Kiss the Future
by
Rowe
A/N Thankyou to my wonderful beta team from The Editing Room.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel and Alec inspire me but do not belong to me
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The gentle fingertip traced along her delicate jawbone. His other hand cupped the opposite cheek, curving around its soft contours. Using the pad of his thumb, he brushed her lush pouting lips. He looked deep into her chocolate brown orbs and saw evidence of a fire kindling in their depths. Slowly he lowered his head till his lips were less than an inch from hers. He felt her hold her breath and wait, a small lick of fear moved into her expressive eyes and passed to be replaced by a look of anticipation. Closing the final gap, he let his lips taste hers in a chaste kiss. The light that shone in her eyes before she surrendered to the kiss urged him on. He moaned as she leaned her body against him, curling into his form.
He was the first to break them apart. Holding her a little away he turned her slightly so she would see the table he'd set for their date. The flickering candles reflected in silver wine bucket, within which sat an uncorked bottle of champagne. He had taken great care to set the scene to capture her romantic heart. Since that first moment he had seen her, she had held his. Taking her hand he led her through to the other room. He released his grasp of her only to fill two crystal champagne flutes. Handing one to her, he paused and watched as her delicate finger traced the edge of the glass nervously. She was exquisitely beautiful, even with her background, he found her irresistible.
Feeling his eyes on her she blushed; he liked to watch her, to admire her. It made her feel cherished. She let the feelings wash over her, these intense emotions were still something new to her. In the past she has made sure that she kept herself immune to the pain she has seen others go through. The loss she had experienced so young had made her wary, but this somehow seemed the right time to finally take a chance. This time she had let someone see behind those walls she had carefully erected to keep her safe. She sipped the cold champagne slowly and allowed the chilled liquid to caress her inside, cooling her rapidly heating body slightly.
Her eyes watched him as he moved to the kitchen to serve the food. They shared shy glances, that promised of so much more. As the pasta sat draining in the sieve, the steam that rose created a haze around him that only served to make him more handsome in her eyes. This night was perfect.
***
From the rooftop of the apartments opposite, a darkened figure fumed. He struggled to drag his eyes away from the tableau before him. Knowing he was the unwanted observer didn't make him feel any more charitable towards the man who dared to place his hands on his girl. He fought the instinctive reaction to just burst in on the couple and rip the guy's arms from their sockets. No one laid their hands on her, not if he had anything to say about it. Alec knew she had always managed to draw it out of him, making him irrationally possessive and protective. He shouldn't have followed her, but he had been right not to trust that slime ball. Seducing her with prepulse wine, no doubt, and a candle lit dinner. A weird sense of deja vu overwhelmed him as he forced his feet to take him back to the confines of TC. Back to his apartment, which he had made more homey, with her help. Everything in it would remind him of her and he wasn't ready to let her go. He loved her too much. Every time he cared someone or something was there to snatch them away from him.
The journey home wasn't long but his feet felt like lead. Things had been becoming more strained between them of late, but he didn't realise that things had gone this far. He had always thought that they could talk about everything, but obviously, he grimaced as the image of her in that man's arms came back into his mind, she wasn't being entirely forthcoming. A growl erupted from his throat and he spun and kicked the closest rubbish bin, sending it spiralling through the air and landing further down the road with a crash. He winced as the sound broke through his pent up frustration. Arrgg he just wanted to get his hands on the bastard. Subconsciously his hands clenched tightly into fists as he imagined squeezing the life out of him, and the guy's eyes bulging as he realised his dire mistake. This was not good, he needed to calm down before he faced her, confronted her with what he had witnessed.
The wire walls of Terminal City, announced that he was home. As he approached his building, Alec suddenly changed his mind on his destination. Spinning on his heel, instead he headed to headquarters on the off chance someone would be there to help him out, someone to ease his need to release his frustrations. It was nearly deserted, the hour being late. He let his eyes assess those that were present. A tall brunette X5 was stood chatting to Mole, Bella he thought her name was. She was new to TC, one of the constant influx of those that had heard how it had become the transgenic Mecca. He beckoned for her to follow him. Without hesitation she did his bidding. She would do.
He lead her into the room and shut the door without breaking the silence. The look of anticipation on her face told him she knew what he needed from her. It wasn't words, he really didn't want to talk at all. Physical release was what he sought. He moved closer and she was ready, the light that gleamed in her eyes was a telltale sign of the excitement she was already feeling. Her arm snaked towards him and he was prepared. It wouldn't be as satisfying as smashing the serpent that had stolen his baby's heart but it would dissolve much of the inner rage he was feeling at the moment.
***
She was scared. Tonight had been remarkable, a new beginning and a fresh start, but how was she going to tell him. As she came along the corridor towards the apartment, she could smell the testosterone. Realising that now might not be the best time to tell him, she unlocked the door, ready to deal with whatever mood had brought on the surge of pheromones he had released into the air. He could be unpredictable, she had learnt to judge his moods, but when he was in a heightened state, he had the potential to be unreasonable. She knew he would not take her news well.
As she had walked through the door, Alec tried to keep his cool. The sparring workout had served to make him less tense, but her presence was quickly rekindling his earlier turmoil. He didn't want her to know straight away just how pissed off he really was, to let her know that he knew. He would give her a chance to tell him, even if the needed patience was something foreign to him.
"Hey," his voice came out a lot more neutral than he had expected. Especially given the rage that still festered inside of him at the presumptuous of that slime ball geek.
She turned quickly, startled by his greeting. The darkened room only made the mood feel more oppressive, she could see him clearly as he sat in his favourite chair watching the television. His eyes gleamed ferally in his striking face as he turned them towards her. The big cat in him more evident tonight than usual.
"Hey, what keeps you up so late?" Her nervousness was in her voice, it made her look away, not capable of meeting his eyes as they bore questioningly hers.
"Honey, I was thinking," he couldn't go to sleep and let this lie he needed to know now. "We need to work out where we stand, cause I got the feeling you aren't being entirely honest with me, and..." he struggled to search for a way to make her feel like she could tell him "You are the most important person in my life and I would hope you could at least tell me the truth. "A pleading note had entered his voice, as he stood and moved closer to her. Not touching her, not till she told him what he needed her to confess.
She could tell that he was hedging around something, there was something he wasn't comfortable in bringing up. It was making her more aware of what she had to tell him. She didn't know if now was the right time.
Alec stood with his arms crossed on his chest. He looked deep into her eyes to make her realise the import of his words. "Pasta and prepulse wine never lead to anything good, surely that is one thing history has taught us." He tried to hide the tone of disappointment. But he saw her wince as his words struck home. The look of fear crossed her face announced to him that she realised he knew her secret.
Closing the gap between them she closed her arms around his tense form. She sighed as he stood rigidly resisting her attempts to reach out to him physically. Leaning back as far as she could so that she could look him in the eye, she tried the truth, in hopes it would be enough to salvage their relationship a little.
"But....I love him." Her sweet voice washed over him, breaking through the shell of pain that he had erected at his feelings of her betrayal. Her gentle warmth made him want to forgive her, made him want to accept this and let her go. Alec couldn't stay angry with her and the geek anymore. With a groan he relented. He pulled her tightly into his arms and buried his face in her dark curly hair.
"You do realise I will have to kill him if he breaks your heart. "The tone was joking and light but, underneath an edge remained and she laughed at his protectiveness.
"Yes Daddy." This was only her first boyfriend, her life was going to be extremely interesting.