Catch and Release
Chapter 5
Fang peeked his eyes opened to find that in the darkness of his bedroom, there was another person with him. Normally he would panic, but he immediately knew who the person was.
"Owl nest."
"Mmmm," he groaned. He had gotten home at two last night thanks to work and he really didn't feel like dealing with Carter at the moment. What was she doing in his room anyways? It was then that he remembered that he wasn't staying at the hotel anymore. It was his first day living with Dr. Martinez. Carter must be over because Max had work.
"Owl s'eep. G'anny say TV. No. No TV. Owl!" Carter came closer. "Owl bi' ba."
"Bi ba?"
"Bi' ba." She patted his bed.
"Big bed?" He scooted over some. "Go away, Carter. Go watch TV like you're supposed to."
"Owl stay?"
"Stay in here? Yeah. I'm tired."
"Owl," she whined. "Owl."
"Carter, I'm tired."
"S'eep? S'eep here?"
"You or me?"
"Owl," she continued. "Owl."
He was about done with her when he heard Max's mother calling out the little girl's name from somewhere, probably looking for her.
"Come on," he groaned, picking her up before grabbing the pillow off the bed too.
"Owl," Carter giggled, clearly enjoying Fang's hold. "Owl st'ong. Owl man."
Fang just shook his head, allowing her to pet his face when she reached out. Why did she always feel the need to touch him? Couldn't someone have taught this girl about personal space?
"I've got her," Fang called out to Dr. Martinez as he made it to the living room. He wasn't sure where the woman was, but didn't feel like finding her. "Okay, Carter. Sit."
He sat her down on the ground before getting onto the couch and laying down, the pillow under his head.
"S'eep? Stay?" Carter rushed off again. Fang sat up, ready to go after her, but she quickly returned with a blanket. Walking over to Fang, she held up the end of it. "S'eep?"
Fang stared at her for a moment. "Thank you."
Carter wiggled in excitement over the fact he was being so nice to her. After giving him the blanket, she went and got Robbie from his spot on the floor before coming back to Fang.
"Me?"
"What about you?" He asked, looking around for anymore photos of the girl. Yesterday had been spent looking at a photo album, courtesy of Max, which only seemed to hold photos of Carter. She hadn't been kidding about the little girl liking to look at herself either. Each picture, Carter would sit there and stare at it, randomly telling him that it was her in the photo. They were raising a little narcissist and it kind of scared him.
"Me," she complained, pretending to shiver. "Owl?"
"Oh, you want…well…I don't- Hey!"
Carter finally just got onto the couch herself, no longer waiting for an invite. She quickly cuddled against Fang, huddling under the blankets with him. He just stared at her blankly for a moment.
"I don't like you right now."
Carter just smiled at him before pushing her bear into his face. "Robbie."
"I see."
Though he was rather uncomfortable with this arrangement, at least this gave Fang the ability to keep a hold of the little girl. She was a squirmy one and at least this way, he could hold onto her without her fighting him.
"S'eep?"
"Mmmhmm." He glanced at the TV to find it was playing a cartoon. "Or watch that."
"S'eep Owl." She leaned against his chest, Robbie under her arm. He sighed, shifting slightly to let his wings out. "Owl?"
"Shhh."
Carter reached out and ran her hand over his left wing, as the right one was only opened slightly, due to the back of the couch obstructing it.
"B'ack?"
"Hmmmm?"
"B'ack." She stroked his wing gently, staring at it in wonder. "Mommy."
"What about her?"
She pulled at his feathers, but Fang just grabbed her hand, making a face.
"No. That hurts, Carter."
"Mommy," she tried again, apparently trying to convey something to him, but he didn't understand. "Mommy."
"Just lay down." He gently pressed his hand to her head, still nervous about having her so close to him. "I'm tired, okay?"
Carter whined some more before just giving in and resting her head against him. "Owl?"
