Title: Sweet Armageddon
Author: Shay (TheWickedQuill, untold_story)
Rating: Hard M / NC-17
Genre: PWP, slash, mild angst
Fandom: Dark Angel
Pairing: Alec/Zack
Warnings & Spoilers: Slash, Explicit; Eps: BBWW, AJBAC, SAR
Type/Status: Standalone, Complete
Introductory Comments: The following story was a response to a specific request by Amaranth (abendstern1601) in honor of her birthday. The specifications were slash and an Alec/Zack pairing, explicit sexuality if possible. Normally my muse wouldn't cooperate (I'm not a big fan of slash unless it's within the HP fandom) but this time around, I was surprised to find myself inspired and driven. This story is the result of that splash of inspiration and the encouragement and editing of both fee_kh and wildsky, two people without whom half of my fics (and most of my sanity) wouldn't pass muster. This fic was beta-read by both, and was given the go-ahead by slash readers, so I'll have to take their word for it and hope for the best.
Author's Notes: First things first. Zack may seem a tad out of character. You can blame this on his libido if you wish. I did try to keep him and Alec in character as much as possible, but certain liberties were taken with Zack…though I can't see anyone minding too terribly, if this is their kind of story J Next, this story is a bit out of the norm for me, seeing as slash isn't usually my bag, but this was written as a birthday fic for Amaranth (abendstern1601) albeit belatedly, and because it also incorporates a requirement for one of the Dec/Jan prompts, I'm submitting it for the 'scene prompt' – your character is caught in the act.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel and all related elements belong to Cameron Eglee Productions and FOX. No copyright infringement intended. All use of Dark Angel themes, etc., is purely for entertainment purposes. No money is being made from this work. None of it is mine; I just play with the characters and props because it's more fun that real life.
Summary: Getting caught has some unforeseen consequences for Alec.
SWEET ARMAGEDDON
He told himself it was because no one should suffer that fate, that everyone deserved a second chance. That it was because the man was a fellow soldier and shouldn't be relegated to a farm in Yahoosville with a man named Buck, shoveling hay off the back of a rusted pick-up truck.
It had nothing to do with the unexplainable pull, the magnetic charm, the strength and determination; the chiseled jaw and the bright blue eyes and the rippling muscles beneath the black, form-fitting tee. Nope, it was nothing at all to do with that.
It was simple courtesy and the respect due a fellow soldier of his rank.
Which was why he also told himself that the way Zack looked at Max didn't matter to him, disconcerting as it was.
He wondered if it was the programming that made Zack act...strange around her. He didn't strike Alec as the kind of guy who was looking for romantic entanglements or who was in touch with his feelings and looking to connect with someone on a deeper level. Alec really did have to wonder if someone at Manticore had screwed with Zack's head for kicks. After all, they were a bunch of sick bastards lacking any moral fibre and Alec wouldn't put it past them to try and turn a history of familial respect and affection into something sordid.
The guy had been through hell, from what Alec had heard, having picked up bits and pieces from Max and Logan, and even a few kernels of information from Original Cindy. Alec still didn't understand Max's willingness to let Zack continue to sacrifice himself over and over just so that she could continue to stick by Logan; because, surely, that was the only real reason she'd stayed.
It bugged him to think he had to be the one to convince her to keep Zack close and not pack him off at Logan's insistence - sorry, suggestion - and tuck her brother away in a corner of her mind for a rainy day. That should have been her first consideration; keeping the brother who'd always worried for her safety, safe. Alec wondered if it was a side effect of her adopted humanity and hoped that if it was, he would never fall prey to that particular human flaw.
It didn't surprise him that Zack's memory had begun to return already, or that Logan had been keeping his distance until they could be certain there would be no resurfacing of The Terminator and no reason to fear for the Ordinary's life.
He got the distinct feeling - something about the strange gleam in the blond man's eyes, the slight twitch in facial muscles whenever the cyberjournalist's name was mentioned - that while Zack still wanted Logan dead, it wasn't because of Manticore programming.
This gave him hope; for it meant that sooner or later Max would catch on and Logan would return, and Zack's obsession with Max would have to end.
Though the guy did seem to be insanely stubborn. Manticore must have bred that out of the remaining transgenics after the escape in '09, because Alec didn't know anyone as stubborn as Max and Zack and rumor had it that Tinga and Brin had been near impossible to break.
