39Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.
Remember when I said I thought that scuffing was probably a bird? Eh, well, I was partially right, two percent right. Get where I'm going here?
"Max?" he said again. His voice was soft, cautious, like if he spoke too loud he'd spook me.
"What?" I responded flatly.
Fang blinked slowly, and I saw some of the nervousness idle away. "Are you okay?"
I wiped the back of my hand across my face, leaving specks of dried blood on my cheeks and hands. "Do I look alright to you?"
He looked down briefly, but then looked at me again. As I glared at him, he found it necessary to sit next to me, which I was totally against. I don't care what the Voice said. I'm still mad at him. Fang lowered himself to the ground next to me very gradually. For a while, I just watched him sit there, being all quiet and staring off into the night. Times like these, I wish I could read minds, because I wanted so bad to know what he was thinking.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, catching me off guard.
"W― what?" I gasped. Fang rarely apologized, and if he ever did, he never did it so abruptly.
Out of the corner of his eye, he looked down to me. "I said," he quietly repeated, "I'm sorry."
I was about to ask him if he was joking, but I could tell that he meant it. The way he spoke, the way his eyes looked, and the way his body was relaxed, I could tell he was sincere.
"That's great, Fang," I said, "but it still doesn't take anything back." No, dang it, I want to be mad for a while! Stop trying to make it up to me!
"Max," he whispered, saying my name too sweetly.
Ugh, I should not be noticing these things. I shouldn't be enjoying the way he said my name just then. Why does he do this to me?
He gently laid his hand over mine, and even though his hand was hard and rough from years of fighting, there was softness to his touch. I stared at him, my eyes widened in horror, but he held my gaze with dignity. His dark eyes were cautious, yet curious. They seemed to shine, even in the dark. When he got that look in his eyes, there were no more worries. Fang smiled when the frown left my face, and my heart skipped a beat.
"Were you talking to the Voice again?" he asked suddenly.
I blinked a few times. "Uh, yeah," I told him, a little surprised by the sudden question. He looked at me, silently urging me to explain. "We were talking about . . . emotion and stuff," I caved.
His eyebrows came together into a weak frown. "Max, I've been here a lot longer than you think," he said strongly. "I have some idea on what you were talking about. Don't beat around the bush. Just tell me."
My bottom lip trembled. I felt like I was going to cry, but I didn't want to, especially in front of him. "I― I'm not telling you anything," I said, hating the way my voice cracked.
Fang's lips curved up into a quick grin. I knew what that look meant too. He was going to press as many buttons it took to get me to speak, but I wouldn't give in, no way. "You'll tell me," he lulled. His voice was alluring and, dare I say it, attractive. He softly touched the side of my face. His fingers feathered against my cheek, and I shivered.
"What makes you think that?" I tried to say coldly, but failed miserably.
He smiled gently, and his expression was incredibly soft. "Because," he began coolly, "you want to tell me. Deep down, you know you do, and you know that I will listen to you." Fang loosely held my chin with his fingers, making me look directly at him.
"If you're about to kiss me," I warned him, once again, failing to do it right.
"No," he said in a near whisper. His hand slid down onto my neck, and my heart began to beat faster. "You don't want me to, not yet, not now.
"Oh, well, thanks for respecting my feelings," I mumbled gruffly.
His coy smile told me that there was more to it, and oh god, was there more to it. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to try other things to get you to talk," he lulled in a soft, musical voice. Fang began to soothingly rub the space in between my wings. I closed my eyes, taking in every second.
"I really am sorry for what happened back at home," he whispered into my ear tenderly. I shivered as his breath licked the side of my face. "And I really wish you would tell me what was wrong, Max. I want to help you. That's what I'm here for, not just now, but all the time. I'm here for you to lean on. You can tell me anything." He stopped rubbing my back, and once again, started trailing his fingers down my neckline. "I love listening to you speak," he said so quietly I had to strain to hear him.
"I hate you," I muttered, though my voice was unsure.
"No you don't," he breathed. I turned to face him, my eyes wide with insecurity. "You don't hate me, Max," he said again. "You love me."
I choked on my next breath, and stared at him with perplexity in my eyes. Yet, he gazed at me with the most gentle and desirable expression.
"And I love you, Max," Fang silently whispered, "more than you'll ever know."
Then, he moved closer to me, his face just inches away from mine now. The seconds ticked by so slowly, as I waited for him to make a move, but he didn't. What did he want from me? Why was he doing this to me? He was torturing me with the silence and with the way he was acting. It was like he was about to leap on top of me and start kissing me, but he held everything back. Fang blinked slowly, making only enough movement so I could see into his eyes clearly. I think that's what did me in. There was just so much emotion in his eyes and so much in me that I needed to find answers to, so what I did next really wasn't entirely my fault, but was mostly.
