Chapter XIV: Family Values

"I'm... um... I'm," Fang too was at a loss for words, awkwardly stumbling over his own thoughts and tripping himself up as he tried desperately to string together an adequate reply. How exactly is one suppose to explain that they were the boyfriend of their long lost son without sounding like a complete nut job, exactly? Or maybe not their son, seeing as maybe that girl was his sister, and she called him her adoptive step dad. So, did that make him Iggy's technical adoptive step father too?

Luckily, before Fang could make a bigger fool out of either of them, Iggy managed to speak up in a clear, cool tone that Fang hadn't expected him to find. He spoke only a handful of simple words, but it was for the best. Giving a long explanation would only complicate things and get them in trouble. Obviously, Iggy knew that, and so he took the high road.

"Hi, my name is Iggy and I'm looking for my parents." But as the words left his mouth, they were met by confused looks. Actually, both were confusion, mixed with other emotions along the way. The girl had been stricken by a sudden sadness and intrigue, the man tried to remain confused looking, but there was an underlying anger that he tired to hide, though it was easy to see he was completely outraged by these two odd kids appearing on his perfectly manicured lawn.

"What? Iggy? Sorry kid, I think you and your friend have got the wrong house." The man in the suit said, his angry, little mouth twisted into an almost disgusted sneer. Rage seemed to fume from him, which seemed to recognize, because suddenly his face turned very soft and sympathetic. But his eyes betrayed him. Fang saw the way they darted around, looking them both over, and carefully glancing around their neighbor's yards. Not wanting to cause a scene. Obviously a high standing citizen, well respected in the community. Fang already didn't like him.

His holier than though attitude, his Armani suit, and his tone of voice. Especially his tone of voice, the way it was so condescending, daring you to try to explain why you were bothering him. Unfortunately, before Fang had the chance to turn around and storm out, Janie took yet another chance to piss off her parental figure.

"Iggy? Like Ignatius?" One eyebrow raised as she asked the question. Her eyes looked up and down him, as if scanning him for some type of mirror of herself or perhaps her mother or father. Yet as it did, she could see it dart back to the man in the suit.

Iggy's brows, on the other hand, furrowed. He knew quite well that was at least part of his given name, hence the nickname 'Iggy'. "Yeah, I guess."

"Ignatius, like Alex Ignatius Brooks?"

"No I don't-"

"Iggy," Fang breathed quietly, "the paper." He remembered the words clearly, seeing as he'd read it over nearly a thousand times before they left, Alex Ignatius Brooks. Son of James Jonathon Frederick Lawrence Junes and Lillian Marie Brooks. Just for reference, though, he reached into his jeans pocket and, with slight hesitation, pulled out the now crumpled and slightly soggy paper.

And there it was. Alex Ignatius Brooks. Plain as black and white.

"So, you're Alex Ignatius Brooks," she said slowly, pointing a long, black nailed finger at Iggy, then turning to Fang, "and you are?"

"Um. Fang. Just Fang." He mumbled, his hands shoved in his pockets in an attempt to look all cool and nonchalant, he figured the first step was to hide his shaking hands.

"Both of you," her voice started shaking and her throat began to croak as her eyes lowered downward, "need to get inside. Now."

It was almost scary, to see this emotional trigger go off in Janie's brain. She'd gone from angry, to confused, to on the verge of hysteria, and Fang had no idea why. He hadn't pinned her as an over emotional girl, or even someone vaguely emotional, but apparently, this had hit some place very deep inside her.

"Janie, I am not done talking to you-" That was, of course, the man in the suit. Pointing a harsh finger at the red haired girl.

"Shove it." She said defiantly, striding up to the house and pushing past the blonde haired man. Fang and Iggy followed reluctantly after, not wanting to be rude, but also wanting to finally go inside and talk to this girl. Maybe find out exactly who Alex Ignatius Brooks was. Is. Whatever.

But the man seemed to be used to it, because he didn't yell back or even protest at all, just sent the group a hard glare before rolling his eyes and falling behind. Obviously, in this house, Janie ran the show.

Which probably was better than the other guy anyways.

The house it self seemed to be nice- no, scratch that, it was nice.

From the outside, it was what could only be described as unmistakably suburban. Two stories of quiet, mute tones. Brick, with white siding. Two car garage. Manicured lawn, of course.

From the inside, beige seemed to be a popular tone, and the carpet matched. There were a few bits of miscellaneous watercolors on the walls, blossoming flowers, an attempt to seem homey and welcoming. But a vain one at that. There was still an overwhelming coldness, no evidence someone actually lived there. It was... unsettling at the least, almost maddening at the most.

