This started out as an attempt to build on a plot bunny posted on NWP by Winter...but it took on a life of it's own.
Winter: Also another thought I was thinking about was in Borrowed Time when Logan says that being stuck in a closet with Alec is his worst nightmare. I was thinking that it would be nice to see a fic where he did get stuck in there with Alec.
Closet Confessions:
Truth, Lies and Love - Original and Uncut
It had been hours since they'd taken refuge in the cluttered storage room. Alec was bored. He hated being bored. The only thing worse than being stuck in a closed space and bored out of his fucking mind, was being trapped with him, something he could happily have done without.
That, and the bullet lodged in my shoulder.
Alec slumped to the floor, wincing.
"Wonderful. Fucking fantastic. I stick my neck out to help Max and I get shot - again - and now I'm stuck in a closet with you, missing out on a perfectly good chance to make some easy money over a few games of pool. And I had a date planned tonight. I don't know why I bother."
His companion shut his eyes and leaned against the wall. "Normal wouldn't let Max off the hook so she asked you to fill in. I'm sorry I ruined your plans, but this is important! Lives are at stake." Logan was indignant and his save-the-world hero act was really grating on Alec's nerves.
"Lives are always at stake where Eyes Only is concerned, and tonight it seems mine was too. Again. You think I like getting shot? Hurts like a bitch and the bullet's still embedded in the damn tissue." Groaning as he shifted to ease the pain, he inhaled sharply when his torn shoulder scraped the wall.
"Its times like these I wish I didn't have enhanced senses. I can smell your fear and it's turning my stomach."
Logan scowled. "I'm not scared. I'm bored."
"Right, which is why your left eye is twitching, you keep tapping your foot and you're sweating like a pig on a spit," he retorted.
"Shut up." Oooh, good one, Logan.
"You getting angry, Logie? Cuz the scent of sweat is stronger than before. As long as you don't add the stench of urine, we'll be fine. Fear can do nasty things to a body," he added, smirking knowingly.
Logan glared at Alec, wishing he could wipe the smirk off the younger man's face.
"Manticore really screwed up, didn't they? Sightly packaging surrounding a flawed product. You seem perfect until you open your mouth."
Alec raised his eyebrows and darted his tongue out to wet his lips. He let out an amused grunt. "So we've resorted to pettiness, have we? I'll bite. I am perfect, Logan. I've just embraced my freedom - of speech and otherwise. I understand, though. You're of an older generation. I know it's hard for you to blend in with my age group. Explains why you seem so uncomfortable around Max's and my friends."
"30 isn't old and I am not uncomfortable around your friends." Though they are quite immature, like you.
Alec couldn't contain his laughter. "30! And here I was, thinking I was good at math. You've gotta help me out here. Max told me that at the time of the Pulse you were out on a yacht with an old girlfriend. You were what, 22?" Looking to Logan for confirmation, he watched the other man struggle with his emotions.
"24," Logan muttered darkly.
"Right, 24. So it wasn't me that miscalculated, it was you?" Alec loved tormenting Logan. Serves you right for getting us into this mess.
"Shove off, Alec. Can't you just shut up?"
"Tell me something, Logie? Why are you really interested in Max? What drew you to her initially? She's almost half your age."
Logan smiled at the memory. "I thought she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. And sassy."
Alec gave Logan a pointed look. "Right. It had nothing to do with the fact that she knocked out your bodyguard in a split second and without breaking a sweat, or that she jumped out your penthouse living room window, landing on her feet eight stories down? She told me all about your little deception - flirting with her until you had her in a position to see her barcode and confirm your suspicions. You're a real piece of work, Logan. And you tell me I'm underhanded. You take the cake."
The older man glowered at him. "Alright, so at first I went after her because of her abilities. But I do love her."
Alec eyed Logan sceptically. "Do you make it a habit to endanger the ones you love, Logan?"
The question riled the bespectacled man. "What are you talking about? I'd never hurt Max. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to her!"
Incredulous, Alec's eyes widened at Logan's declaration. "You're kidding me, right? You, the man who claims to love her so much that you couldn't take it if she were hurt - that is what you meant, right? - you put her in danger day in, and day out over the stupidest things!"
Voice rising in anger, Alec continued his rant. "I took a bullet tonight. I was pinned down but I took a chance, tried a couple moves I learned at Manticore, moves that Max was never taught, moves that saved my life tonight. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if it had been Max there instead. And I would have killed you if anything had happened to her. I would never put her at risk!"