When he dipped his head just a little bit closer to me, I took my chance and met him in the middle. He didn't seem surprised at all when I rested my forehead against his.
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
I smiled pleasantly, giving in, and mumbled, "Yes."
He held my hand and together we jumped off of the face of the building, falling some fifty feet before pulling up high into the night sky. We flew until we were closer to home, where there was plenty of open space. By now, we were several thousand feet in the air. My heart soared higher than I did. Flying always made me feel lighter.
We climbed even higher into the sky before I stopped and hovered in one place. Fang looked at me with curiosity. I looked up toward the moon, down toward the ground, and then back at him and smiled. He got the idea and drifted over to me. Facing each other, we shot up several hundred feet. Then we both arced in opposite directions, now flying straight down. Before picking up speed from the free fall, we came together, and he took my hands in his.
Falling at a hundred and some miles an hour is scary exhilarating. Falling at a hundred and some miles an hour while you're holding onto someone else, sharing space, and completely trusting the other is dreamy exhilarating.
I'd never done this before or even thought about it, willingly falling with anyone, especially with Fang, but the only thing I regret is not doing it sooner. There was such little space in between us as we went down in a death spiral with our wings streamlined behind us. Right now, less space was better. He touched his nose to mine, and I tilted my head up, blindly trying to find his lips.
And then I kissed him.
Fang responded to me instantly, pulling me even closer to him until there was zero space in between us. He angled his head in a different way, making the kiss even deeper. I was forgetting how to breathe, and at that point, breathing wasn't as important to me as it should have been. All I wanted was him. I didn't want to stop. If I could freeze time, now would be the perfect time to do it.
Of course, since we were falling to our deaths, we had to break apart eventually. With just two hundred feet to spare, we separated, opening up our wings so we could land safely right on top of the roof of our house. We crept in through my window and tip toed across the hall to check on the kids. They were all asleep. Fang went into the kitchen for a glass of water, and I followed him in.
"Goodnight," I whispered into his ear, and then placed a small kiss on his cheek before leaving for my bedroom.
When I finally got to lie down on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling, thinking. Wow. What a night. But, what would happen tomorrow, or the next day? Would we just act like nothing happened between us tonight, or would things get worse? I never wanted to fight with Fang again, but if we did, where would that leave us? Would he leave me if thinks got too personal? What if he did leave? What if I had to leave? What if, because of our relationship, it tore the flock apart? What if―
Fang opened my bedroom door and stood there, arms folded casually across his chest, in my door way. "Goodnight, Max," he said. I couldn't tell from his tone what he was feeling. Was he thinking about what we were doing outside? Was he thinking about me? Was he regretting that he kissed me? Would loving him to be too hard?
"Max?" Fang called tenderly
"Yes?"
There was a brief silence. "Do you," he began, but paused.
"Do I what, Fang?" Please, please, be something good! Please!
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
"Of course," I answered.
"Do you want me to stay?"
"Yes," I said cautiously.
"Do you love me?"
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. Did I love him, or did I not? "Yes," I finally whispered, "yes, I do. More than you'll ever know."
"Do you want anything? Anything at all?" he asked suggestively.
"No, all I don't want anything, but," I paused, gaining the courage I needed to say what I wanted to say, "I need you."
Fang took a step forward, and then quietly shut the door behind him. He took a few more steps toward me, but stopped half way through my room. I got off of my bed, walking over to him, and for a minute, we just gazed at each other.
"Max," he whispered tenderly. He slid his hands down from my neck to my shoulders. Fang moved one of his hands down my side until it rested on my waist. I rested my head on his chest and took a few deep breaths. His strong arms picked me up and carried me over to my bed, where he gently laid me down.
I looked up at him standing beside me where I lay, wondering what he was going to do. He kneeled down next to me, placing a hand on the side of my face and kissed me again. There were no words that could express what either of us was feeling, but that one kiss explained it all. As his fingers trailed against the exposed skin from where my shirt was torn, I knew I could answer one of the million questions I had.
Loving him wouldn't be hard at all.
And that's it, folks! The Strongest Emotion is complete!
I know, I left the ending pretty suggestive, so just let what happens next be made up in your own minds. Mm'kay?
Okay, just to let y'all know, I absolutely loved, loved, loved (whoa..Nudge much? xD) wirting this story. At first, I had no idea where I was going to go with it. All I knew was that there was a fight, some Voice chats, and the make up. Originally, there were only going to be two or three chapters, but there was too much detail I wanted to add...so four chapters was what it turned out to be! hehe
So, hopefully, this ended the way you guys liked. Well, I gotta split. Other fics to think about, other stories to write. I do more than fan fiction, ya know. ;D
Thanks to everyone who replied in the past and a thanks to everyone who will hopefully reply in the future! I really enjoyed writing this story, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.
Once again, thank you for reading, and now you all know what the Strongest Emotion is.
- Saz