A/N: Ok, wasn't going to write one of these a/n things but just wanted to say really sorry for the loooooong lonnng time its been.

We'd been flying over western America for about 6 hours now without a break and Angel looked like she was going to drop like a stone any minute, so I looked for a good place to land to rest but was failing to find an inconspicuous spot. I looked over to my side at Fang and saw him looking at me with an expression that mirrored my thoughts exactly; it felt so good having someone to share in your thoughts in a non-Angel creepy kind of way.

I saw a side alley, and knowing it was risky and we'd have to drop fast because it was so easy to be seen, but looking at Angel again, we didn't have a lot of choice about this, I didn't even need to glance at Fang to tell he agreed with me, and so I made the signal to the flock and dive-bombed for the ground, swooping at the last minute, a technique I'd learnt from some buzzards we'd watched hunting last month. The flock all swooped in behind me, though I basically had to catch Angel when she got to me, her eyelids fluttering shut already.

I sighed, I could tell I was being tough on the flock, but I was doing the right thing, right? Fang came and stood behind me and reassuringly put his hand on my back between my wings, I smiled at him and indicated round the corner.

"Me and Max are going looking for food and to suss out the area ok guys? Iggy you're in charge." I've said this before, why put the blind guy in charge? But again, nothing would get past Iggy, you'd have to knock out his hearing entirely first.

We hunted through dumpsters and garbage cans in silence for a few minutes, not quite knowing what to say. Eventually Fang just came over to me and held out his arms in a comforting embrace and held me until I spoke.

"I'm not pushing them too hard am I?" I almost whispered into his shoulder. He stroked my hair back from my face and looked me in the eye, wiping the one tear from my eye that dared escape with his thumb.

"The flock would go to the ends of the earth if you asked them to and still come out smiling Max, they think the world of you, and they're tough. They'll be ok." He pulled me tighter into his arms as I stood there uncertainly, but his warm hug was convincing me of his words more and more, he was there for me, but he wouldn't lie to me. Which was one of the many things I loved about him.

"What's going on between us?" I whispered even quieter, burying my face into him, suddenly very embarrassed, which had to be one of the first times ever for me. He stood there silently for a minute, thinking carefully, but the longer we stood, the more desperate I was for him to say something.

"Whatever you want it to be Max," He said eventually, almost as quietly as I had. I looked up into his face, thinking carefully about what he said, and he looked straight back at me with matching intensity.

"I want to be with you Fang…" I paused. "But I never want to lose you, or tear the flock apart again."

He grinned down at me, pushed my overgrown fringe out of my face and kissed me with so much intensity that it took me a minute to work out where I was again. "Never," he promised me, and I knew he meant it. "We'll always be best friends first."

I sighed contentedly and leaned into him for another hug, trying to make this embrace last. "Max, we should get back to the flock," he said eventually, a hint of regret in his voice.

I smiled and nodded, the flock still had to be my first priority. "We should find some food though," I decided.

Just as I said this, a door opened into the street and me and Fang automatically sprung into the shadows as a woman dumped a bag into a garbage can that had an easily recognisable and welcomed scent. I looked at Fang and grinned, the second she went inside, I was tearing the bag apart to find the leftover Chinese takeaway boxes. What a waste. This family must have thrown out enough food to feed all 6 of us, and we had un-human appetites.

The flock welcomed us back eagerly and we devoured the food within minutes, the whole while of which Angel had a very smug glint in her eye which told me you-can't-hide-anything-from-a-mind-reading-6-year-old.

Unfortunately I forgot to tell her not to tell the flock yet, so when she projected the image into my head of me and Fang kissing just moments earlier, and I heard 3 simultaneous gasps, I could tell the image had been shown to all 4 other members of the flock.

So for the second time today, I actually got embarrassed and my face went a form of red. I desperately looked at Fang for help as Nudge squealed and ran over to hug me, Iggy grinned knowingly and Gazzy stood there looking gobsmacked.

"Angel, since when could you project an image into 5 heads at once?" I asked, suddenly curious. She shrugged as if this was simply something perfectly normal and smiled sweetly at me.

"Congrats guys," Iggy grinned, slapping Fang on the back.

"Cool," Gazzy said, raising his eyebrows and still looking unsure.

Nudge however…"Oh my god Max, that's so cool. Are you and Fang a thing now? Are you going to get married? Can I be a bridesmaid? Can I wear pink? Is it weird kissing Fang? Why didn't you tell me? Were you going to tell me?..."

I could tell the ridiculous questions would go on all day, so I motioned to the rest of the flock and said "Up and Away," a hint of exhaustion in my voice from Nudge. It was going to be a long day.