.

The tip of my nose traces her jawline. She won't stop squirming! I mentally sigh, sad I have to finish this too early.

I end my "inspection" by lightly pressing my lips on her cheek. I pull away and remove my hands from her arms.

"You really smell like cherry blossoms."

A/N: No Fax kiss. Who knows? Next chapter there might be a kissing scene. I'd even go as far and say... a hot kissing scene? RnR?