"Shhh." He shifted again, trying to get comfortable while also making sure he had a good grip on her, so she didn't fall. That's all he needed was her getting hurt. Then whatever he and Max had or didn't have going on really would die.
"Nigh-night? 'gain? Owl?"
He tentatively stroked the back of her head, letting out a soft sigh. "Yeah, Night-night."
Carter giggled, cuddling against him before fallen asleep.
When Fang woke up, the first thing he realized what that he had a crazy kink in his neck. The next was in the place where he was once holding Carter was now something soft and fuzzy.
"What the-" He sat up quickly and found that stupid owl in Carter's spot. Tossing it to the ground, he pulled himself off the couch. "Ca-"
"Finally up?" Fang jerked his head towards the doorway leading to the hall to find Dr. Martinez standing there, shaking her head. "Carter's in the kitchen, eating lunch."
"What time is it?"
"About one. We even left for awhile, but when we got back, you were still sleeping."
He shrugged his shoulders a little bit.
"How'd you end up in here?"
"Carter wanted me."
"She seems to like you. A lot."
"Mmmm." He stood and headed towards her, though his destination was the kitchen. "You're off today?"
"I am."
"Where's Evan?"
"He's here too. Where do you think we went? We had to get him."
Fang shook his head as he made it into the kitchen, where Carter was just finishing her lunch.
"Owl." She smiled at him as he came into her line of sight. "Owl."
Fang just nodded at her before asking Dr. Martinez if he could make a sandwich. She said of course, even offered to make it for him, but he turned her down. The woman had already saved him and was now letting him live in her house. What more could he ask for?
"Owl apple?" Carter was at his side suddenly, holding up some pieces of an apple, which was clearly supposed to be part of her lunch. He just shook his head at her, continuing to make his food.
"Eat your own food, baby," Dr. Martinez told her gently as she went over to the highchair where Evan was mashing up some sort of nasty looking baby mush. Yuck. "Evan? Are you happy now, huh? He threw a fit earlier, didn't he, Carter?"
She just made a noise as she began to eat the apple slices, though she didn't move from her spot next to Fang. When he finished making his food, Fang headed over to the table, Carter following.
"Cow." She poked his thigh as he sat down. "Owl."
"Are you done with this?" Dr. Martinez asked, coming over to pick up the plate with the remenants of her lunch on it. "Carter?"
"Mmmm."
"Yes or no."
"Yes!" Carter giggled, leaning against Fang's leg as he ate. "Owl?"
He was very peculiar about his eating. His stomach was still trying to stretch out to the right size, which was not helped by the fact he didn't like the taste of anything these days. All he got at the School was crap and the mental hospital wasn't much better. He always craved food, but he could never seem to find anything that suited him.
"Hmmm?" He was ripping his sandwich into pieces, trying to decide if he really wanted to eat it or not.
"P'ay?"
He shook his head a little bit.
"Eye?"
"Huh?"
"She means why," Dr. Martinez explained as she lifted Evan out of his highchair, no doubt to get him cleaned up after his messy lunch. "Carter, if Fang doesn't want to play, don't make him."
"Eye?" She poked his kneecap. "Owl?"
"I don't want to, Carter." He was trying to keep his voice level, but she was starting to annoy him. "Go away."
"No!" She pushed his leg now. "Owl! P'ay!"
"No."
"No!" She stomped her feet a few times before walking out of the kitchen. Fang looked around for Max's mother, but found that she had left, probably thinking that Fang was going to take care of Carter. Sighing, Fang forced himself to quickly eat half the sandwich before going to find out what the little girl was doing.
"Carter?" He figured that she had gone into the living room and headed there first. Lucky for him, she was sitting on the floor, playing with some of her stuffed animals.
"No," she whined as Fang sat down in front of her. "No, Owl!"
