Catch and Release

Chapter 15

"I be ghost."

"Carter, if you're a ghost, we won't even need to buy you a costume."

"I be ghost. Owl, I be ghost."

Fang glanced over from the book he was reading. "Okay."

"No, Fang, not okay," Max interrupted. "I just told you, Carter, that you can't have a costume. Not a real one, anyways. Just a stupid sheet. I'm not paying money for- Are you even listening?"

"I be ghost." Carter had now crawled into Fang's lap for protection. Not protection for her, of course, but her idea. Mommy was trying to take away her idea and it wasn't fair.

"Reading," Fang complained, but allowed her to take over his lap. It was around nine at night and Fang was over, as was their new custom. Only now, him staying in her bed was part of that custom. For the most part, he would put Carter to bed before coming to Max's room to nap until work, but tonight, Carter had followed him in there. This actually worked out, as Max wanted to discuss Halloween costumes.

"Owl."

"She be- I mean, she is going to be a ghost," Fang told Max. "Deal with it."

That got him hit. "Fang."

"Max, it's what she wants. Who are we to take away something that she wants, huh?"

"I'm kind of her mother. I'm exactly that person with that kind of power."

"Me and Carter don't think so. I should have some say."

"Why?"

Fang gave her a look. "I'm the boyfriend and then best friend."

"So?"

"I should get a little say. Besides, me and her, we're close. I know what she feels." He hugged her to her slightly. "Huh, Carter?"

"Yes. Yes, Owl."

Max rolled her eyes, shifting slightly on the bed. She was curled towards them, her knees touching Fang's leg.

"I want to buy her something cute."

Fang grunted, knowing that he had won the war. "Reading."

Carter shifted in his lap as Fang opened the book once more, his arms wrapped around her. "Me?"

"Can you read?"

Carter nodded before looking down at his novel. She was searching for the word cat, which she knew very well, but couldn't find it. Instead, she pointed to one of the letters.

"B."

Fang just shook his head, going ahead and reading himself. "Just let her be the dang ghost."

"What's wrong with you?"

"I've read this dang sentence five times already."

Max moved closer. "What are you reading?"

"Just a book."

"I don't remember you reading so much."

"In the…institution, that's all I had, books. We'd trade them, the patients. I wasn't as bad as them, you know. Not as bad."

"Shhh." Max stroked his leg. "You're okay."

"Owl sick."

"What?" Fang looked down at her."

"Axe G'anny where Owl go."

"Where I went?"

"'fore."

"Go for what?"

"Go before," Max explained. "She wanted to know where you were, before she knew you. She asked Mom and I the other day. I just told her you were sick and were getting help."

"Doc'ta!" Carter cuddled back against him. "Owl. Sick Owl." Then she fake sneezed, clearly thinking he had had a cold the entire time. It would have been cute, had it not made Fang's stomach knot up. Why did Carter have to know about the past? Why couldn't the past just not exist?

"I'm better now. Getting better, I mean."

Reaching behind her, Carter began to rub his chest.

"Uh, Max?"

"That's what you do when someone's sick, Fang. You take that vapor rub stuff and rub it on their chest and tummy. Huh, Carter?"

"Yes."

"You're such a good doctor," Max complimented. "I don't think Owl is feeling bad right now though."

Carter gave him one final pat before letting out a loud yawn. "Nigh-nigh?"

"Owl tried to put you to bed, but you didn't want to go."

"S'eep here. S'eep wid Owl. S'eep wid Mommy."

"Leaving soon," Fang mumbled, finally getting passed that sentence.

"No. No, Owl. Owl no!" She slumped back against him before reaching over to grab Lockheed, who was with Robbie on the bed. "Lockheed!"

"Shhh. Calm down." Max ran a hand down Carter's arm. "You wanna sleep in here? You can, I guess. It won't hurt anything."

Fang snuggled Carter to his chest. "You can stay, Holden."

Frowning, Max sat up a little, resting on her elbow now. "What did you just call her?"

"Holden. It was in a book I read once, while I was still inside. It was this boy's name. Holden something. Something that started with a C."

Carter looked up at Fang. "Owl."

"Holden."

"Hold'em."

"Yeah. Sure." Fang went back to his book. "Is she going to sleep in my lap?"

"I suppose so. She looks comfy."

