Alright, it took me a while to get this finished, but here it is, finally! Sorry about that. Guess I just got distracted. I decided to do this tonight because I'm experiencing slight writer's block with Sick Days. I don't think it'll last long, though, if you're someone who likes to read that story. : )
Disclaimer: I do not own anything below; this is a compilation of excerpts used for analysis purposes only. These excerpts all belong to James Patterson.
"Max," said Angel. "You know Fang is the best guy ever. And he loves you. 'Cause you're the best girl ever."
With anyone else, I could ask them how they knew that and then discredit them. Not Angel. She knew because she'd seen it, in his mind.
"We all love each other, Ange," I said impatiently, hating this whole conversation.
"No, not like this," she went on relentlessly. "Fang loves you."
00
"I choose you," he said very softly, "Max."
Then his hard, rough hand tenderly cupped my chin, and suddenly his mouth was on mine, and every synapse in my brain shorted out.
We had kissed a couple of times before, but this was different. This time, I squelched my immediate, overwhelming desire to run away screaming. I closed my eyes and put my arms around him despite my fear. Then somehow we slid sideways so we were lying in the cool sand. I was holding him fiercely, and he was kissing me fiercely, and it was… just so, so intensely good. Once I got past my usual, gut-wrenching terror, there was a long, sweet slide into mindlessness, when all I felt was Fang, and all I heard was his breathing, and all I could think was, "Oh, God, I want to do this all the time."
Gradually, our kisses became less hungry and more comforting. Our arms relaxed as we held each other in the cool desert air. Our breathing calmed, and my thoughts began to sort of connect to each other again in comprehensible chunks. I started my inevitable hysterical freak-out, but I tried to do it very quietly inside my head, because this had been so special, and I didn't want to ruin it. Like I usually did.
I slanted my gaze up to him, and Fang was… smiling. He was lying on his back, holding me against him, and he was looking up at the night sky, with the katrillion stars that you see only when you're in the middle of nowhere. Then you see stars that you never even knew existed. He was smiling, and his face looked softer and less closed.
00
Me and Fang. Holding hands and eating ice cream.
And the flock was safe on a giant naval base where you couldn't even spit without hitting an antiaircraft missile.
If life got better than this, I didn't think I could take it….
And the beautiful part? He'd turned down Dr. Stupendous to be with moi. He'd dissed her and dismissed her, so he could eat kimchi and ice cream with yours featherly.
"Max?"
I suddenly became aware that Fang had said my name like three times. Now he stopped and looked at me. "Are you okay? Is the Voice back, giving you instructions?"
"Uh-huh. It's in the middle of the crossword of the day."
He smiled, and we kept walking.
"No, I was just spacing out," I said, licking my ice cream. I had gotten a double scoop of mint chocolate chip and orange sherbet, two great tastes that tasted great together.
"Well, tomorrow we leap into action," he said. "So, last chance to space out for a while."
"Yeah. I just hope--"
"I know. I'm sure she's okay. We'll get there in time. And I promise to let you take her kidnappers apart all by yourself."
He knew me so well. "Thanks. It's just-- it's bad enough to worry about the flock. Is Nudge okay, is everyone here, are we together, are we safe? I can't stand the circle getting bigger. I can only worry about so much before my head explodes, you know?"
He nodded. "You know I got your back. You're not alone."…
Fang dropped my hand to put his arm around my shoulders, his warmth searing my skin through my jacket. I really, really hoped that I hadn't suddenly sprouted a catrillion new nerve endings. Yes, it would make moments like this better, but the downside? Pain and torture would be a million times worse. Guess which one I was more likely to come up against?…
"Max." Fang put two fingers under my chin-- I hoped it wasn't sticky but wasn't sure-- and gently turned me to face him. "You're a million miles away again."
"Sorry." Once more I cursed Jeb for not grafting the gift of gab into my DNA. Jerk.
"Are you too worried about your mom? Do you want to head back?"
"No," I said, meeting his gaze. "No. I'm okay. Just-- kind of overwhelmed." I gave a little cough. "I don't want to go back. I want to be here with you."
Something lit in his black eyes. "Yeah?"
I nodded.
"So… you're choosing me?"…
I had to grip the metal railing hard with both hands so I wouldn't throw myself over it, to streak away into the night, into darkness and safety. Tough it out, Max, I told myself-- or maybe it was the Voice.
But it didn't matter, because then Fang leaned down and kissed me, and I put my arms around him, right there in front of everyone, and kissed him back with everything I had.
00
I glared at him. "Go on. Try to stop me. I dare you." It was like the old days when we used to wrestle, each trying to get the better of the other. I was ready to take him down, my hands curled into fists.
"I was just going to say be careful," Fang told me. He stepped closer and brushed some hair out of my eyes. "And-- I've got your back." He motioned with his head toward the torpedo chamber….
Right there, in front of everyone, I threw my arms around his neck and smashed my mouth against his. He was startled for a second, then his strong arms wrapped around me so tightly I could hardly breathe.
"ZOMG," I heard Nudge whisper, but still Fang and I kissed, slanting our heads this way and that to get closer. I could have stood there and kissed him happily for the next millennium, but Angel-- or what was left of her-- was still out there in the cold, dark ocean.
Reluctantly, I ended the kiss, took a step back. Fang's obsidian eyes were glittering brightly, and his stoic face had a look of wonder on it.
"Gotta go," I said quietly.
A half smile quirked his mouth. "Yeah. Hurry back."
00
No one protested or tried to stop us this time. Fang looked at me, hope in his eyes, and I smirked at him. I save the huge emotional kissy-face for imminent death scenes. This probably didn't qualify.
00
The wind swept through my hair, and I closed my eyes, coasting on a thermal current, feeling the sun warming my face and my feathers.
Fang was above me, moving his wingers in perfect unison with mine. We were holding hands: his was reaching down, and mine was reaching up….
"I'm glad Mom and Ella are home again safe. And I guess Jeb is-- somewhere else." I didn't know whether Jeb was evil or not. He was totally confusing. Maybe I would never know.
"And I hear Total's off planning his and Akila's upcoming wedding," Fang added with a slight grin. "Guess what? You're maid of honor. Can't wait to see you in a poufy dress."
I ignored the jab. "Here's a more interesting piece of information: Brigid's at a news conference," I said. "I confronted her after I spotted her earlier. She said she was going to expose Mr. Chu."
"We'll see," said Fang, sounding somewhat disinterested, to my surprise and delight. "I guess we're finally alone"-- a tiny smile curved his lips-- "for the immediate future."
"Huh," I said, my heart kicking into high gear. "Huh. That's… nice."
Very, very carefully, Fang lowered himself even closer to me. I could almost feel his breath in my ear. We'd never flown this close before. A delicate electric quiver ran down my spine….
"Max." Fang let go of my hand. "Right now, it's really all about-- us."
He swooped down to the right in a big semicircle, ending facing me. Slowly we climbed upward, until we were almost vertical, flying straight up to the sun.
While carefully synchronizing our wings-- they almost touched-- Fang leaned in, gently put one hand behind my neck, and kissed me. It was just about as close to heaven as I'll ever get, I guess. I closed my eyes, lost in the feeling of flying and kissing and being with the one person in the world I completely, utterly trusted.
And… that's a wrap!
I loved doing these, and I'm sad that it's over. But in March I'm sure I'll be doing one for FANG. Until then, I'll mark this as 'complete'. Thanks for reading, and go check out Sick Days if you haven't already! And review, please, tell me your opinions on all this stuff.
: )