Logan shrugged, ignoring the truth of Alec's words. "I'm not forcing her to do anything. It's her choice."
"That's where you're wrong," he argued heatedly. "I know about your quid pro quo deal, too. Max is helping you in exchange for information on the other escapees."
"She believes in the cause," was Logan's offhand reply.
Alec raised an eyebrow at that. "Maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised if she left you high and dry once she found the others. Her family means everything to her."
"She loves me. That makes me important to her too. She wouldn't do that."
Alec's features were hard and his words cold. "Really? So if she knew that you have records on your computer of the names, addresses and contact numbers of her siblings, she wouldn't be pissed at you and take off after them?" He didn't need to add that in all likelihood Max would never speak to Logan again. Anyone who really knew Max knew better than to cross her.
Logan's face drained of color. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, Logan. It doesn't suit you. I've known for a few days now." He smiled darkly. "My apologies; Dix hacked your system when we couldn't reach you. We needed some intel I knew you had. Imagine my surprise when we downloaded all the information you had regarding transgenics and came across a file on the '09ers."
Putting on a tough front, Logan spoke calmly, even as he trembled on the inside. "If you really had proof, Alec, you would have told Max. You're bluffing. It's a base lie and frankly, just the kind of thing I would expect of you."
Alec got to his feet and glared at Logan. Their noses were mere inches apart, his breath fanning the other man's face. "The only reason I haven't told Max is that she hates me. Why give her more ammunition? Bad mouthing her boyfriend isn't going to get me in her good graces. But I will make sure she finds out. Let me propose a deal."
Close lipped and angry, Logan folded his arms across his chest and glared at Alec.
"You stop sending Max out on dangerous missions for Eyes Only crap, and I'll let you tell her what you've been hiding."
"And if I don't?" Logan countered.
"Then I'll figure out a way for Max to find out that you've been pretending to help when all the while you had the info at your fingertips."
"Pretending is something we're both rather good at. Be it Eyes Only or the numerous identities you've assumed over the years at Manticore. Just once I'd like to see behind the mask, crack the facade and get inside your head, figure you out. I admit, you intrigue me. One minute you're a nice guy, the next you're a prick. I've seen you show compassion and concern, your friends are loyal to you. Yet other times you either piss people off so that they want to strangle you or you close yourself off to everyone and the sociopath is back."
Logan paused, debating whether or not to add what he was thinking. Finally concluding that his next words put a negative light on Alec as opposed to a positive one, he continued.
"It's like Max was saying last week, 'Alec is so frustrating. When he's nice, I like him. But then he'll say or do something stupid and when I confront him, he brushes me off and shuts me out. That's when I start hating him. There's no balance - he's always black or white, never grey.'"
"She treats me like shit, why shouldn't I shut her out? Max can be a real bitch sometimes." Even as he spoke the words, Alec wondered at the disclosure that Max actually liked him some of the time. That's news to me.
"She can be," he agreed with a short laugh. "But I think she's like that because she feels safer hiding behind the tough act than owning up to her weaknesses and fears. Max is just as vulnerable as the next girl, Alec.
"Besides, did you ever think that maybe the reason she treats you like she does is because she's been lost too many people she cares about? She cares about all of the transgenics, Alec, even you funnily enough. If she doesn't let you in, she can't 'lose' you. It's probably why she and I haven't..."
"She cares about me?" Alec exclaimed. "That's rich. Come on, I look like her dead 'brother', one she killed with her own hands! I was assigned as her breeding partner by people who made her life hell. Even though I was just following orders, I let her infect you with the virus way back when. I almost tried to kill her because I thought I could run my game on White.
"There is nothing about me for her to care about. I know the whole story, about how Max told you she and I were together. Let me set you straight, buddy. We're not. Never have been. Never will be." The sadness in his last words wasn't lost on Logan.
"Can you be honest with me, Alec?" Wary, the young man nodded.
"Do you wish you were?"
Alec scoffed and turned away to hide his reddening cheeks. "She's hot. Who wouldn't want to be with her?"
Studying the younger man, Logan pressed his lips together tightly and shook his head. "It's more than that. I saw it a long time ago and it's only getting stronger. You want Max." He paused. "As more than a friend."
"Look, Logan, we've covered this already. Max and I will never be anything other than friends, if that. I'm lucky to be tolerated. Don't sweat it, your relationship isn't in any danger from me." Alec cracked his knuckles loudly and chewed on his bottom lip, noticeably unnerved.