Fang glanced over at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm perfect, actually." Max shivered slightly. "A little cold though."

Fang kicked down the blanket with his feet. "Pull up the covers."

"You'll get too hot in your jeans and jacket."

"I'm fine," Fang whispered, taking note of how Carter was nodding off. "I'm fine."

"Owl?" Carter slumped even further down, moaning. "Nigh-nigh?"

Sighing, Fang put his book on Max's nightstand before turning off the lamp that was also sitting there. "We'll all settle down for the night, huh?"

"Don't fall asleep, Fang," Max told him as he shifted Carter to lie down in between them. "Don't miss work."

"Can't miss work," he mumbled, shifting Carter around better. "Gotta pay the bills. Lannisters always pay their debts."

"What?"

"It's another book series I read, inside."

"You read a lot, huh?"

"I read enough."

Fang sighed as Carter curled into his stomach. "You're so tiny, Carter. Are you cold?"

"Yes, Owl."

He opened one of his wings, laying it across his girls. Not quite sure how Max would react to this, as he had pretty much kept his wings hidden from her, but feeling it was time to just get it out there, Fang held his breath for a few moments as they all shifted to accommodate his wing. She had lost her wings, he got that. He grieved for that. But still. If she lost her fingers, would he have to wear boxing gloves for the rest of his life?

"Owl." Carter yawned again, her eyes slipping closed.

"Goodnight, Holden." He smiled across the way at Max, who wouldn't return it. "Goodnight, Max."

"Just don't wake us when you leave. Be quiet about it."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't be a wise butt."

"I'll try my hardest." He wrapped an arm around Carter. "I wish I could stay all night."

"You say that every night."

"I mean it every night."

Max sighed, watching Carter for a moment to make sure that she was truly asleep. "I don't want her to be a ghost."

"I know. But she wants it."

Sighing, Max conceded. "But only because you're being such a good…whatever you guys are to each other."

Friends. They were best friends.

"How long is Angel staying? I kind of want my apartment back."

"Subject change much? And how should I know? She'll hardly talk to me now that you threatened her."

"I did not threaten her. I just told her like it is." Stroking Carter's dark head, he added, "I'm protecting you."

She ran a hand up, across his wing. "I can tell."

Chuckling softly, Fang pulled Carter up closer, so that she was tucked under his head. "She's so small. Like a little doll."

"She's a toddler, Fang."

"I just like it." He glanced at Max. "Not in a creepy way or anything. Just how…She's like…I don't know. I've never…"

"I get it, Fang."

"No, Max, you don't. You've had her. You had her when she was even tinier. I couldn't imagine…"

"Hmmm." Max reached out and caressed Carter's back. Then, switching the subject again, she asked, "So what are you gonna do about Angel?"

"I dunno. Probably nothing."

"Do you want me to tell her to stop bullying you?"

"Don't tease."

"I was being serious. Kind of. If she's bothering you, I can get her to stop. She can come stay with me and Carter-"

"No. I already told you-"

"Fang, you do not control me. If I want her here, she's coming here." Max rolled onto her other side, her back now to him. "You should wash your wings better."

"I know. You used to…"

"Wash them for you? I remember." Max laughed a little bit. "I remember the first time I offered and you thought that I was trying to, you know, just shower with you. Shower as in…but I literally just walked into the bathroom while you were getting undressed, grabbed a washcloth, and washed your wings. You've never been able to do it yourself. Even as kids, you'd just let them get filthy. You have such beautiful wings, Fang, when you let me clean them."

"I'm not stopping you," he said on impulse.

"Maybe tomorrow, huh? I'll clean them right up. Make them beautiful again." Max mewled softly when Fang reached over Carter to run a hand through her hair.

"Should I wash you too?" What was wrong with him? How was he able to do this?

"What?"

"Your wings." He was quick with recovery, if he was anything. "Do you want me to wash yours too?" Then, just to be sure that she didn't hint his sexual tone, he said, "I washed Carter's pretty good tonight, huh?"

Max blinked, shifting gears. "Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't know I'd be home so late. You're getting pretty good at bath time though."

"I know, huh? Hardly any water left the tub at all."

"Mmmm. That reminds me, I need a shower. A hot one. Carter never leaves me alone long enough to let me take a hot shower. Lukewarm, maybe."

