[A/N] Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! (: (Or Singles Awareness Day, if you're like me. ;D)
OKAY IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY SO I GET AN EXCUSE TO MAKE THIS OVER ROMANTIC, RIGHT? ;A;
I was reading so much manga about love/family-love-omg-let's-all-work-together stuff yesterday, I'll cry at any mention of love at the moment. xD (THEY WERE SO SWEEET KASLDJF /blubbers, but you know I'm not the greatest with my "aww that's adorable" scenes, but here you go anyways. \:)
And also, this is the official end of Neon Lights, but I have some extra chapters and things to post, but read more about them in the bottom A/N! (:
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Claimer: Own this.
[24.3] Damage; Part Three
"Why can't I get up?"Fang asked himself. He knew that he was awake, but what wasn't?
It's your body that isn't waking up, a voice said.
A voice?
"…hello?"
Yes?
"Uh… what's happening? Who are you?" The voice sounded oddly familiar.
I'm you, the voice said. And it's your body that isn't waking up. Although you might be, there's something preventing your body from waking.
"So what should I do to get my body up?"
Close your eyes. Search deep within. What past experience might make you not want to wake up?
Fang squeezed his eyes tight, trying to remember. He remembered being kidnapped two years ago, but couldn't remember much after that. Everything from that point on was fuzzy and blurred.
"Uhh, I'm not really sure. I'm thinking it had something to do with the fact that I got kidnapped?"
Exactly. Search deep within.
He shut his eyes, clearing his mind. He thought to himself, wondering why this voice (who apparently, was him) wouldn't tell him anything, until fragments of memory came to him.
The incredible urge to kill Max. The incredible guilt that followed.
Two years of memories came back to him in an instant, and he suddenly figured out why he couldn't wake up.
"Was it because of the guilt? What happened after you figured out that you- I- wanted to kill Max?"
Exactly. The voice had now changed, into a harsher, scarier one. [A/N: At first, it was all nice and smiley because Fang wasn't talking to the self that wouldn't let his body wake up. Now, he is.] Because of me- us- Max could've died. And if we wake up… that could happen again.
"But Itex is dead. How could anyone come back and do that again?"
Itex finds a way, the voice said grimly.
"But can't you see? Even if that does happen again… I don't think Max will be there."
He had seen the sadness in her eyes before she went to sleep. He knew that if he needed her as much as he did, she hopefully felt the same. "She needs us," he continued. "But if we don't wake up soon, she probably won't be here anymore. She needs our existence as much as we do."
…are you sure? The voice sounded lighter, more hopeful.
"Pretty damn positive. And if you could please let our body wake up now…"
A blinding light filled his vision, and he suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. His back arched in an attempt to get oxygen into his body.
One second… two seconds…
He gasped, gulping in oxygen. His body recoiled, hitting the bed violently, waking Max whose head was in lap.
"…what the…?" she mumbled. Fang kept gasping, the monitor beeping crazily. As Max adjusted, she gasped, "Fang?"
His breathing calmed, and he replied with a wistful smile- "Yep, it's me."
Max glomped Fang, [AN: For the lack of a better term ;_;] all the while whispering, "I can't believe it, is it really you…?"
Nurses and doctors burst into the room, scrambling around with instruments and charts. One of them tried to pull Max off of Fang, but she clung onto him like a lifeline. Fang stroked her head gently, and told a doctor, "Could you give us a moment? I promise, I won't pass out or anything, but give us a sec."
The doctor nodded, and quietly ushered everyone out of the room. Max had tears of relief and shock streaming down her face, and she had burrowed her head into Fang's chest.
"Is it really you?" She whispered. "I thought you'd never wake up… oh my God, it was so lonely without you." Fang was about to say that he had only been out for a week or two (at least, that's what he assumed), until she murmured, "It's been lonely… all these years."
He felt guilty, not knowing what had happened at all during those two years, except having betrayed Max, and having hurt her deeply. He drew her closer to him, rubbing the spot between her wings. Back when Jeb was their "father", she had always been comforted as soon as that spot was rubbed.
"It's okay, Max. I'm here now, and that's all the counts, right?" He kissed her head, still rubbing the spot between her wings. "And I'm sorry for what ever happened in the time I was gone, because I know I've hurt you in a way that could never be forgiven, but I can't take back the time that we've lost and stop that from happening."
Max straightened a bit. "You… don't remember what happened all the time you were gone?"
"I have the gist of it, but not really."
She smiled sadly. "At least you don't need to the pain we went through…" He could tell that she meant to say, "The pain I went through." He felt horrible about it, but he knew there was nothing he could do.
"I'm sorry," he apologized once more.
"But there's nothing for you to apologize fo-" Max began, but she was cut off when Fang cupped her face and kissed her. He kissed her so that he could feel the guilt he had been feeling for so long, yet feel the love that he had harbored for all these years. He figured that since he wasn't much of a person for words, he could be a person of action.
He pulled apart, and was surprised when he saw Max's blushing face. "I might have nothing to apologize for, but still, I'm sorry, okay?"
Max smiled, hugged him, and whispered, "Okay.
"I'm just so glad you're back, and here to stay."
[A/N] And that's the end, everyone (:!
And Happy Chinese New Year's too, if you celebrate. (: (I do; spent my Asian party at a sushi buffet. 8D)
And about the extra chapters: they're not part of the story, but just some thank yous and also, a preview for my next story. I've only got the prologue/half the first chapter done, but I'd like to see if any of you would read it first. (hur.)
Thanks for staying with Neon Lights for so long, and thank you for reading! :D
