Hi y'all! Sorry it's been a while. I constantly feel like uni is on top of me and I'm not on top of uni but oh well.

Thanks to every who reviewed on the last chapter including chronicyouth.2002, BaconBabe77, LydsLife, BeautifulSmilesTakeTime, Gazza, Bloodlust003 and all the other guest reviewers.

I've taken what everyone said about HTSTF under consideration but honestly haven't made up my mind yet. I'll keep everyone posted on my decision to continue the story or not. For the mean time, this is the only story I am writing for.

Happy reading!

Chapter 5: Fangalicious

I shuffled forward, cursing the stupid, goddamn army for forcing me into these stupid, goddamn shoes. With every step, my heels clicked on the floor agonisingly loud on the linoleum. Luckily, the man I was watching (probably more intently then I've ever watched any person before) didn't seem to hear the torturous sound and didn't turn around.

He was right there in front of me. I could reach out right now and touch him, if I wanted to. It would be a very weird thing to do, but it was possible. It hadn't been even possible for years and now, suddenly, it was.

"What's going on, Iggy?" Fang asked. God, his voice. It hit me like a punch to the gut. It was as if the rain clouds outside had cleared and birds were singing because of that voice. I wasn't hearing it through a phone receiver, I was hearing it firsthand, only a foot away. It was making every cell in my body grow goose bumps and shiver.

"See for yourself." Iggy said and gestured toward me. In what appeared to be slow motion, Fang turned. His head looked over his shoulder and then his whole, suit and tie clad body swivelled around in the booth.

His dark eyes met mine and it immediately felt like I was falling through vortex created by his corneas into his very soul. I had seen those eyes recently on a print out, but surveillance cameras could never capture the deepness of them. It was like I was fourteen again, looking to him for reassurance as my second in command, my best friend, my biggest support. Those eyes had always told me what I needed to know. I had missed those eyes so, so much.

His face, which had been impassive, morphed upon recognising me. He looked utterly shocked and confused and another emotion I couldn't quite place. His mouth formed my name and my mouth shaped his but neither of us produced any sound.

He stood abruptly, not moving his eyes away from mine. We were tethered together by our irises. He was in front of me then, olive skin rippling.

He was the same as he always had been, but not. He was taller. Much taller. He stood above me by at least a foot. He had a slight stubble line growing around his chin and neckline. He was…. He was Fang. Really and truly Fang, in the flesh.

"Hi." I said lamely, still gazing up into his eyes.

"Hi." He said back, meeting my gaze with his own exactly. Very slowly, as though he thought that if he moved too quickly I'd ghost away, he brought his hand up to brush down my cheek. His touch was impossibly light, not like when Iggy had inspected my face earlier today. I hardly felt the warmth of his skin as his fingers left my face as quickly as they had come.

"You're here," He confirmed.

I could hardly breath. "I'm here."

"I'm… I'm not dreaming." My eyes filled with tears for what felt like the millionth freaking time today.

"No, Fang." His name felt right coming out of my mouth for the first time in forever, "You are most definitely not dreaming." A tear slid down my cheek but Fang's gentle fingers came up once again and caught it. The tear balanced on his thumb; a rotund, watery dome enlarging the pattern of his finger print. Time continued tick by impossibly slowly. "But if you are dreaming." The tear threatened to roll down of the tip of his thumb. We both watched it, mesmerised. "Then I don't ever want you to wake up." I finished. The tear slid down his thumb and disappeared into the crevasses of his skin.

Very suddenly, time sped up.

Before I could truly process what was happening, he had roughly grabbed my face in both of his hands, so opposite to how he had been treating me just seconds before, and kissed me full on the mouth.

My head reeled uncomprehendingly.

Fang was kissing me.

Somewhere in my seemingly paralysed body, a switch flicked on and I felt an insatiable urge to push him off me and run away like I had the last time he kissed me three years ago on the pier. I squashed that urge down as hard as I could. I was done with running away. I closed my eyes and let his bottom lip slip between the both of mine. My toes wriggled in my heels, but my legs didn't move to walk away from him. After all these years, after everything I've been through to be here, I would be damned if I didn't make that insatiable urge satible by standing here and kissing this goddamn bird boy back with everything I had.

My lips pressed back against his forcefully. I reached up to pull at the hair around the nape of his neck to draw his lips closer to mine. I honestly didn't care that we were pressed together in the middle of a 50's style retro diner with other couples watching us while sipping their coffee. I didn't give a flying fuck that Iggy (both Fang and I's kind-of brother) was sitting right there at the table, hearing every disturbing sound our mouths made as they clashed together.