Fang felt his eyes slip closed slightly. "I can watch her sometimes, you know. My place is always free to you, if you want to stop by after work, when I'm out. I can, you know, get you a key. You deserve one. I mean, I have a key to your place. Just stop by while I have Carter over here or at your mom's and use my bathroom. It's fine. You can nap there too. I-"

"Shhh," Max mumbled, snuggling into her pillow. "Shhh."

"I just want you to be okay, you know? I know it has to be stressful. I want to be helpful to you."

"Goodnight, Owl," Max whispered. "Don't wake Holden."

Turning his head down, Fang buried his nose in Carter's hair. He couldn't fall asleep, no matter how much he wanted to. So, he distracted himself with rubbing Carter's back, trying to keep her calm, when in reality, it was what was keeping him calm.

"Owl home."

"Not, home, silly," Fang said as he came into the vet's office. No one was around, so Dr. Martinez was luckily standing there talking to the receptionist.

"Owl, G'anny." Carter rushed to him. "Hi."

He patted her on the head when she got close enough. "Hi."

"Doggie in back," she said, reaching up to grasp Fang's hand. "Go see?"

"I've seen dogs before, Carter." He looked to Dr. Martinez. "Sorry I'm late. I got caught up at my…" He glanced at the receptionist. "Counselor."

"It's fine, Fang," she said, waving her hand slightly at him before going back to her clipboard. "I wasn't that busy today anyways. And Carter loves playing with the dogs next door."

Next door? At the pound? They were letting her into the pound? Fang frowned.

"The pound dogs?"

"Yes. Whenever Danny works, he always comes over to get her, so she can help him take care of the dogs."

"Doggies. Danny. Danny doggies. Woof." Carter let go of Fang's hand. "Owl? Doggie?"

"I've had a dog. I didn't like him much." Fang looked off for a moment, remembering Total. How he sacrificed himself, in that final battle for the world. Not for their lives, though, for Akila's. It was still noble though. Honorable. Lying down your life for your girl was one of the most hardcore things a guy could do, or so it was through Fang's eyes.

"Cats." Carter nuzzled Fang's leg before looking at Dr. Martinez. "Bye-bye?"

"You're gonna go with Fang."

"Owl." Carter got her backpack with her toys before waving at the two women at the counter. "Bye-bye."

"Goodbye, Carter."

Once they were outside, Carter immediately grasped Fang's jeans, but he was fine with that. He liked how she clung to him, how she needed him. It had only been a few months, but damn if she knew it.

"You wanna go somewhere? Tell me where."

"Nest."

"Carter-"

"Nest!"

Fang reached down, lifting her into his arms before setting her on his shoulders. "Let's go then."

Carter liked riding on Fang's shoulders. She could see things so much better.

"Owl big. Big Owl." Beginning to pat the top of his head, Carter did a quick survey of their surrounding area, on the lookout for anyone she knew. Yeah, she knew a lot of people. She didn't want to miss someone or not introduce them to her Owl. She wanted to tell everyone who her Owl was. Her Owl.

"An'el?"

"She might be there. I dunno." Fang yawned. "I just got off work, Carter. I'm kind of sleepy."

"Owl no sleep."

He just shook his head. "Yes, ma'am."

Carter started rubbing his head gently. "Owl."

"You hungry, Carter? I can make us something when we get to my place, huh? Hotdogs sound good?"

"No, Owl."

"Mmmm…what about sandwiches?"

"No, Owl."

He sighed. "I guess we'll see when we get there."

When they arrived at Fang's place, Carter had to use the bathroom. Luckily, Angel was there, so he left her to tend to that while he made lunch. Of course. Why hadn't he seen it before?

"Mac," Carter exclaimed as she came into the kitchen. "Owl?"

"Already on it, Holden." He frowned as she went over to his mini-fridge, inspecting it. "You like that, right? Me calling you Holden?"

"Owl."

"That's right. You don't call me by my name either. Owl. I've never been called that before."

"No toys." Carter patted his fridge, confused as to where his magnets were. She liked his fridge, as it was so small, like her, but what use was it to her without magnets?

"I'm sorry. I'll get some, huh? For you to play with, okay?"

"Yes, Owl. Yes, Hold'em."

"No, silly, you're Holden. It's your nickname."

"Hold'em. Moo. Cow." She glanced over at Fang. "Mac."