He moved to pick up one of the toys, though very guardedly, afraid that she was going to bite him. When she just settled for whining, he then took the stuffed animal and wiggled it around, trying in vain to get her to laugh. He didn't want her to be mad at him or anything, but he currently had a killer headache and also didn't want to really play with her.
"Why so serious?" He whispered one of his favorite movie quotes. "Hmmm?"
Carter just stared at him, still frowning, but no longer yelling at him. Now a little less tentative, Fang reached out and took Robbie from the pile of stuffed animals and held him up to her. He thought for a split second about doing like those guys do on television and making it talk to her, but he knew no matter what that DNA test said, he would never be that kind of guy. Ever.
"Robbie." She moved to take him, but Fang wouldn't let go. "Owl-"
"Nice. Be nice." He slowly let it go. Carter immediately began to care for Robbie like a doll, cradling him in her arms. "Nice, Carter. You be nice."
"Nice." She giggled at the word and Fang relaxed a little bit. "Me."
"Yes. You."
It was then that his cell phone chose to ring. Fang frowned, reaching into his jeans pocket and pulling it out.
"Hello?" He stood slowly, leaving Carter behind, but happy.
"Hey, Fang, I just wanted you to know that your best friend, like, ever, got time off and is coming down to see you tomorrow."
Fang shook his head as he went to go sit down on the couch. "Iggy, we just-"
"I know, I know, you're getting settled and all that stuff, but come on! I should be able to get some of you too, not just the girls." He laughed a little bit. "So, uh, can I come? See you, I mean? I won't if you, like, don't want me to. Totally up to you bro."
"No, no," Fang said, closing his eyes as he rested his elbows on his knees. "I'm staying with Max's mother though so you're going to have to find your own place to stay and everything. I also work."
"You got a job?"
"Yeah and I can't miss any work. I'm still new at this whole 'work' thing, you know?" When he opened his eyes again, Carter was missing. "Ig, I have to go, but I'll call you tonight, alright?"
"Yeah, but-"
"Bye." Fang hung up quickly before standing. "Carter?"
"Owl."
He turned quickly, having heard her voice come from the hall. He found her there, standing in front of the bathroom door.
"Hmmm?"
"Evan." She pointed to the door, where the baby's little coos could be heard. He was probably still getting washed up or changed or something.
"Come here." Fang came closer to her. "Don't just run off."
"Eye?"
"It's bad."
Fang hard a funny feeling, however, that Carter liked being bad, so maybe this wasn't the best term to use with her.
"Bad." She hit the bathroom door. "Evan!"
"What's wrong?" The door opened to reveal Dr. Martinez, who was holding a now very clean, though also very squirmy, Evan. She looked to him for answers. "Fang?"
"Carter, just…wanted Evan." Fang still felt rather awkward when talking to the vet. Though she had done so much for him, she was still a new person to get used to. People were so hard to get accustom to. Carter and Evan, they were easy. He liked to sleep and eat, she liked to make messes and yell. Adults though, with real feelings and emotions, were way more difficult.
"No," Carter said, shaking her head. "No."
"Then what do you need, baby?" Dr. Martinez shifted Evan in her arms as he continued to wiggle. "Do you want water? Or something?"
"Seb?"
"Seb's at school today." The vet sighed before moving passed them all. "I think that Evan wants to play outside, Carter. Do you wanna play outside? Huh?"
"Yes! Yes! O'side! Yes, G'anny! Yes!" Carter was bouncing up and down.
"Okay, but you have to promise to behave. Okay?"
"Yes!"
Fang excused himself to go take his medicine. Cater didn't seem that interested with him at the moment anyways, what with the prospect of being taken outside being dangled in front of her.
After he had taken his assigned pills, Fang then headed out to the backyard to check on things. After all, he had promised to help look after Carter. It wasn't really fair to make Dr. Martinez take care of his possible child.
"Look, Evan," Valencia said as Fang came onto the back porch. "Look who it is?"
