Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.

Summary: Sometimes, Iggy sneaks out and flies by himself. And sometimes, he imagines that she is the one with him. IggyMax, oneshot

I. Love. This. Series. Enough said. I've just recently been sucked into this fandom, and I simply adore this. James Patterson is a genius. I haven't read all of the books yet, but I've read enough to get the gist of the story and the characters. Enough to absolutely fall in love with the universe he has created. So, the natural thing to do next would be to write a fanfic! And since I love the odd couplings, IggyMax has had my fascination from day one. Anyway, please enjoy!

Sightless Soaring

Despite being blind, Iggy hardly ever relies on people to help him get around.

He prides himself on that. The sightless member of the flock constantly makes jokes about being blind, being unable to make out even the slightest of things, but that doesn't deter him at all when it comes to something he needs. He can make bombs, he can fly, he can walk around without running into anyone. He has a lot of talents that most blind kids could never even dream of. He can even pull a Stevie Wonder and play piano. Not as good as Mr. Wonder himself, but he tries.

Funnily enough, the flock still gets antsy when he tries to go off flying by himself.

Even though they know the full extent of his abilities, despite him being without sight, he can still feel them tense when he talks about flying off by himself. As if he could get lost. He knows better than anyone else that all of the bird kids are experts at direction, and could never get lost even if they tried.

But somehow, there is just an extra amount of danger involved when Iggy wants to go flying by himself.

All because he is unable to use one of his senses.

Of course, the concern is sweet and all, but he knows what he is capable of doing, and what he isn't. He knows that he could find his way back to them with no problem - his nose is as keen as a bloodhound, sometimes that is a bad thing, since the flock sometimes has problems with hygiene.

He has to admit that one of the flock's worries for him strike him more than most.

"Iggy, you're blind."

Max.

He hates to admit it, but it's the truth. She's the one who's opinion matters the most. Next to the guys', of course. But he is still surprised that she thinks of him kind of like he can't take care of himself, when he most certainly can. He can fight Erasers and Flyboys without being able to see, so he just doesn't understand why they get all in a tizzy about him flying without the rest of them.

Of course, he knows flying alone just isn't as fun without the rest of the flock. Because it's almost like each of them make up one part of a body. Without everyone together, it would be like some kind of giant, clumsy thing, sad and miserable without all of the parts that make them whole.

But, despite this, and despite everything else, Iggy sometimes sneaks off.

He would find a lull, when the rest of his family would be distracted by something or another, and he would stretch his wings and throw himself into the sky without worry whether it was night or day - those superficial things didn't bother him. He would fly away, not bothered by the fact that if he never came back, then…

Okay, maybe he was bothered by that fact.

Despite his strange position in the flock, he knew that his separation from them in a permanent sense would be completely heartbreaking for them - as well as him. He remembers that one brief instance when he had found his parents, and the terrible ripping from the group that he felt. The terrible look in all of their eyes when he had to leave them.

And then the nicest part - coming back. Leaving the no-good parents who only wanted to use him for fame and fortune and coming back to the people who actually loved him. His flock. His fine, feathered friends.

The look on Max's face, full of tears and elation at his return, made him happier than he wanted.

Iggy sighs and leans up from his laying position. He wishes he could see the night sky in front of him, but there is no such luck on that front. He inhales deeply, and twists his fingers slightly in the grass.

All of his feelings were brought up in that simple field of thought hadn't caused him the pleasure of lulling him to sleep, but instead caused him to become all wired up in wanting to see her - well, not technically see, but Iggy digresses.

He leans forward and puts his head in his hands. It's nothing that he can't normally handle on a daily basis - the pain of knowing that she can never be with him. But sometimes he finds himself in so much pain he has to try to check and see if he's been physically assaulted.

He closes his eyes and imagines her.

Shaking his head several times, he opens them once more before standing up. His keen ears sense that there is no movement around him. He is alone in his alertness, and he stretches his wings ever-so-slightly. His motions are deliberate, not wanting to disturb anyone that was on watch.

He jumps.

Soon, he is in the air, hovering, flapping his wings like the most elegant of birds. The nighttime air brushes against his features, and causes his lengthening hair to caress his face. For a moment, he imagines that the pale strands were fingers - her fingers.

He closes his eyes when he floats like this, and it is so easy to imagine the warmth of her hand encircling his own. It's so easy to imagine that the leader of their rag-tag group of bird kids was with him and him only, instead of so wrapped up with Fang that she couldn't see straight. (Not that he resents Fang, because he doesn't. They're best friends, of course, and Iggy has never been that petty, anyway.)

He can almost smell her next to him - his sense of smell has always been acute, as has every other feeling besides his eyesight. He would give his eyesight millions of times over as long as he could travel with her, and their group. And, yes, he knows how sappy that sounds.

He grows chilly just hovering above the campsite, so he takes residence on a tree branch. Leaning his slim back against the rough bark of the tree, he lets a sigh loose from his lips.

Closing his eyes, he can picture her in his mind. He can see her features, clear as day. Her lithe form floats up in the air, and her hair blows around her face.

As he feels the fringes of slumber, he pictures himself flying next to her.

And Iggy falls asleep, content.

End.

My first Maximum Ride fanfic! I hope that everyone enjoyed reading this, because I know I sure enjoyed writing it. I love Iggy so much, so I hope I wrote him well. I just wanted to get into his head a bit, and yeah… Haha. I would love it if y'all were to review with your opinions. It would be awesome!

Anyway, thanks for reading! I appreciate it!