"I know. You like mac'n'cheese, huh?"

"Yes, Owl." She licked his fridge, but Fang just ignored it. So Carter was weird, who wasn't? "An'el."

Fang didn't even look at Angel when she came into the kitchen. "What happened to your friend?"

"She headed back to New York last night. Guess I'm back to sleeping alone…"

"I meant what I said about no boys."

Angel made no response to this, instead leaning down to talk to Carter, who happily spoke back to her. Fang couldn't understand Carter's enjoyment of the young woman, but he knew that he didn't like it. Angel was a rotten kid and was turning out to be a crummy person. Carter was already boarding on brat; no need to give her someone to help push that along.

"Do you want any of this?" Fang asked Angel.

"Any of what?"

"The mac'n'cheese." Fang turned around to face them after he finished making the meal. "Carter, can you get the paper plates?"

Nodding, she rushed over to the corner of the kitchen, where Fang kept a thing of paper plates.

"How many do we need?" He asked. "One for me. One for you. And one for Angel. That makes three, huh?"

"One, two, t'ree."

"Yeah, tree." Fang waited to help her, but she managed finding the plates all on her own. She was so smart. Fang liked that. "Hey, Carter, you wanna help me some more?"

"Yes, Owl!"

"Here, hold up one of the plates and I'll put the food on there. Okay?"

"Yes. Yes, Owl."

She held up one plate, extending her hands far above her head. After Fang spooned out some macaroni on it, she rushed over to Angel, giving her the plate before coming back to get more on the next plate. Once they all had their food, Fang got Carter a juice box before leading her to his bedroom. He didn't have a couch yet, so they ate all their meals in there, on the bed. Carter liked eating in bed; it was like breaking a rule.

"You're a good helper, Carter. You know that?"

"Owl." She was giggling so hard, excited over how he was treating her. "Owl!"

"That's right, Carter. You are a good helper. You're a very good helper." Fang smiled at her when she held out her juice box, wanting him to put the straw in there for her, which Fang happily did. "What do you want to do after this, huh? You wanna play? You always want to play. You're good at that too."

Carter took a sip of her drink before digging into her food. No, literally. She really dug into her food with her hands. Fang just shook his head, watching her the whole time. As much as he liked Carter, because he did, he really did, but she sure knew how to make a mess sometimes.

After lunch, Fang tried to tempt Carter with a nap, but she insisted on going to the park. Fang went along with that idea, if only because it was starting to get late into the afternoon. There might be other kids there for her to play with. He knew that she didn't get along well with her mother's friends' children, but he hoped that maybe she could find friends her own age. He wanted her to be well adjusted, after all.

"Can you play nice?" Fang asked as he sat her down near the jungle gym. "I'll be right over there, okay? Don't run off, huh?"

"Yes, Owl," she complained, pushing away from him to go play. Owl was so clingy. He gets so scared without her. It's pitiful, really. Mommy should get him checked out. "Bye-bye."

"Not bye-bye, Carter, I'm right over there," he called after her, not wanting her to think that he was leaving. Sighing, he headed over to the bench, walking backwards as not to miss a second. That's all it took, you know, a second. Fang read that somewhere, once. Or something. Whatever.

"Excuse me, is someone sitting her?"

Fang glanced up once, but had to do a double take, rather quickly. Clearing his throat, he scooted down, allowing the busty redhead to sit next to him. Focus. He had to watch Carter, not this woman's, er, breasts. Not that he was looking to begin with or… Well…

"Carter, don't eat that," he called over to the girl, who was now eating a leaf that some boy had given her. At least that distracted him…kind of… "I mean it!"

"Is that your daughter?"

God, this woman was just gonna keep drawling him in, huh?

"Y…No. She's my, uh…" What was Max again? Gee…something important…oh God, what is it… "My girlfriend. She's my girlfriend's daughter."

Phew. That would have been bad, had Max been there. Luckily, though, she would never have to know.

"Owl, catch!"

Adverting his eyes from the goddess, no really, next to him, Fang's heart almost dropped for a different reason.

"No, Carter!" He fell out into a full on sprint as she jumped down from that damn tower on the playground. How had he missed that? Stupid woman with her stupid…woman parts!

It wasn't like he needed them, but on instinct, Fang's wings popped out. It wasn't like they would have been any help in that situation, as she wasn't that high up. But still. She had scared him and he couldn't help it.

