The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 67

By MyNameIsCAL

-Fang's POV-

"Where did the time go?" Max touched the side of my head.

"What do you mean?"

"Your hair is graying," she whispered.

I put my hand over hers. "Is it?"

She laughed. "Yeah, it is."

I frowned.

"What are you so upset about?"

"Nothing," I grumbled, pulling her into a hug.

Considering everything we've been through, all the time that's passed, for us, we looked younger than we actually were. I guess that was a good thing, and that we hadn't suddenly expired like Ari did, that we still had each other to hold onto. We were incredibly lucky, now that I think about it. The heart attack I had at Ted's place, whenever that came up, usually when sitting on the couch at Ted's couch, Cal would laugh about it, and I would too because, well I had been stubborn back then. Ted still seems embarrassed though and Max, well, she'd get this look of uncertainty, but still laugh along anyway.

Besides that heart attack , I had another one trying to fly. I had been angry, trying to prove something only to myself. Max had to stop me from falling from the sky. She had been so angry after that, even though she tried not to show it. Unlike the one at Ted's house, we never talked about that after she forgave me. After all, that time almost killed me. It was only brought up was when she scolded me for pushing myself. But other than that, things had been smooth for us.

As for Iggy and Ella, their marriage fell apart a few years after the birth of their son, who they graciously named after Gazzy. Iggy lived with Max and me, seeing as he'd probably go crazy being blind and alone. Ella lived about an hour away and brought their son over on the weekends. Sometimes, I swear, you would wish Iggy and Ella would get back together. There were nights where it seemed like old times, like they were still in love, but you knew it would never happen.

Nudge was, well, she was bitter I guess. Iggy and her tried out a relationship for a while, but Iggy wasn't comfortable because, to him, she'd always be his little sister. Still, he humored her and went places with her every now and then.

Mom still had the animals to keep care of. She would be retiring soon and Angel would take up her job and look after the place. Angel was excited about that, living with Mom and keeping her company. It was nice. The only thing that bothered me about Angel was when one night, she confessed to Max and me that she knew everything that was going to happen. That Iggy would marry Ella, and Nudge still wouldn't get Iggy after the divorce. Max got upset, but there was nothing you could do. Angel was always right, after all.

As for Ted and Cal, they're happily together still, just down the street, another kid on the way. Their first daughter, Anna, is beautiful. She's always got a smile on, running up to us, shouting Uncle and Aunt. It's nice to have them around, even Iggy's kid, it gives Max the chance to be around them, since we couldn't have kids of our own.

Mike was some big shot now, having worked his way up to be where Ramirez was. We didn't talk to him much since Angel had told us it had been him who pushed Eli into taking his life. It was hard to think about now still. I tried not to let it cross my mind too much.

On a happier note, Chuck and Barry moved to a state that allowed gay couples to marry. They quit their jobs and the last time they sent us a postcard, it was from Italy.

There were few occasions that the flock and everyone got together. Usually Christmas, New Years, and on a rare occasion, we'd assemble on Mom's request. When we were together, we tried to get along, but Nudge was always the first to go. Today, Iggy had the grill on, Ella by his side as they laughed, their troubled past forgotten for a few hours. She leaned into him, laughing and laughing, he kissed her forehead and for a moment, they smiled at each other.

The kids are running around, Ted and Cal playing along with them. Angel is talking to Nudge, and she gets Nudge to smile a couple of times. Mom is trying to set the table, get the food set out, but it would still be another hour before we could get everyone to settle.

As for Max and me, we take a seat after coming out of the house, my leg feeling more stiff now that I've gotten older. She pulls out a chair for me before getting her own. As an unconscious thought, I rub my leg, and she takes my hand, distracting me from a different kind of pain that was starting to grow.

"I'm sorry we didn't have kids," I said, letting her lean against me.

She shakes her head. "You're still upset about that?"

I put my arm around her, sighing. "I don't know, I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy," she assures me. "I couldn't be any happier."

I let that sink in for a while. It's not the first time we've had this conversation. I'm always worrying about things like this and Max, well, she's just the greatest letting them slide, trying to assure me things will be alright.

Anna comes running over, plopping down on my lap. I let out an ooof and Ted comes running over.

"It's alright," I insist, waving a hand in the air.

"Uncle Fang, why don't you ever play with us?" Anna asks, tugging at my shirt. In her other hand, there's the ball they were using to play catch.

I give her a sad smile, looking down at her.

"Uncle Fang…" Ted began, but I interrupted him.

"Alright, let's go play," I say, getting out of the chair.

Max watches me, looking concerned, but Cal gives me this huge grin, and for a while, we're running around, or hobbling for me, as we throw the ball around. As Iggy and Mom call us for food, you can hear the beeping from my heart rate monitor.

"I'm alright," I assure Max, sitting next to her.

The kids are happy, and Max, after seeing I really am okay, puts on a smile. For tonight, we'll forget the past and live in the present. As for the future, well, maybe Angel knows about that, but me, well, I'll be fine about not knowing, as long as I have Max.

I wrote this ending in advance, and honestly, I think this story got dragged out a little longer than it needed to be. When I started this, three years ago, it was only the second fanficiton I had ever written. Seeing it go, in a way, is saddening, but it is also a relief that I will no longer feel lost writing this. Tomorrow I will be embarking on a journey back home, but it was three years ago here, where I am now in Hong Kong that I began writing this story along with my very first fanfic "Love, Pain, and Wings". It feels right to be leaving you with this chapter before I depart back to the US.

I apologize for those of you who wanted things to turn out better, but I had to stay true to the title and the way I wanted things to play out. The flock broke apart, and when they found each other, they tried to stay together, tried to push on, and well, it just didn't work out. But before they were reunited, it was inevitable that things wouldn't just go back to being okay because fairytale endings, I just can't stand them. And as I think about the future of my other stories, I've always gotten caught up in worrying about what you, the reader, would think of my story, and sometimes you have to draw a line. You have to write you feel is best, not always what people want. As you know, I have many other stories. In fact when I get back home, I will most likely be putting up a new story. So look out for that.

Things, I know, moved fast at the end. Probably too fast for your liking and definitely too fast for my liking. And I could have written ten more chapters, in fact, I had a lot more planned, but it was time to put this story to rest and move on to my other ones. Perhaps, in the future, I'll look back at this one and pick it up again and make a sequel, or some sort of new story to explain something better. But for now, I'm done with this, and I thank you for taking this ride with me.

}MyNameIsCAL{