Evan, who was sitting on the porch with the closest thing to a grandmother he probably had, although Fang really didn't know much about his father's family, looked up at Fang and just stared.
"Hi," Fang said with that same flat tone he used with Carter on his first days. It didn't have the same effect on Evan, obviously, as he didn't have as much of a handle on human interactions as she did. Although, when Fang really thought about it, Carter didn't have much of a handle on them either. She probably was worse at them than Evan.
"Carter's in the sandbox," Dr. Martinez told him, pointing.
"You have a…never mind."
"It came with the house. So did the swing set. I kept them for Sebastian, when he was young." She shook her head a little bit. "He was never as…aggressive with his play as she was though."
"Aggressive?" Fang was sure that was a term to use with Carter, but he couldn't understand how she could be aggressive towards a sandbox or swing.
"There's a tree house over there," Valencia told him. "In that tree? With the ladder?"
"I see it."
"She's not allowed up there because I don't want her climbing the ladder, so if she sees Seb or someone go in there, she starts to throw a fit and try and rip bark off the tree."
Fang looked at the little girl. She always seemed so harmless when she was happy and content, but Fang knew that she had a bad side. Then again, everyone had a bad side. He knew that better than anyone.
After taking a deep breath, Fang headed across the unevenly cut yard, headed towards Carter. He had a sinking feeling that it was Sebastian that was cutting the grass so poorly, but knew that it would become some sort of big ego battle if Fang offered to cut it. Then again, the lazy punk might be making his own grandmother mow the lawn, in which case he would gladly take over. He would do anything she asked. After all, she was his literal savior.
"Bad, bad, bad," Carter was mumbled under her breath as she dug in the seemly never ending sand, though everything had an end. Everything. "Bad, bad, bad. B- Owl."
She looked up and stared at him for a second, watching as he lowered his aching body to sit on the edge of the sand box, his huge feet taking up a lot of space in the tiny structure.
"Owl!" She poked his shoe with her plastic shovel. "No. Big. No."
"Dig over there," he said, pointing. "I'm staying."
"No! No!" She started to bang her shovel into his shin. "No, Owl! No! No!"
"Stop it."
"No, no, n-"
"I said," Fang began as he grabbed her little wrist in his hand, "stop it."
He had never noticed how tiny her arms were until then. Sure, he knew that they had to be small, as she was a toddler and all, but he had never held her wrist. It felt very fragile in his hand, felt breakable. He slackened his grip as much as possible, fearing that he would hurt her. He too had a problem with his aggression and did not want to ever have someone even think that he was being too forceful with her. Max either. These past few years his life had been fight or die, but now he had to learn to just live again.
Carter jerked against his hold, but did stop yelling.
"Can you be good?"
She just barred her teeth at him.
"I won't let go until you say yes."
"Yes," she finally whined. "Yes, Owl."
"There you go," he mumbled, letting her loose. She quickly moved away from him, frowning. "Hey, now, it's okay. I just don't want you to be bad. I don't like for you to be bad."
"Bad," she whispered, sitting down in the opposite side of the sandbox. Carter even threw in a sniffle for effect. "Bad."
Sighing, Fang leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Carter watched him carefully for a few moments before beginning to dig again. Fang didn't understand the purpose of her digging, but he also didn't feel like asking because that would mean listening to her talk, which of course would include having to decipher whatever she said. So no, Fang didn't ask.
"Cow." Carter looked up at him suddenly. "Moo. Moo, Cow. Moo."
Who was Cow? Fang glanced around, but saw nothing. Great. Max's kid was batty. Just what he needed. On the other hand, he was on the up and up of the current meds. Could probably give her some pretty good recommendations or whatever.
"Owl bad." Carter stood then, coming closer. She almost tripped in one of her previously dug holes, but Fang's arms were long enough that when he reached out, he caught her. Glad his reflexes were still intact.