Logan's laugh was mirthless and dry. "I knew it. And maybe you're right, maybe you aren't a threat to me and Max. But..."
"But what?" he prodded after a long pause when Logan failed to continue.
"Maybe she is," he surmised aloud.
Stunned, Alec looked on in disbelief at Logan's admission. Quickly gathering his wits, he narrowed his eyes.
"Or maybe you are. We went off on a tangent here. If you don't stop putting Max in danger, she could end up hurt or killed. If you don't come clean with her, she'll leave you when she finds out you lied to her. Either way, you lose. Are you willing to let someone as special as Max slip through your fingers? If you are, you're a bigger idiot than I thought. If she were mine, I'd..." his voice trailed off when he realized what he'd almost confessed.
Logan was seething at the suggestion that he could be responsible and held accountable. He knew Alec was right and it stung. The fact that the handsome transgenic also cared for Max was a bitter pill to swallow. The former Manticore assassin would do anything to help and protect the girl he loved. The exact opposite of what Logan himself had done time and again.
"I always said being locked in a closet with you would be my worst nightmare. I was right."
Approaching the door, he unleashed his anger on the metal obstruction, trying to shake it free without success.
"It's a fire door, Logan. Don't you think I would have kicked it open by now if I could? We're stuck in here until someone finds us. And we'll be lucky to get out of here without getting caught or killed." Dropping his head into his hands, Alec let out a deep sigh. "And Max will blame me if anything happens to you. I'll never win with her, will I?"
Before Logan could reply, smug with the knowledge that Alec would always be just a thorn in Max's side and nothing more, the door swung open, catching him on the side of the head and sending him crashing to the floor.
Max stepped over Logan's sprawled form, ignoring his whimpers, and touched tentative fingers to Alec's wounded shoulder. She gave him an appraising look before flashing him a dazzling smile.
"You never know, Alec," she said softly. His wide, shocked eyes took in the sight of her, the sound of her voice, her...words.
"Do you mean-" A finger to his lips stopped him.
"Don't ruin the moment," she snapped dryly.
He laughed but shut up when her small, but devastating fist connected with his good arm. "Fine, fine. Wounded here! Can you hold of on hitting me for a few hours?"
She grinned and took his hand in hers, pulling him after her and exiting the small storage space, closing the door behind them. "We have to get out of here. The guards will be back in less than two minutes."
"What about Logan?" Alec asked in confusion.
"Let him rot. It's nothing less than he deserves," she bit out.
"What's gotten into you, Max?"
"You guys should have been back hours ago. When I didn't hear from you I figured you got into trouble. Turns out I was right." She looked pointedly at Alec.
His face fell and he hung his head, fully expecting Max to lash out at him as per usual. "It wasn't my fault. I just-"
"I know, Alec," she interrupted him. He raised his head and looked at her with open mouthed surprise.
Max giggled at his expression but soon fell serious again. "I was in the vents trying to get to you. I heard everything. "
"Everything?" he asked timidly, swallowing hard.
"Everything," she replied with a smirk.
Not knowing quite what to say to that, Alec fell silent. They crept stealthily through the corridors and exited the building from the back. After a few more minutes of uneasy silence, Max grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Why don't we grab some dinner, shoot some pool, have a few drinks with the gang?"
Alec was unsure of how to reply, given that she now knew how he felt about her. Is she just trying to pretend it never happened? Does she want to carry on as friends?
"Maybe I should call it a night. Can I take a rain check, Max?" His tone was even. He would not allow his weakness to seep through the mask.
"And miss a chance to beat Sketchy's ass at pool? Nuh and uh, pretty boy. 'Sides, how can I get to know you better if you're not around?"
Max climbed on her motorcycle, leaving Alec standing stock-still where she left him.
"You alright?" she asked after a while, turning the key in the ignition and bringing the motor to life.
A slow smile lit his face as he heard Max's words echo in his head. 'How can I get to know you better if you're not around?' So she wanted to get to know him. Maybe he had a chance to prove himself as a friend, or perhaps even more than that - in time.
An old Garth Brooks song replayed in his head. 'You've got to be tough when consumed by desire, 'cause it's not enough just to stand outside the fire.' He grinned widely and quickly straddled the seat, wrapping his arms around her waist. The guy has a point, he thought. It isn't enough to stand outside the fire.
And I don't plan to any longer.
"I'm always alright," he replied finally. And this time he really was.
- FIN -