"Oh, my goodness," he heard one of the mother's exclaim at the sight. Carter, happy that Fang had caught her, just clapped her hands, used to his wings.

"Owl catch."

"Carter, you don't-"

"You're one of those bird kids." Suddenly, someone was next to him. Fang didn't even look to see who it was. His anxiety was on a high and he just took off running, taking Carter with him. Carter groaned.

"No, Owl. Catch. Mo' catch!"

By the time Fang got back to his apartment, he was sure that he had bumped into more people he could count and scared the hell outta a lot more.

"Hey, Fang."

He just shook as he opened his door to reveal Max, who must have gotten off early. She was standing in the living room, talking to Angel like always, but Fang couldn't be bothered with any of that at the moment.

"Max!" Fang shoved Carter into her arms. "I did something…I did something bad, Max. Max."

"What? What's wrong?" She looked to her daughter, who was still all giggly and happy. "Carter, are you okay? Fang, did you hurt her?"

"I-I…they saw me. They saw my wings. I have to…I have to…what if they find me?" He rushed around the girls before heading to the bedrooms. "I have to check. Max, have you checked? We have to check."

"Owl 'ook. Good Owl." Carter wiggled, but Max wouldn't let her go until she was sure of what was going on. "Owl?"

"They all saw. Carter, she...I'm sorry, Max. I won't take her to the park anymore. I wasn't looking at that woman either, honest."

"What?" She followed him around the apartment. "Fang-"

"I have to look. I have to find them before they find me. Before they find us."

Angel just stood in the living room, watching and listening. This wasn't the time to make sarcastic remarks and attempt to make Fang's life hell. After all, Max was there.

Once Max managed to calm Fang down, she forced him and Carter to lay down for a nap. He was reluctant to do so, but she insisted.

"Max, I have to-"

"Fang, you're fine. People know you have wings. People know you're here. They've known. It's nothing new. You just had a bad moment, huh? Just a bad moment. You're okay." She stroked his face as she leaned over his side of the bed, staring into his eyes. "You and Carter are just gonna take a little nap, huh? When you wake up, it'll all be okay. Alright?"

Carter, who was next to him in the bed, was happily chewing on Robbie, oblivious to Max and Fang. Owl threw fits all the time. Quite honestly, she couldn't care less what he was going through. She was a self-centered, so what? Someone will have to take over when Angel leaves. Why can't it be her? Huh? Better her than Nudge or Ella.

"But, Max-"

"Shhh." She kept stroking his face while looking deeply in his eyes. "I've got you. I've got both of you. It's all gonna be alright, okay? Everything will be alright."

"Max-"

"I'll just be in the other room with Angel," she said, now slowly backing out of the room. "Right there."

Once she was gone, Fang rolled onto his side to look at Carter, who in turn stared at him.

"I'm not crazy, Carter."

"Nigh-nigh, Owl. Mommy say." She spit Robbie's arm out of her mouth before cuddling into her other stuffed animals. "Nigh-nigh."

Fang opened his wings again, wrapping one around her and her toys. "Yeah. Night-night."

"So what was that all about?"

Fang was now in his kitchen, getting a glass of water. He sighed as Max came up behind him.

"I guess I just…freaked."

"Fang, I'm not trying to be rude or mean or anything, but I'm starting to think that sending Carter out with you, alone, isn't the best of ideas."

He frowned. "I wouldn't have hurt her."

"You could have. How would I know?"

"I'm not gonna stop babysitting her, Max."

"Fang, I'm her mother. You'll do what I say."

He went back to his cup, staring into it. After watching him for a second, Max came closer, laying a hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, Fang. It's just…if I can't trust you-"

"You can. I just…it was Carter. She jumped off something and I had to catch her."

"What?"

Fang cleared his throat, now full on looking at Max. "It's this thing that we do. She falls and I catch her. When I let her go, I have to catch her again. It's our thing."

Max just stared at him. "Sounds dangerous."

"It can be, but it's our game."

"Your game?"

"Our game," he repeated with an affirmative nod. "It's what we do, what we play. It's…catch and release. And I'm not gonna let her fall, Max. So you can trust me. I'll always catch her again."

For a moment they were just quiet, letting the magnitude of that fall over them. Then, when she had grasped his double meaning, she spoke.