Overall, it was almost Fang's perfect vision of his parents' house- save the cold feeling. Or, at least it had been. Until he met the people inside, and now, no matter how he imagined the house, Janie and her step father immediately popped into mind.. Then again, this wasn't even his house, or his family. But who was to say his would be any different? He had no idea. All the paper had given him was an address and two names-

Wait, who was to say he was even going to see his parents? He did have a choice, not to see them. No one was going to force him... but now that he was here, he almost wanted to... still, he was afraid of how it might turn out. Who they'd turn out to be, where they lived...

Fang sighed to himself, this little fight inside him could go on for days. Maybe he should just wait, see how Iggy's turned out, then decide if he wanted to meet them. It did sound logical.

"Fang," Iggy's was quiet, hardly audible, but Fang heard him loud and clear, "what just happened?"

"Honestly? I have no idea." Fang answered, sounding quite shell shocked but still entirely earnest.

They were lead to what looked like a sitting room. Two armchairs and a couch, making a U shape around a small coffee table, facing an unlit fireplace. On the coffee table was a pile of magazines, mostly business, an ash tray and a pile of classical CDs. Obviously, Janie had little influence on this room. Save maybe the ash tray.

He could see her fingers twitch towards the ash tray as she walked by, in fact. There was a half finished cigarette in there, after all. Pot probably wasn't her only fix.

"Take a seat, the old man will be here in a minute," she said, flopping down on the armchair to the far left. Fang took Iggy's hand and gently pulled him over to the couch, sitting almost awkwardly close for protection. He wasn't quite sure if they were in a liberal house or not, but he was quite sure Janie wouldn't care if he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, though he wasn't so sure about the "old man".

Speaking of whom, the old man walked in at that moment, glaring at Janie, and staring at Fang and Iggy before sitting down in the far armchair. He looked uncomfortable, and confused, though his anger seemed to have subsided just a little bit. Though not entirely. Maybe he was late to one of his fancy business calls, or a posh party in the city. Fang would be happy to see him go, after all, wasn't like this was really any of his business. He was only a step dad, after all.

"Good," Janie said coldly, her suddenly cold eyes never leaving the man's face, daring him to leave the room or speak up, "Now that we're all here, I believe there are some questions we need to answer.

"You," her upper body swivelled sharply, a long, thin finger pointing at Iggy, "where did you come from?"

The sudden confrontation seemed to confuse and surprise Iggy, who had been expecting to be the one to initiate the conversation, "I, uh, what do you mean?"

"I mean," she rolled her eyes in an annoyed way, Fang was beginning to think she took after her step-dad more than anyone else. They both spoke in such a cold, condescending manor, which completely matched their holier-than-thou attitude, that was hard to believe they weren't blood related, "give me your story."

Her sudden, cutting, sarcastic manor honestly scared Fang. He wasn't so sure he wanted to be there anymore, under her harsh glare, hearing her frigid words heartlessly spilling out demands that they may or may not be able to meet. This wasn't the way Fang had planned to spend his day.

Without thinking, Fang slipped his arm around Iggy's waist, closing the space between them to absolutely nothing. But it was comforting, to feel Iggy's diaphragm moving in and out with each breath and to have something the same to hold onto, and find comfort in.

In, out, in, out, in, out... such a steady rhythm. Fang sucked in a quick breath, in, out, in, out. And their breath pulsed together, one beat for two bodies. It was soothing, like a long, quiet night's sleep. But better. Because, he could see Iggy, and himself, and they way they moved. Together. It wasn't much, but for Fang it did a lot.

In that small moment, Fang found comfort in Iggy's arms.

That little move did earn them both a weird look, actually two. But neither of the parties involved said anything, so Fang did not dare change his position. As long as there wasn't a problem, Fang planned on keeping a tight hold on Iggy, he was the only thing familiar left, it seemed. The only pattern he could still hold on to.

"Um," Iggy started quietly, "Well, my name is Iggy and I grew up in a place called the School." He paused and took a breath, waiting to be interrupted by either party, who did nothing in turn, "The School was... an evil place. Fang, I and our four other friends were... experimented on, in ways that were so cruel and awful, it's not even legal on mice." He took another breath.

"Our DNA human DNA was mixed with avian DNA," he said slowly, because you can't really say that quickly without sounding at least a little psychotic, "We are 2 bird."

It was then, that Iggy was interrupted by a snort of laughter from Janie, Fang shot her a cold, hard glance, and she immediately sobered up, managing to snicker out four words, "Do you have proof?"

Now, that was probably what pushed Fang a little over the edge. On the verge of simply screwing it all over, and also on the first of ripping off his shirt and demonstrated exactly what they had been talking about. Of course, they had proof! What did she think they were, two kids seeking money and attention? Maybe some attention would be nice, but all they- meaning Iggy- really wanted, was to see their parents. Who were apparently assholes anyways.

So, here were two choices. Prove them right or prove them wrong. Thankfully, the more logical latter choice won over.

