I was inspired to write this by Lakshyarahita's story called Rainbow. Since I'm reediting this, and reread Rainbow, I'm guessing I was inspired by these particular two quotes from the section called "Yellow."

"Fang knows the exact moment he fell in love with Max." is one, I'm assuming. And probably this one: "It was back when Max and him were thirteen, and Max was getting used to the role of Flock leader –slash-mother-slash- whatever else she had to be to keep her Flock safe. And she was doing a good job, too. She was laughing with Gazzy one moment, scolding Iggy the next, and comforting Angel just three seconds later. She did her best to balance every personality in the Flock – and she wouldn't let anyone see how tired she was, not even Fang."

Credit where credit is due. So thank you, Lakshyarahita!

Also, thank you, Juliet, for beta-ing this!

Posted on 4/12/10 and reedited on 12/28/13.

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.

Truthfully, Fang believed in love at first sight. Yes, Fang—Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome—actually did think about things like that. Things like love, life, peace, running away from evil scientists… the works.

Fang even had someone in mind. She would be tall, redheaded, tan, perfect and a swimsuit model. Oh, and the older, the better. Preferably someone rich too.

In other words, what most teenaged boys dream.

So he was understandably completely blindsided when he "found" his special someone to be a bit… different from what he thought was his ideal. He didn't know quite what hit him. All he did was come down the stairs of the E house one morning to see Max standing next to Nudge.

Max was stroking Nudge's brown hair, listening absently. But she was looking down at Nudge with a soft smile and such love that, in the morning light streaming in the kitchen window, Fang clearly saw all Max's gentleness, caring and… beauty. Since Fang was more used to seeing the cold face Max wore when grimly training or actually kicking an Eraser's nose in, he couldn't believe this sight. He was frozen in the doorway, watching Max's face light up when she laughed suddenly at something Nudge said.

His stomach flipped.

He'd seen scenes like this before, of course. If he'd paid attention, he might have noticed how he liked Max—as a sister, he had supposed—a little more after each scene. She was able to scold Iggy for blowing up her alarm (again), wrestle Gazzy into the tub (without splashing water), tame Nudge's wild hair (without making her scream in pain), and protect Angel. All while still being the same indestructible and dangerous Maximum Ride the School feared and hated.

Watching Max with Nudge right then made him realize that love wasn't instantaneous. It wasn't like a zap or a bolt of lightning. It didn't come out of nowhere. Love was a slow, priceless emotion to be treasured and nurtured. It was to build slowly until it reached an undying passion. Even if you didn't realize that it was growing in your heart until you saw the love of your life doing a small thing—such as really listening to Nudge when almost no one else would.

Yup. That was the exact moment Fang could say he realized he had fallen in love with the incredible, indescribable Maximum Ride.

~The Exact Moment~

Denial. That was something Max was very accustomed to, even if she didn't always realize it. When The Thought (as she called it) snuck in, part of her always said, When you're in denial, doesn't that mean what you're in denial about is true? And after that part of her had had its say, that was when she would decide to stop thinking about the matter altogether.

Fang was her best friend, her wingman and her brother. If not in blood, than in spirit. Nothing more. (Liar, a voice whispered.)

Max was pretty sure love was family. That was how she defined it and that was what love was. In fact, until she hit puberty, she never associated love with anything but family. However, after she hit puberty, she discovered that love was not just family. Love suddenly become one part confusing and two parts denial. Well, for her at least. No one else seemed to have that problem. But then, Max was always oblivious to certain things.

The exact moment her first true denial of a non-family related love hit was the exact moment she fell in love with him.

So when did love, unrelated to family, begin for Max? It's a little embarrassing for Max to admit, but when she fell in love with Fang, they were teaching Angel to fly. Sometime after they escaped the School and Jeb was still with them, Angel was being taught how to fly better. When Max needed a break from helping Angel, she would observe Fang train and interact with Angel. It was amazing to see how aware he was of when Angel was growing tired. But the first denial came when one of Angel's attempts to do a semi-complicated flight pattern ended in her falling and skinning her knee.

When Max saw Fang's dark head bent over Angel's little blonde one, his face betraying his worry, her heart did… something. She'd always taken Fang as a rock, but she realized that he did have a different side that was caring, gentle and…

It was Fang who comforted Max herself, who helped her get back up.

Well, that was the exact moment denial began: watching Angel and Fang. It was also the exact moment part of her realized she had fallen in love with him. The feeling had been there for a while, building as Fang's had, but the beginnings of true realization only came then at that exact moment.

Not that she'd admit it for a while yet.

I hope you enjoyed! :) Review if you want and thanks for reading.

-SS