"So tell me about that woman you mentioned earlier."

Fang coughed. "Oh. That."

"Yeah. That." She openly eyed him. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing really." Fang took a sip of his water. "This woman just, you know, sat next to me on a bench."

"So?"

"So, she might have, like, had ten kids or something."

"What?"

"If you saw the size of her breasts, you'd get it." Then came another huge gulp of water. "I don't know any other way they could have gotten that big."

Max frowned at him. "You can't be serious."

"I-"

"Owl?"

Carter appeared behind them, having woken up alone in bed and come to find out what was going on. Fang must have left the bedroom door open. Sigh.

"What?"

"No s'eep? No nap?"

"That was our nap."

"Hmmm." She went over to her mother. "Hi, Mommy."

Picking her up, Max planted a kiss on her daughter's head. "Hi, Carter. Did you have a good nap?"

"Yes. Yes, Mommy." She snuggled into Max's shoulder, all the while staring at Fang. "Owl?"

"What?"

"Sad?"

He let out a long breath. "I'm fine, Carter, really."

She opened her mouth slightly, yawning probably. She yawned a lot when she first woke up, as her body adjusted to being awake again. "Catch?"

"Carter, we need to talk about that. You can't jump off things, okay?"

"Catch." She was whining now, twisting in Max's arms, who quickly handed her over to Fang. This wasn't Max's lesson to teach, after all.

"Carter, I won't always be there to catch you, alright? You can't just yell out to catch you and I'll just magically appear. I wish I could, but I can't. If you jump and I'm not close enough, you might fall and get hurt."

Owl letting her fall? Letting her get hurt? No way. Na-ah. Not her Owl. No way, no how. Maybe someone else's Owl, but surely not her own. Nope.

"No, Owl." She leaned up and kissed his cheek, also running a hand down his stubbly face. She liked his beard. It felt funny. "Catch!"

He tightened his grip on her, not wanting her to try and fly out of his arms. "No. Do you hear me? I'm not kidding."

Groaning, she began to wiggle in his arms too, but Fang wasn't like Max; he'd hold on for dear life if he had to.

"No, Owl!"

"Yes! I mean, no. I mean…no to catch. You wanna play catch, you tell me, alright? At the very least, tell me before. Don't just jump, huh? You scare me." He felt his wings twitch involuntarily. "I don't have a lot Carter, but I have you. And I'm not gonna lose you, but that means that you have to play by some rules too, okay? Do you want to lose me?"

"No. No, Owl."

Never. Never ever. That was one of her biggest fears, getting lost. One time, when her and Mommy first came to live with Granny, Uncle Gazzy took her to the store. He let her walk all by herself and everything! But when she turned the corner, he was gone. She cried and cried. It wasn't that long, but to her, it felt like forever. Eventually, he found her, but by that time she had cried herself senseless. The Gasman had to leave the store and take her right home, to her mother. Now, she tried to keep up with everyone, although occasionally she tried to run ahead, but only when she was sure the person with her would follow. She never wanted to get lost again. Never. Never ever.

"Good," Fang whispered, moving to rest his face on top of her head, arguably kissing her head, but he would have been the one arguing against that.

Max, who had been leaning against the counter, gave Fang a soft smile, but didn't comment on their moment. She didn't want to make it her moment too, after all. She was gushy now, but not that gushy. Fang could have his nice moments all he liked. God, he'd come back as such a girl.

"Come on, you two. Let's go do something, huh? It's getting kind of late. You wanna go back to my place? I'll make dinner."

Fang looked passed Max, trying to see if Angel was in the apartment. He couldn't spot her anywhere, but that didn't mean a lot. He just wanted to go back to bed, honestly.

"Actually, Max, can I just stay here? You guys can go if you-"

"No, no. We'll just stay here. Besides, Fang, I was joking about dinner. You know I can't cook."

"Better than anybody."

He carried Carter to the living room, setting her down on the floor near some of her toys that had found refuge at his place.

"I'll make something. Sandwiches, later, huh?"

Max nodded, coming to stand with him. "Fang, you're okay, right?"

He nodded back. "Yeah. I think so."

"Good." Moving closer, she too kissed his cheek, though she left his facial hair alone. "Good."

Bonus points to those who caught the two cultural references.