An audible gasp could be heard as he pulled the shirt off over his head, exposing the wretched, and occasionally blessed, things themselves. But perhaps they thought it was simply a rogue, because the entire room fell silent as his wings seamlessly extended, brushing the walls on either side of the room easily. He even flapped them a bit for effect, "Proof enough for you?"

Janie nodded weakly, and Fang quickly put his shirt back on, returning to his place next to Iggy, arm around the waist and all.

"Can you... can you fly?" Janie asked, she stared intently at him, as if trying to see through him.

Fang nodded, "Yes."

"Oh," was all she managed after that.

"Anyways," Iggy continued, feeling the tension in the room, "The six of us grew up there, being experimented on like... like we weren't even people. It was cruel and unusual... a horrible way to live life. In fact, when I was ten years old, they took my sight away."

Janie's eyes widened in surprise, and even the man in the suit seemed shocked by this news. Fang felt yet another surge of anger, but managed to stay at least relatively calm. Temper, temper, after all.

"Shortly after that, we were saved... by a man named Jeb. He took us to Colorado, lived with us and raised us for two years... before he disappeared. So we went on without him, we thought he was dead. Until two years later... when we were attacked... by Erasers, these wolf-human things. And... Jeb too.

"One of our friends, a little girl named Angel, was taken. Fang and two other friends of ours went to get her, while me and another kid stayed at home and tried to sabotage them. Eventually, once they'd gotten Angel back we met up and flew to New York. Where we almost escaped the Erasers.

"But, you know, stuff happens..." And Iggy left it at that. Perhaps it was too painful for him to think about, or maybe he didn't want to explain something that he couldn't remember, or maybe he just felt like they didn't need to know. Whatever it was, it wasn't important. They seemed to get the general idea of how shitty their lives had turned out.

"So, you're coming here...?" Janie asked unsurely. Fang could almost immediately tell what she was thinking. That they were going to try to bum a place to live off of them, or something like that, of course they weren't, and Iggy made a point of telling them that.

"No, actually we're headed... well, we can't really say, but not here."

"Oh, so you're just here for kicks?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"I see." Her expression was that of someone who had just turned very, very bored. Now, Fang was angry. Even more angry than when she'd asked for proof of their wings. Because now she was just brushing them off, like they and their feelings didn't even matter. Which was why Fang lightly pinched Iggy's forearm, signal for 'wait'.

"If you were separated from your parents at birth and now had the chance to meet them, what would you do?" Fang asked cuttingly, his nose raised in the air just for effect.

"Thing is, you missed your chance," Janie snorted, "Mom's dead, and Dad's place has been taken by Mr. Armani over there."

Mr. Armani chose to ignore this comment, instead he stood up and said rather coldly, "I have to go to the office, here," as he walked by he pulled out his checkbook, scribbled down a few things and handed it to him, "Take care of yourselves." He said it offhandedly, probably just trying to get through his good dead of the day. Give a poor blind kid and his friend some money and call yourself charitable.

But when Fang saw the number, his eyes popped. $500! How could someone just... hand over that amount of money to anyone? Seriously! It wasn't even funny how much they could buy with this sort of money... how they could start to live.

There was silence, and until they heard the slam of the front door, and the sound of a car pulling away.

"What do you mean Mom's dead and Dad's been replaced?" Iggy stage whispered after he'd left, as if he was afraid the house had been bugged or something.

"Kid, I don't know if you want to hear the full story," she sighed, taking a cigarette out of a package in her jeans pocket and producing a lighter from under a pile of magazines. For a split second, Fang thought about bumming one. Then, remembering how much Iggy loathed the smell, decided against it, "It's all tragedy and cliche." She sighed, taking a drag off of her cigarette whilst setting her high heeled black boots on the table.

"I'm all ears," Iggy replied, leaning back as if to say 'lay it on me'.

Janie sighed again, "Alright, I'll tell you what I know.

"Firstly, I know that Mom and Dad, our parents, met when they were sixteen at a party in the city. They both came from rough backgrounds and clicked right away. Started dating, and blah blah blah, a year later I came around. By then Dad was eighteen and mom was seventeen, and they were living in this dinky little apartment together. They were together for another two years before Peter- Mr. Armani- came into the picture. Mom worked at a coffee house where he got his espresso every morning, and I guess he had a crush on her or something 'cause he asked her out. By then Mom and Dad were fighting, 'cause honestly they couldn't stand each other as far as I remember. So she left him, and I went with them. Two months later Dad was forced to give up his parental rights, and Peter became my legal father.