Carter began to giggle as Fang's hands found their place under her arms, holding her upright. When he moved to let her go though, she just took another half step before almost falling again. Fang of course caught her, though he didn't understand what had caused her to trip that time.
"Owl," she continued to giggle, falling once again when he let her go. "Owl!"
His brows creased for a moment as he held her tight this time. Was she hurt or something? Did she hurt her foot? If she did and couldn't walk, why wasn't she crying? He knew that Max's daughter was weird, but he didn't think he could deal with her being a masochist.
"Owl." She was whining now, wiggling under his grasp. She tried to push his hands off. "Owl."
Fang let her go again, but she fell again, giggling when he grabbed her.
"Are you…playing?" He let her go and this time didn't catch her, letting her fall.
"Owl!"
"Am I…supposed to catch you? Is that the game?" He reached down and pulled her up as tenderly as he could. Once she was up, she pretended to fall again and Fang steadied her as he had before. "This is playing?"
Carter pushed his hands off, almost collapsing this time, but Fang did grab her, holding onto her. "Owl!"
"What?"
"Cow." She pushed his arms off, continuing the pattern. Fang decided to just go along with it. He was spending his free time catching Max's daughter. Great.
"Dere?"
This time when he let her go, she hadn't fallen. Instead, she pointed up to one of the mature trees in the backyard, its branches seeming to touch the sky from her point of view, Fang was sure.
"What about up there?"
"Fall? Me? Catch?"
"You…No, Carter. No. You can't just fall off things. I can't catch you."
She reached out and poked one of his arms. "St'ong."
"I am."
Then she came closer, climbing into his lap. On instinct, Fang's hands came up to hold her, just in case she, well, fell backwards. He didn't want her to hurt herself, after all.
"What are you doing? Stop it." For some reason he found that he was becoming less nervous around her. More annoyed than anything. She could never just do like she was supposed to. He wanted her to sit there and dig meaningless tunnels in the sand, but apparently that wasn't an option anymore.
"Hi," she whispered as she peeked over his shoulder, staring down into his shirt. She grabbed at the collar, pulling it back. "Hi."
"What-"
"Mommy."
Fang turned his head slightly, but couldn't see the aforementioned woman anywhere. What was wrong with this girl?
"See?" She reached down into his shirt, trying to grasp something. It was then that Fang felt her little hand clasp over some of his feathers. "See?"
"My wings?"
"Carter!"
When Fang glanced behind him again, he saw Dr. Martinez standing on the porch, watching them.
"What are you doing? Are you okay, Fang?"
He had to clear his throat. No matter how comfortable he was around Carter, she was still just a child. People of authority, even if it wasn't authority over him, scared him. He felt very much like a kid in that way.
"Fine," he called, noting how his voice cracked. "We're fine. She's just…"
He trailed off as she continued to clamber onto his shoulders. Fang was afraid that she was going to topple over and he wouldn't be able to catch her from behind.
"Do you want me to open them?" He asked her finally, his voice soft. "Then will you sit down?"
She moved back to look at him, releasing his feathers. "Yes. Yes, Owl. Yes, Cow."
"Alright," he said, moving his hands on her tiny body as she sat down in his lap. He had actually meant for her to get all the way down and sit in the sand, but she was sitting there so patiently and well-behaved that he didn't want to get her all riled up again.
Once his black wings were open, Carter stood up on his thigh again, wanting to move closer to them, so that she could feel his feathers.
"Mommy."
"What about her?" He finally asked, his tone still gentle. This was mainly because his throat was irritated from talking so much these past few days. "Huh?"
"Mommy." She petted his left wing gently. "Bad. Bad, Mommy. Cry."
"About what?" Fang had to shift his hands again as she was being so squirmy again. "Why did she cry?"
Carter shook her head, frowning at his wings. "B'ack. B'ack wings."
"I know. My wings are on my back," he said, not understand that she was referencing a color. "Tell me about Mommy though?"