I have had a hole in my chest for the last three years and I have been waiting for this boy to come back into my life and fill it. Nothing and nobody was going to take this moment away from me.

I twisted my head to the right to get closer to him. He copied my movement and we were as close as we possibly could be. Lightly, he caught my bottom lip between his teeth and bit down. I felt like screaming.

When he released my lip, my head fell back, my eyes still closed. I was breathing heavily. By the feeling of Fang's chest, still pressed against mine, he too was out of breath.

"Well," Iggy said, sipping his coffee noisily. "That was intense."

I opened my eyes and slowly hauled my head back on top of my shoulders. Fang was staring at me, a corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. I leant my forehead against his. "Yeah. It was." I breathed, my words fanning out across his face coolly.

"So, are you two done now or should I rent you a room at the hotel next door?" I coughed awkwardly and released Fang's hair which I hadn't realised I was still grasping.

"Nah, we're cool." I pushed around Fang and slid into the booth opposite Iggy. He slid in next to me and took my hand underneath the table, squeezing it reassuringly.

"See, Max!" Iggy said, stupidly grinning that Iggy grin again, "He doesn't hate you."

I felt like face palming. Jesus, he could have not said that.

I couldn't stop worry from bubbling up in my chest, looking over at Fang again, I asked, "You don't hate me… Do you?" I could almost feel Iggy rolling his eyes from across the table.

Fang looked back at me evenly, "Not at all." He cocked one dark eyebrow, "Do you want me to?"

I shook my head so violently the bobby pins holding my ponytail stiffly in place moved, "No. Please, please don't ever hate me."

Fang chuckled a very small Fang-like chuckle. "I couldn't even if I wanted to." I smiled back at him feeling like a case of butterflies had burst open inside of me and were now flying freely around my stomach.

"Great! Now that that's out of the way, where do we go from here?" Iggy downed the last of his coffee and slammed the mug down on the table.

I was silent. Where did we go from here?

"Well," Fang said finally. "How about we order something to eat?"

"Ughhhh," I groaned, breathing in the deliciously, filthy smell of bacon grease. "Iggy, no offense, but this burger is kicking your pasta's butt right now." I had detached my hand from Fang's in order to pick up my cheeseburger with both hands. I compensated by sitting so close next to him, I was practically in his lap.

"None taken, this place is awesome." He mumbled, spitting out pieces of ground beef from between his teeth as he spoke.

"Mrrm hhhmm mr mrrrmmm mhhrmm?" Fang moaned around a bite of his own burger and looking over at me.

Iggy stared at him uncomprehendingly, "I'm sorry, I don't speak idiot. What were you trying to say?"

Fang gulped down his food and glared at Iggy. I laughed. At least he hadn't tried speaking with his mouth was so full. The length with which Iggy's could spit food from his mouth while speaking had been a completely disturbing albeit impressive display that I prayed never to witness again.

"I said, you went to his restaurant?"

I was about to answer but Iggy beat me to it, "Yes, she did. She ordered the penne with extra extra parmesan. I honestly should have guessed it was Max. Only weirdos put that much cheese on top of a culinary masterpiece." He sighed dramatically, "And then she proceeded to stalk me down the street. Hmmmm. Good times." Iggy finished reminiscently as though it had occurred a decade ago and not only a few hours previous.

My mouth dropped open, "I'm not a weirdo, I just happen to like cheese! And I did not stalk you!"

"Oh yeah? If it wasn't stalking, what was it?"

"…Look, I wasn't stalking you. Okay?"

Fang looked bemusedly at Iggy as he cackled. We descended into relative quiet while we finished eating, the only sounds being Iggy's snorts as he wolfed down his second burger in two bites.

When I finally sat back, full to bursting with fries and other greasy delights, I put my hands atop my stomach (which appeared to be budging) and grinned. "This is honestly the happiest I've been in years."

Everyone seemed to freeze.

I cursed myself. I couldn't have just enjoyed the moment, could I?

"Max…." Fang started. I could feel the question poised at the tip of tongue; Max, what happened?

Instead, he yelled, "DUCK!"

"Huh?" I asked but was drowned out by a loud, creaking, cracking sound. I dropped to the floor beneath the table just in time as a second bullet whizzed through the air and struck the window left of us causing it to shatter horrifically.

I'm just happy Fangy's back ;)

REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE SERIES IS AT THE MOMENT (TV, BOOK, ECT.)! I'm currently loving Voltron and Haikyuu!

~El