I awoke to the sweet smell of Fang; no cologne, just the smell of his skin, soft and smooth and gentle next to my own.

The scars that showed looked painful. No one had ever really told me how many scars they had, but as I looked at Fang's chest and arms barren in the bed beside me, I realized the number was far greater than I had thought.

Fang stirred, but didn't wake. I twisted my fingers in his hair again and listened to the sound of his breathing.

"Max, what happened?" sounded Angel from across the room.

"Hmm? What do you mean, hunnie?"

"You're in bed with Fang… did he get hurt? Did you finally tell him you love him?"

"Yeah… I finally did…" I smiled.

I heard Angel turn to tell Nudge and suddenly the entire other room shouted "FINALLY!", making me blush unceremoniously.

Fang twisted in the bed to face me, then opened his eyes slowly. "I love you," he whispered.

Apparently Angel was in his mind, because she shouted to everyone that we were, indeed, together.

Fang's hand slid languidly up the side of my thigh, over my hip, and across my stomach before he grabbed my chin to pull me in for a sensual kiss.

Gazzy could be heard pretending to gag in the other room but Fang didn't let me go. The kiss continued for long enough to scar any young kid… I almost felt bad for Gazzy. Almost. I was far too lost in the kiss to really care whether anyone was watching or not.

Nudge walked over to the door that adjoined our two hotel rooms and unceremoniously shut them both; probably to give Fang and I some privacy. I'd have to thank her for that later…

Fang's hand cupped the back of my neck and his legs twisted around my own so that we couldn't separate. I made a fist with the hand in his hair and playfully tugged on it. Fang scrunched up his nose in mock anger but slowly trailed kisses down the entirety of my neck and back up again.

I sighed, pleased to finally be able to hold him without feeling so incredibly weird about it. Never before had Fang told me in the way he had last night that he cared for me and the floating feeling that had followed it hadn't dissipated yet. I wanted so badly to talk to him and yet I wanted so badly for us to never need words again.

Being physical with Fang was one thing I was going to have to get used to in moderation, of course, but the kisses, the closeness, and the warmth were my new favorite things.

When Fang lay back and looked up at the ceiling blankly, I wondered what I'd done wrong.

"My God, I love you, Max…" he said, almost disbelievingly.

"I love you too, Fang," I whispered, shuffling over to place my head on his chest and to twist my legs around his like a gentle vice. Fang's eyes closed before he told me what he was so worried about the last few weeks.

"I thought that maybe you wouldn't like me anymore because we haven't been able to spend any time alone for so long… I was worried that maybe you'd stopped liking me and had found someone else. And it didn't matter how many times Angel told me otherwise; I could never stop thinking that I wasn't the guy you wanted to be with."

"Oh my, Fang, I'm sure that's the longest speech you've ever given… But, y'know what? I've always loved you. I used to love you as another caged kid at the School, then as a friend who suffered the way I did, then as a brother, as a crush I never thought I could have, and now I love you this way; the way that makes me want to spend every minute with you, in your arms, touching you, holding your hand, and the rest of that mushy stuff."

"Max?"

"Hmm," I mumbled as I pushed my face into the crook of his neck and breathed deeply, eyes fluttering at the scent of him.

"I never loved her."

I sat up and looked at him, staring so blankly up at the boring ceiling.

"Loved who?" I asked, genuinely curious as to whether my jealousy had been worth it.

"Lisa. Brigid. Whomever you want to think of. I never loved either of them. Your jealousy was my way of telling myself that you maybe cared a little more than I thought, so I tried my best to get a rise out of you."

"You jerk!" I screeched.

"Max, I didn't mean to make you mad. Please, lay down again, forget I said it…"

I could never forget that comment. I had been so incredibly angry, but for him to call me jealous wasn't at all acceptable. "I was definitely NOT jealous!"

Fang looked shocked. He smirked a little and his eyes softened when he looked into my own. His hand reached up to cup the back of my neck and his fingers ran through my hair, catching the little tangles that my sleep had created and undoing them gently.

He kissed me then and I realized I had been jealous of Lisa and Brigid, but also realized he was jealous of Mike.

Our kisses had become so much more meaningful since last night, and this one was no exception. I pulled him towards me and he didn't refuse the kiss I offered. Our mouths parted and our tongues danced so sweetly that no one could have called this sort of kiss "gross"; not even Gazzy.

I couldn't wait to spend the day with Fang, able to touch him and kiss him and hug him whenever I wanted without people staring awkwardly…

I laughed into the kiss as we ended up once again tucked into the bedding and snuggled together. Fang chuckled into the kiss and it made the kiss all the more amazing.

A knock at the adjoining doors made us both jump.

A muffled voice asked if it was "safe to enter" and Fang and I didn't bother to answer, only snuggled closer and kissed a hundred more times before the little kids dragged us out of bed.

I think Fang and I must have kissed a thousand times that one day, in a hundred different places and a hundred different ways.

The End

Hey, I tried to make this a two-shot, but I don't know if I like it. Let me know, so I can delete the chapter if it sucks, cuz I don't want a chapter up if nobody likes it at all… :\

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