"Cry. Sad." Carter looked at him for a moment before reaching out to touch his nose. "Owl?"
"Yeah?" He stared at her, trying to keep his gaze from being coming too intense, but now he wanted to know what exactly Max was crying about. "Carter?"
"Dere?" She pointed up again, though it wasn't at the trees this time. She probably meant to be aiming at them though. "Fall?"
"I'm not letting you fall from there." He slowly moved one of his hands up to her dark locks, which he cautiously patted with a gentleness that scared him. Carter made a face at his hand, but didn't move to stop him. "I won't catch you because I won't let you fall. You can't fall from there. Ever. Okay?"
"Birdie." She patted his wing again. "A'imal."
"Animal?"
"Mommy push." She shoved her head up against his hand gently. "Baby fall. Wa-wa. Eye."
"Why?"
She shook her head before jumping off his leg, landing softly on the grass to the side of him. "Eye!"
Then she began to run around, attempting to symbolize a plane.
"Fly," he corrected to which she nodded. "The mommy bird pushed the baby and it cried, but then it flew."
She nodded, stilling her running as she came to a stop in front of him. "Car'oon."
"Cartoon?" He had slowly learned that Carter used that word as s synonym for TV. "You saw it on one of those wildlife shows. You want me to throw you out of a tree so you can fly. And if not, you want me to catch you. Well, I'm not. Ever."
What he had said was too complex for her, so she just went back to running around, pretending to be an airplane. Fang watched her with a soft expression, no longer being able to pull off that void look he had when he first showed up. It had only been a short time, but he was invested in Carter now. He was invested in all of them. This was his home. He was finally home.
Nudge showed up for Evan first. He was, as seemed to be his normal, sleeping, so Nudge wasn't able to stand around and talk forever, as not to wake him. Which, of course, was perfectly fine with Fang. He didn't want to hear her anyways.
After Evan was gone, Dr. Martinez told Fang that she had to go over to Ella's. Something about having to help Ella make something for work. Cookies or something. She couldn't make them over here because Carter would get in the way. She wanted Fang to watch her, which was fine. Carter was tired from the day's previous activities and just wanted to lay around and do nothing. Ah, a favorite pastime of his.
That's how Max found them, both nearly passed out on the couch, a pack of Chips-Ahoy wasted down to half a cookie sitting next to their empty cans of soda on the coffee table. She just stood there in the doorway for a moment, watching them, until Fang spotted her.
"Hey," she whispered, making her slow way over.
"How'd you get in?"
"We all have keys to each others places."
Figures….Women….
"No, no, stay," Max whispered as Fang tried to get up. He was currently slouched out on the couch, one foot resting on the coffee table, his arms stretched over the back of the couch in normal dude fashion. Max rolled her eyes. Guys…
Carter was tucked safely against his side, Robbie sitting in his lap, as Fang's left wing opened and covered her in a way that seemed painful, so that it was shielding her. Max was sure that's what Fang was doing too, shielding, from any unseen attack.
"Did I miss some kind of rad party?"
Rad? Fang shook his head. "It was pretty gnarly, actually. Your mom pulled out the old VHS's of the Teletubbies."
"Those British bastards."
Fang made a face. "That's a no-no word. She repeats everything."
It took Max a moment to place what he said, but the second she did, she smiled brightly at him. In response, Fang just opened his right wing, offering that half of the couch to Max. She stared at him for a moment.
"She's out at Ella's. You guys can leave before anyone knows." Knows how much they both needed this. Fang smacked his lips softly, looking away as Max took her rightful place at his, well, right-hand side. Instead, Fang looked down at the little girl that was now taking over his left side.
"Are you asleep?" He whispered softly as Max toed off her shoes before pulling her feet up onto the couch, molding into him. He couldn't place the last time they had been like this, but he could distinctly remember once, while they were in the School, Fang had been injected with something that made him too weak to even move. Max had just wrapped her arms and wings around him, trying in vain to warm him. Now it was his turn to return the favor and he would do it, expecting nothing in return.
