Pairings: Harry/Fang

Ditto

"Pick a tree. I'll carve our initials into it."

- Fang

HP + F Forever.

He traced his fingers over the engraving, eyes smiling. In the distance he heard Nudge giggle wildly as Angel and Gazzy chased her in a circle. Some contorted version of Duck, Duck, Goose in his mind.

Max was off somewhere and maybe Fang was with her as well. He choked down his jealousy, the familiar burn making its way through his body. Part of him knew there wasn't any real reason to be jealous of them, nothing was going on after all. But...he couldn't help it. She was everything that he wasn't.

A girl for one.

It was a fact that Harry never failed to remind Fang on occasion the type of normal relationship the flying boy could share with her if only to see if his reaction changed. It didn't.

"Harry, come play with us," Angel called, waving her small arms. Her blonde hair was whipped around her face wildly from all of her running, and her breath raspy.

He shook his head, smiling. "No, that's alright!" He grinned, making shooing motions with his hands. The small girl merely shook her head at him before running back off. "Don't go too far, you guys," he added, biting his lip.

The only indication that they, or at least Angel had heard him, was the tinkling laughter echoing through his head.

He turned back to the carving, this time his eyes more subdued. It was in moments like these that he became slightly more erratic in his thinking because he always came to the same realization. He didn't belong here with them. It was clearer than ever that they weren't the same. He didn't have wings or any real special talent. He wasn't like Fang. He wasn't special.

And that made all the difference.

"Thinking to hard again?" Nudge's voice wafted over to him and it took him a moment to register that she was talking to him. Harry smiled with fake brightness, running a hand through his hair.

"I don't think to hard," he argued playfully, poking her in the neck.

She jumped away from him, shaking her head, her chocolate brown skin glistening in the sun from sweat. Her hair was designed in the latest-he thought- style, a recent birthday present slash good behavior treat.

"I thought you were off messing around with the little ones," he commented, using his nickname for the younger two of the Flock. He walked around to sit in front of the meager fire pit that Fang had set up at some point. He still wasn't back.

"Was, got bored," Nudge answered, plopping down next to him.

"Doesn't surprise me," he scoffed, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes. "You get bored too easily." It said this mostly to himself, tracing patterns into the hard dirt.

He blinked as he realized he'd copied the carving into the dirt. Hastily, he scratched away the design with the heel of his tennis shoe. Looking up again, he caught Nudge gazing at him with an unreadable expression on her face.

"We love you, you know," she said out of the blue, looking away. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to us." She spoke matter-of-factly as if merely commenting on the weather.

"What are-"

"You're like the best brother I could have hoped for," Nudge whispered, her deep golden eyes capturing his own viridian again. "Don't leave."

"Nudge," Harry began, he didn't finish his thought, tugging the small eleven year old into his body. He held her close, feeling her clutch at him tightly.

After a few moments passed, Harry decide to broach something she said that bothered him.

"What do you mean don't leave," he asked bemused. He couldn't remember hinting to leaving, sure he sometimes walked off for long periods of times, but he always came back. Always. "I'm not going anywhere."

Nudge pulled away, discreetly wiping her eyes. "But...I've heard you..." she wrung her hands guiltily and suddenly Harry understood.

She was talking about an argument he and Fang had engaged in when Harry had been in one of his jealous moods. He had made himself believe that he wasn't wanted-which he still somewhat believed- that he was a waste of space since he couldn't do anything like the others-which he was-and that while Fang was off cavorting with Max, he had gotten to thinking maybe it was time for them to go their seperate ways.

The outcome of the argument was obvious. Fang had managed to calm him down enough and then dragged him off into the woods to show just how much he would miss Harry if the green-eyed boy decided to go running off. And after it was said and done, Fang punched Harry in the shoulder and threatened to hunt him to the ends of Earth if he ever went off on his own.

It had been enough.

"I was just being an arse," he said nonchalantly, or tried to at least. "There were a lot of things running through my mind then." He pinched Nudge in the face.

The mocha colored girl smirked at him. "I knew you thought to hard for it to be considered to be healthy," she teased, pinching him back.

Harry laughed, causing Nudge to stare at him with wonder in her eyes.

"You haven't laughed in so long," she explained, hugging him to her again.

He had nothing to say to that. Thinking hard-and he had to hold himself from glowering at Nudge for being right-he hadn't laughed as much. Things were just to stressing at the moment. While things were on a lull at the moment, they were still being hunted and they still hadn't gotten to the bottom of how Jed was even alive.

"You should do it more often."

"What?" Harry pulled himself out of his thoughts.

"Laugh. It makes you look beautiful."

He blushed at the compliment, once again made speechless.

"I agree," a dark voice agreed from behind them. Harry whipped his head around to smile softly at Fang who'd finally decided to appear with a silent Max at his side. Harry tried not to notice the flushed look the girl had, jumping up to press a kiss to Fang's lips. The taller boy deepened the kiss, drawing a moan from Harry who returned the kiss with equal enthusiam.

"Seriously guys, get a room," Max grumbled. She looked away when Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Don't think that's possible," he replied snarkily, taking his place in the crook of Fang's arm. "We're no where near civilization."

"Shut up," Max spat, stomping off.

Harry watched her walk off into the clearing in search of Angel and Gazzy, facing his boyfriend, confusion written clearly on his face.

"What's her problem?" Usually when Harry was being a jerk to her, she let the snide comments roll off of her like water, responding with a glare and the Finger. She never stomped off in a fit.

Fang shook his head, raising Harry's head up for a chaste kiss. "A reality check."

"Mhm," Harry grunted, pulling away before the kiss turned into something more. "I should really make lunch," he sighed. Reluctantly, he stepped out of the warm embrace and back to the fire pit to pick through their packs.

When Harry made his way back to the carving before the rest of the Flock took off, his eyes widened at the carving underneath, more rugged and hasty than his own.

HP + F Forever

Ditto

"Harry, are you coming or what?" Angel's voice was impatient and he pictured her tapping her foot.

"Yeah," he breathed, running his fingers over the crooked lettering. "Yeah," he said louder.