"But I guess there was a little glitch in the plan, because when Mom left Dad she was three months pregnant with his kid. By the time they figured it out there was no time for the big A, and they definitely didn't have enough money to support a kid, so they started to weigh their options. Adoption, and stuff like that. And then they heard about this thing, this lab, that was basically giving away money to mothers who'd allow their children to have these drugs pumped into them. I think they called them 'growth enhancers', but anyway, Mom signed up for that and didn't even tell Dad. In the end, the birth went really bad. There was an emergency c-section and in the midst of all the confusion... the baby just kind of slipped away. The doctors said it was a still birth, but I remember hearing the baby scream, and I knew it was a lie. So did she, and Peter, but they'd never admit it," she sighed and took a long drag from her cigarette, "They moved on, and Dad eventually found out once I was allowed to visit him again. He really wasn't happy, and I think he almost died when he heard about it. But there wasn't really anything he could do... Still, he tried. Quit his job, hired a PI when he had the money. Never came up with anything.

"Anyways, last year Mom tested positive for cervical cancer. The 'growth enhancers' she was given? They gave her the virus that causes cervical cancer. She died two months later." Her voice had adopted a mono-toned quality, but even her steely grey eyes could not hide the sadness within.

"I'm sorry," Fang said quietly, squeezing Iggy's waist, "Really, I am." There really wasn't anything else to say, it's not like he'd ever gone through a loss like that, true his life had been quite eventful, but Max, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel had always been constants. He'd yet to lose any of them. Key word: yet. Because the risk was always there, living the life they lived, that one day he'd wake up and one of them wouldn't be there.

"It's okay," she sighed deeply, trying to sound lighter but failing horribly as she fell back into her chair. The aura of sadness around her was undeniable now, Fang didn't know why he hadn't seen it before. The way she sat, with her shoulders hunched over, looking down at her feet, the lifeless look to her hands as she gestured. It was unmistakably obvious that what had happened wasn't okay.

"I'm sorry too," Iggy added, "I wish I'd been able to know her."

Smoke clouded the room as she exhaled, "So do I."

A long, awkward silence washed over them not long after. Janie smoked her cigarette, staring off into the distance and looking deep in thought, whilst Fang and Iggy waited and tried to think of the best thing to say. Which turned out be a lot harder than it seemed.

"What about your dad, though?" Fang said quietly, "Is he still alive?"

Janie jumped slightly, as if she'd forgotten she was not the only person in the room, and replied with a bit of a yawn, "Yeah, he lives about twenty minutes from here, why?"

"Well..." Fang glanced at Iggy to see his brows furrowed in confusion, but he continued on none the less, Iggy would thank him later, "Would it be possible for us to meet him?"

Her eyes widened and her mouth formed an 'o', that and her raised eyebrows clearly showed she had not considered this option, "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Great! When can we go?"

"Now," She stood as she spoke, snuffing out her cigarette and throwing on a coat thrown over the back of the chair, Fang followed excitedly, pulling Iggy up with him. He wasn't even meeting his parents and he was excited! Maybe he'd consider seeing his too, after all, this experience hadn't turned out too bad.

So far, he reminded himself, they still had to meet Iggy's father.

She led them into the garage, revealing a dark blue sports car, "It was hers." was all she said as she slid into the drivers seat. Fang and Iggy both squeezed into the backseat, Iggy seemingly in a state of shock and Fang too excited for words.

As they backed out of the driveway, Fang was hit by an odd glare of light, as he blinked and looked closer, he could see that in the passengers seat was a CD, one he recognized nonetheless.

It's all white cover was unmistakable, and the extra thickness of the case only added to Fang's assuredness that he had in fact stumbled upon what was possibly one of Iggy's favorite CDs. The White Album.

Without thinking he reached forward and grabbed it, amazed that a modern, chic girl like Janie would carry a copy of The Beatles with her.

"What is it?" Iggy whispered, his fingers moving across it tenderly.

"The White Album," Fang whispered back, Iggy met this information with equal amazement, eyebrows raised and lips slightly pouted in an 'I see' look.

"Janie, you like the Beatles?" he asked hesitantly.

Almost angrily, the CD case was immediately snatched out of his hands and set back in it's place. Her hands clenched the steering wheel tightly, her elbows locked and she stared intently at the road before she spoke through clinched teeth in a scarily even tone, "They were her favorites. She always used to listen to it in the car."

Trying to match her even tone, Iggy spoke up, "May we play it?"

She didn't answer but instead used her free hand to open the case and pull out the second disk, popping it into the stereo and automatically skipping to the 11th track.

"Cry, baby, cry, make your mother sigh, she's old enough to know better," John Lennon's sweet melody filled the car almost immediately after, and Fang wasn't quite sure why, but suddenly this song seemed very, very sad. His chest beginning to fill up with emptiness, he wrapped both arms around Iggy's shoulders and held him tightly to his chest. Reminded once more of how lucky he was that he still had his baby with him.

As they passed through another stop light the car was silent, save two voices.

John's, and Janie's.

"Cry, baby, cry

Make your mother sigh,

She'd old enough to know better

So cry, baby, cry."