There was something exciting, addictive about a fight. The adrenaline roaring through the veins, that keen eye needed to spot a weakness or mistake and pounce on it like prey. A solid fight was like a fast-paced game of chess; calculated, strategic. One slip up and you'd be lucky if it wasn't game over.

As she launched a roundhouse towards Fang's head, Max reflected that when she wasn't fighting desperately for her life, she rather liked fighting. Maybe it was the adrenaline junkie in her. Maybe she just needed to get out more.

In those golden days after Jeb rescued them, when the most she had to worry about was the demons that chased her at night, Jeb had paired Max and Fang off often when sparring. She had secretly loved that, although she would never admit it; Fang hit hard. He didn't hold back just because it was her, he moved fast and hard because it was better to get hit hard by him and correct that mistake, than get hit when it mattered and not come back. It was all well and good doing the fancy, Bruce Lee stuff but with Fang, she didn't have a choice in her fighting style. Simple stuff, fast and brutally direct was the only way they could keep pace with each other. Later, it occurred to Max that maybe Jeb let those fights get longer, more ruthless for a reason and it wasn't just to see how good they were getting.

But now, Jeb wasn't around. No one to stop them from kicking the living hell out of each other, from pushing each other straight to the edge.

Fang had ducked under the kick, snapping his own kick into her leg which left an unpleasant tingling sensation as she moved. He followed with a sharp punch, straight to her face and was punished for overextending. Max stepped on the outside of his arm, just barely grazing it as she grabbed hold of the outstretched wrist, yanking it uncomfortably high behind his back, her body pressed against his.

His breathing was ragged and hard, the same as hers. Max had lost track of how long they'd been sparring. To be honest she didn't really care.

"Tap out." She hissed in his ear, giving the arm the smallest of tugs upwards. She felt him shiver almost imperceptibly against her and her heart rate went slamming through the roof.

Maybe it was a good job Jeb had been around to stop them from getting too heated.

Fang turned his head so she could just see the corner of his eyes, his lips parted in a pained grin. Too late, she registered his foot moving to stamp brutally on hers, the pain causing her hold to loosen. He twisted out of it, the arm of his hoodie slipping off as he did so.

"Oops." He grinned at her again, eyes shining as he shrugged the hoodie off, leaving him in his black shirt and jeans. "Is that really the best you got?"

Then again, maybe it was a good job he wasn't around anymore. Angel, Gazzy and Nudge might be acting as 'referees' from their sitting position on the grass but she knew as well as Fang that they'd let this go on as long as possible.

"Uh, Iggy?"

"What's up Doc?"

"Is there a specific reason Fang and Max have been fighting for the past ten minutes?"

He shrugged.

"Honestly Dr. Martinez, I gave up trying to understand those two a long time ago. You're probably better asking Nudge or someone, see how they're fighting."

She leaned on the windowsill, watching as Max twisted out of a chokehold, flashed a grin and just straight up lashed a kick into Fang's chest. She moved in quickly after him as he stumbled, one hand on his shoulder, leg behind his and swept him onto the grassy ground. He rolled and the pair were grappling, too fast and too technical for Dr. Martinez to make much sense of the movements.

"Well, they're using a lot of locks, chokeholds. Max just took Fang down and now they're grappling on the ground."

"Oh, really?" Iggy's voice took on an interested tone as he cocked his head from his position on the couch. "Huh. Only heard of them doing that a few times before."

"So?"

"Dr M, Fang is many things but eloquent around Max isn't one of them. Max just doesn't do feelings. She doesn't know how to handle them around Fang."

"So, what? They're flirting?"

Iggy smirked at that, standing up and stretching. "Well, we never pretended to be well adjusted Doc."

Fang was lying on his back, legs hooked over Max's as he went to apply the chokehold. Elbows were raining down on his ribs but were quickly cut short as he lightly applied some pressure, making her breathing even more ragged than usual. Not that he was faring much better.

"Tap out." He hissed in her ear as her body arced and hands scrambled for a grip on his arm. Now it was her turn to shiver almost unnoticeably and for a second he thought she was panicking but then, a sharp stinging sensation as she dug her fingernails into his nails. He let out a sharp hiss of breath and his choke loosened. Max's legs snaked out from under his and before he knew it, he had a forearm jammed into his throat as Max cocked her free hand back.

Her face was flushed and sweaty, arms covered in a thin sheen of sweat from the intensity and length of their fight and she was panting, even as she smirked down at him victoriously. Fang gave himself a good mental slap and blinked rapidly. Perhaps admiring how good she looked at this moment and time wasn't the wisest course of action. Then again, agreeing to spar for the sake of keeping themselves sharp with Max of all people possibly wasn't his wisest move either, especially given their track record.

Well. Time to fight dirty.

Fang spun his hips sharply, back lifting off the ground enough that one of his wings could snap out and he clipped Max in the head with it as he turned her onto her back, using his wing to block off any possible escape on the left side. Her own wing had come up and curled into Fang's body to prevent him from using his other one. It just happened to force him down so he could feel Max's hot breath on his face, rapid and panting.

They froze.

Faintly, Fang registered his heart rate spiking and his face heating up. All he seemed to be able to focus on was Max; her eyes, her lips, the way her cheeks flushed. The small widening of her eyes as the situation settled in on her, the way her head tilted almost curiously. Adrenaline must've kicked in hard because the Max that Fang knew wouldn't be leaning into him, however slowly she was doing it now. Maybe it was that roaring feeling that had him lean down as well, his lips just ghosting over her for half a second before-

"Alright, you two that's enough! Get inside and get a shower before you hurt yourselves!" Dr. Martinez's voice came from an open window and Fang couldn't help but murmur some very choice words under his breath for a second. He thought he heard Max curse quietly as well as her wing fell off him, allowing him up. If only it was that easy.

He offered her his hand and she took it, springing up and quickly dropping the hand. They awkwardly looked anywhere but at each other as they trod inside with the other three and any brushes of the hand were accompanied by red faces and a murmured 'sorry'.

"Smooth guys," He heard Gazzy mutter. "Real smooth."

A/N-Slightly shorter one here. If only it was that easy.