When Carter didn't respond, Max laid her head against him and sighed.
"My mother will flip if she sees us like this."
Fang tipped his head back, closing his eyes. "Dr. Martinez is a nice person. She's also very old-fashioned. The world's not how it used to be."
Max nodded slightly. "She's also old. She thinks everyone will live to be old. We know different though. Life's short. We've seen. We've lived."
"Not yet," Fang mumbled, letting out a long sigh. "I'm just starting to live again."
Max reached out and took Robbie off his leg. "Well, Owl, how do you think your living's going so far?"
"Mmmm." He shook his head slightly, not directly answering. "Iggy's coming."
"Coming where?"
"Here."
"What?"
"Tomorrow."
"What?" Max almost moved, but Fang's wing was too tight. It had to be painful for him, the angle at which he had them, but she knew that if she said anything, he'd take it as a personal assault and just get up and leave. She didn't want there. She never wanted that.
"What's wrong? You don't want to see Iggy?" Fang glanced down at Carter again as she began to softly snore. "He told me while I was in Texas that you hadn't seen each other in awhile."
"Did he also tell you what he called me last time he saw me?"
Here we go. Fang knew staying with the girls would breed drama, but he thought that they would hold off for awhile, let him get settled. Apparently not. That Texan desert was staring to sound pretty damn good.
"No," Fang said slowly. "But I would like to think that the two of you could put aside your differences for me. I really would appreciate it, Max."
"He-"
"Max, come on." Fang opened his eyes, but kept the trained on the ceiling. "If he calls you anything while I'm around, I'll take care of it, okay? Until then, the past is in the past. We all say things we don't mean."
They let that fall around them in the darkness, the television screen blinking blue as the tape finally stopped. VHS. Man, if that didn't make Fang feel old.
"Carter wants me to push her out of a tree."
Max frowned as he randomly said this ten minutes later. "What?"
"Yeah. She saw it on TV. How the mommy pushes the baby out of the nest and-"
"Oh, Fang."
"It's what she wants, not what I'm going to do. Number one, I'm not a chick. I'm not supposed to do the pushing. Number two, I doubt she would learn to fly like that."
Max stared up at him for a moment, trying to judge his intentions with this conversation. Was Fang being…playful? Maybe spending time with Carter was good for him.
"How did this come up?"
Feeling his throat tighten, Fang felt the sudden urge to tell Max about how Carter hinted about Max crying over wings. He didn't really understand, but knew Max could clear that up for him. He also knew, however, that if he ventured there, he couldn't come running back. So he left it alone.
"We were just talking."
"Talking."
"Yes. She does that a lot. She, um, likes my wings." Fang cleared his throat. "And she likes to fall down so I can catch her."
Watching him for a second, Max slowly laid her head back down, leaning against him. "I should go. Before Mom gets back."
Fang didn't want her to go. He didn't want Carter to go either. At the very least, he wanted to go with them, but only if they couldn't say laying like this forever. He wanted a forever with the two of them, but knew from this Winnie the Pooh movie that Carter showed him that forever is too good to be true. Or at least that's what the bear said. And it seemed, as far as Carter was concerned, what the bear said went. Or something like that.
"I'll take her to the car."
"If you're sure." Max stood slowly, beginning to clean up the mess that Carter and Fang had made with their cookies and coke. Fang almost stopped her, but decided to let her mother him. She liked that, mothering. Why take it from her?
After making sure to grab Robbie, Fang headed out to Max's car, Carter still snoozing contently in his arms. It wasn't lost on Fang that he was becoming used to her weight in his hands and how to carry her so that she was comfortable. It was one thing to see other people hold children and see how they did it versus doing it yourself.
"There you go," he whispered as he opened the car door and sat her down in her car seat. "Comfy?"
