Why Do You Love Her?

"Do you miss her?"

Fang glanced down at the girl lying with her head in his lap before back up at the sky. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

"So are you."

Reaching down, he absently stroked her blonde hair. "Why does it matter anyways?"

"I dunno. I was just asking."

"She'll be back," Fang told her.

"I know. She just went to take care of business. She'll be flying back. That's how come you're watching the stars so much, huh?"

"I just think they're nice."

The little girl giggled. "Do you think they're pretty?"

"Angel."

"Do you?"

Sighing, Fang looked back down at her. "I let you sleep here because you said you'd go right to sleep."

"I just wanted to be with you. Since you're all alone."

"Just for now," Fang told her, going back to watching the sky. "She'll be back eventually."

"Why do you guys sleep up here?" Angel asked, yawning as she cuddled into him. "Near the cave? It doesn't seem like fun."

"Do you have fun?" Fang asked her then. "Down in the hut with Iggy and the others?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Then why did you want to sleep up here?"

"'cause I love you," Angel told him, giggling some more. Fang just went back to watching the stars. "You think that Max will come back tonight?"

"No. Not for another week. You know that."

"Then why are you watching the sky? Really, Fang? You even watched it all afternoon."

"I'm just…"

"You're worried about Max, huh? Think she won't come back?"

"No," Fang said slowly, even giving his head a slight shake. "I know that she'll come back."

"Then what? Are you scared she can't take care of herself?"

"No," he said in the same tone as before. "I know that she can take care of herself."

"Then why are you so worried, Fang?"

"Because, Angel, Max is my girlfriend."

"So?"

"So I love her," Fang said, shrugging slightly. He had tried to say this as emotionlessly as he said everything, but he couldn't help the blush that crept onto his cheeks. "And when you love someone, you worry about them. Not for any reason in particular, but you do."

For a moment, silence was all that could be heard atop the cliff that overlooked Max's island. With her gone, Fang was in charge. There was no slacking off to be had now. In the morning, everyone would do their assigned island maintenance without complaint. Sometimes the other teens on the island, especially the older males, would attempt to skirt their responsibilities in rebuilding the island. From building huts to helping down in the labs, there was a lot that needed to be done. Too bad most people thought they could just weasel their way out of it. And yeah, maybe sometimes with Max they could, but now that she was gone, they knew there would be none of that. As far as Fang was concerned, you don't pull your weight, you don't eat. You had better have a good reason before Fang gave you the day off.

"Mmmm…I don't think that's it," Angel finally said.

"What?"

"Yeah. 'cause I love Max way more than you and I'm not worried."

"You don't love her like me."

"Yeah, 'cause you love her like how a boyfriend loves his girlfriend. I love her like she's my mom. I love her more."

Fang looked down at the girl again. "You should try telling her that sometimes."

"What?"

"That you think of her like that. She doesn't think you like her most of the time."

"What?"

"You always try to undermine her, Angel."

"Back then, yeah."

"Well, she was still like your mom then, right?"

"I guess so."

"Just try to be a little nicer. Max cares a lot about you and your brother. Especially you. Probably more than she cares about me."

"I know," she sighed, clearly not liking what he was saying much.

"No, I know you know, but you need to listen to me, Angel. The way you've been acting on the island recently, telling Max no and not showing up to dinner on time, has hut her feelings. Then you had to go and get in a fight with her before she left-"

"She was picking on me."

"She's your leader, Angel. Of the Flock and the island. That means you do what she says."

"She doesn't annoy you sometimes?"

"She does."

"Then why are you getting on me?"

"You're just a kid. Max's kid, basically. You have to listen to her. I take up for you, when I can, but sometimes you just come off as a brat."

"I'm not a-"

"I know you're not. But you come off that way."

"How?"

"You were yelling at Max before she left. Yelling. All because she told you to keep up your work around the island."

"She was saying it in a snarky way," Angel defended, frowning slightly. "She didn't tell anyone else in the Flock to make sure they kept up their work. Only me."

Fang groaned, looking back up at the sky. "If you love Max, Angel, you'll just learn to put up with her nagging. You've had years. I put up with it."

"No," Angel said, frowning at him now. "You left before."

"Yeah and so did you. We both tried the leader thing and discovered that we're not good at it, that it pretty much sucks." He went back to stroking her hair. "Now though, Max has taken us back, no hesitation at all. You know why? She loves us. She really loves us. So cut her some slack, huh?"

Again, calm befell the two of them. Fang thought that Angel was sleeping until she spoke up.

"I still don't think that's why you're worried."

"What do you think then?"

"I think," Angel began slowly, "that you're just scared she'll meet someone else."

"Someone else?"

"Like how you left and then she hooked up with Dylan. Are you afraid that she'll hook up with some other guy?"

Fang blinked. Then he looked down at the girl. "Aren't you, like, five?"

"Nine, Fang. I'm nine!"

"Hook up? That's not a word you should use. I don't care about the context." He shook his head. "And no, I'm not afraid. Max is very faithful. If I hadn't shown up with Maya, she'd have never gone with Dylan. She was hurt. That's all."

"Then why did you cheat on her?"

"I wasn't cheating on her," Fang told the girl fiercely before clearing his throat. He knew he was getting too worked up over nothing. "I just wanted Maya on my team. That's all. It was Max that thought… It's not important anymore. I love Max, alright?"

"But why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you love her?" She pushed herself up, though she was still using him to support herself. "Because she's pretty? Or because you like being controlled? Or nagged?"

"Ha ha." Fang shook his head. "None of those reasons, Angel."

"But why then?"

"Why do you care?"

"Well, if Max is like my mom, I should at least know why you love her. So that I can decide if I like you or Dylan more."

Fang voice got darker. "You get absolutely no say in that. And you hardly know Dylan anyways. He only loves Max because he's been told he does. He doesn't care about her. Not like me. He doesn't-"

"Then why do you love her, Fang?"

"Because," he began, now all riled up at the thought of Angel liking his rival more than him. God. He took care of Angel since she was a baby. And she was going to choose another guy over him? Huh? Huh? "Max and I have known each other forever. We share everything with each other. Everything. I know what she's gone through, going through, and will be there for what she's going to go through. I love the way she talks, the way she leads, how when she gets upset with me she'll yell and scream and then feel bad and tell me how much she loves me. I love the way she takes control of every situation, even ones that have nothing to do with her. I love-"

"This is boring." Angel laid back down in his lap. "You and Max are boring."

"We are not boring. Our love is not boring."

"Max makes you girly."

"What?"

"Old Fang would never have told me all the reasons he loved someone. Remember when you had that girlfriend in Virginia and I asked you why you loved her and you just told me to mind my own business and then got mad when I tried to read your mind?"

"I didn't love Lissa. Max is the only girl I've ever loved."

Angel scowled at him. "What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Fang-"

"I love you, Angel," he assured her, shocked to find he could use that word so much. He knew it was the darkness though that gave him so much courage. He could say a lot of things in the dark, one on one with a person he cared about. He might even be able to tell Iggy how much he cared about him…or not. He was leaning towards not.

"Not as much as Max."

"In a different way than Max," he corrected. "I love Max, sure, and yeah, I have loved her longer, but I love you too, Angel. 'cause if you're Max's baby, that makes you mine too. Alright?"

Nodding slightly, she laid her head back down and closed her eyes. Then, after waiting a minute or two, she asked, "So if you love me, do you think maybe you could do my work in the lab tomorrow?"

"Angel, isn't that what you and Max fought about?"

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," she reasoned.

"No," Fang sighed, leaning down to press his head against her. It was different than with Max, but in a good way. In a great way. "It won't."

I'm really into Maximum Ride right now. I just can't get a good full time story going again. Will you guys accept my one-shots until then? Hope so.