She obviously didn't respond, but Fang felt the need to speak to her anyways.
"Now how do we do this?" Fang was busy figuring out the complex world of safety belts when Max appeared behind him. Flushed, Fang allowed her to do her job before she took a step back, letting him get back to his goodbyes.
"You work tonight?" Max asked him as Fang placed Robbie in the little girl's car seat with her, trying to set it just right. Of course, that was really just to stall so he didn't have to be alone in that big house all by himself.
"Yep."
Max let out a breath. "I do in the morning, so Mom has the kids tomorrow. Which means they'll be there, bothering you while you try to sleep."
"They're fine." He patted Carter's head gently, no longer so self-conscious about it.
"If you want…after work I…I made you a…I mean, we all have them, so…here." Max reached into her pocket, pulling out something shiny. Fang turned from Carter to see what it was.
"A key?"
"To my house. Apartment. Whatever. For, you know, you." She looked off. "You can stay there during the day, if you want, when they get too noisy. I'm sure Nudge will give you one too, if you ask, so you can stay there too. But at my place, you can, um, you know. Do whatever."
"Do whatever," Fang repeated. "Right."
"My shower's nicer than Mom's." Then Max blushed. "Not that I'm saying that you should…her house is old and I know how you like…liked…your showers…so…and my bed…couch….whatever. My TV has the movie channels too. And my fridge has better food."
"Better?"
Max nodded, glad to be off the bathroom portion of her topic. "She's going to start your diet soon. Make you keep up with it. My fridge is also open. I want you to be healthy and all, but…You'll get there on your own."
He nodded slightly, knowing, however, that eating from Max's fridge also meant he had to help keep it stocked. Keeping it stocked would mean shoving some of his money towards her place. Give a little, give a lot, then he's living there. They couldn't have that, not before they were ready.
"Thanks. For the key," he clarified as he pocketed it until it would later join the one Valencia gave him to her place. Maybe even meet up with Nudge's one day. If cold, guarded Max was giving him a key, he had no doubt that Nudge already had a bed picked out for him with his name embroidered on the pillow. The thought alone made him feel funny inside.
"Of course." Max glanced in at her daughter, who was still sleeping. "You must having really worn her out."
Fang didn't look at her, instead taking a moment to study Max's features. She seemed so strong again, like when they were fourteen, when saving the world was their main goal. Now, they just wanted to survive.
"I'll see you later, Fang." Max reached out and touched his arm, feeling the indentions of his bones through his too thin skin. "Have fun at work."
"I…I…Goodbye."
Why did she have to touch him? Why did she have to go and do that?
Fang closed the car door gently before moving away from Max and her smiling face, before heading up into the house. When he looked back over his shoulder, Max was in the car and leaving him behind. It wasn't fair. They were finally back together and yet they had to keep their distance. Why did things have to be so complex?
They weren't like that with Evan and Carter. Not at all. Carter knew that he was nervous around people his own age, so she used it to her advantage and treated him like a slightly bigger kid, who could get away with things she couldn't. Like eating a whole pack of cookies because he would just buy another and replace it before Granny found out. Evan was even simpler than that. He didn't know where Fang came from, why he was there, and, honestly, he just didn't care. He knew that his mommy and aunties would take care of it for him, so why did it matter?
"It doesn't," Fang mumbled to himself as he opened his wings again, heading back to his bedroom to take his nightly dosage of medicine. There was only one thing that mattered anymore and it was keeping Max and the others safe. Everything else was just that. Something else.
When he got to his bedroom, Fang found that somehow, at some point, Carter had snuck her stupid owl plush in there and left it waiting for him on his bed. Shaking his head, Fang took his medicine before climbing into bed with it. He had work in a few hours, but he just need to lay there and think for awhile. Clear his head.
"Fly," he whispered, throwing the owl off his bed. When it hit the wall across the room and started slowly sinking to the floor, Fang just shook his head. "Figures."