Alec never told Max that he'd met 599 before. Back in Manticore, before he'd been prepped for harvest, before Max had recovered from her heart transplant. She never knew that the heart she carried belonged to his twin and not Zack, as she'd been told, or just what Zack had gone through to protect the ones he loved.
That was what had gotten Alec's attention in the first place, and gained his respect shortly after. Renfro had taken a sick pleasure in torturing the blond transgenic, testing his defenses and resolve, slowly determining the worth of each organ in his body before harvesting them and replacing them with synthetics.
The blonde never begged, only glared, and he rarely whimpered, even when left alone in a cell long after the tortures had ended.
That kind of thing would make a man forget the traitor's status and begin seeing him as someone worthy of respect. And perhaps a bit of awe, as well; not that he'd share that tidbit with anyone.
Alec stared out the window, down at the street below. He watched the blond as he assessed the area, checking for potential dangers and planned emergency exit strategies like any good soldier would. He admired the man's vigilance and fastidiousness and he disagreed with Max's opinion of Zack's paranoia.
After all, the guy's thoroughness had kept him, and the other '09ers, safe for over a decade. Pretty impressive, all things considered.
Alec inhaled sharply when the blond down on the street kneeled to inspect something obscure, sunlight glinting off his hair - just so - and the fabric of his faded black jeans pulled tight across his posterior and thighs, outlining his form.
Zack's eyes swung up towards Alec's position, as if sensing the other man's presence, and Alec quickly flattened himself against the wall so as not to be seen. He didn't want to be caught out spying on the guy. He didn't want to come off as obsessive. He didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea...
But he couldn't help it. Something about the broad-shouldered soldier did strange things to Alec's stomach and he would never admit it aloud, but that wasn't the only part of him that was affected.
Zack moved purposefully. He was graceful, yet something about his movements was too precise, too calculated, and Alec couldn't help but think that it was because he was more machine than man. Hell, he had metal plating over half of his face and running beneath the surface. Cold and hard and unwavering. He would know, after all; Zack could have killed him single-handedly that day.
Alec shouldn't have found that arousing.
But for some odd reason, it turned him on.
Peeking around the window, Alec was relieved to see that the other man's attention had returned to whatever it was he had been doing before and Alec's borderline-stalking seemed to have gone unnoticed.
When Max exited the building opposite and approached Zack, Alec tensed. There it was again; that intense, hot, consuming look. The look Max didn't recognize and certainly didn't reciprocate. The look that sent burning sensations throughout Alec's gut. He was surprised, then, to see Zack's head whip to the side, Max retract her hand and stomp off, and Zack, cradling his cheek in his palm, eyes wide.
At that moment, Alec wanted to smack her. It was one thing to take her wrath out on him, but smacking Zack, unprovoked, even if she was a little miffed at being separated from Logan - something that was partly Zack's fault - was way out of line.
So Alec did the next best thing. He punched the wall, perhaps not his most brilliant plan, if the ragged, bleeding skin of his knuckles and the sting when he flexed his battered digits was any indication. But it made him feel better.
Kinda.
Alec wasn't prone to rash, emotional outbursts, and it rankled to know that it was another male that did it to him.
He could pretend all he wanted, but he knew; he knew he wasn't just watching the scrap-metal Manticore drone because he was a potential security threat or for entertainment purposes. Damn it all to hell, he was watching because he couldn't not watch.
Stepping back from the wall, Alec collapsed onto the stained mattress, groaning in time with the coils of the metal frame that sagged beneath his weary weight. He held his head in his hands, frustrated and unable to stop the thoughts rushing through his mind.
Why was this happening? Every time he closed his eyes these past few days, all he saw were sky-blue eyes peering out from under a golden veil, absentmindedly swept to the side by large, calloused hands. He couldn't seem to stop thinking about the strength of the limb that had held him in chokehold, raised three feet off the ground in an effortless motion. Steel hand or not, the man wielding the metal limb was powerful and it was apparent in the cording of muscle in his neck and shoulders and the contours running the length of his body.
Later, once the metal plating had been removed from his face and the skin returned to its original state, Alec stared. He knew they probably thought he was just being rude, but he couldn't help himself.
There, the way he knew it from their time shared in neighboring cells back in Psy-Ops, was the smooth, tanned skin he remembered. It had been strange to see the digitalized eye, but when it reverted to the brilliant shade that reminded Alec all through Psy-Ops of the summer sky, he'd been strangely relieved.
He hadn't thought much of it back then, preferring to just accept that he admired the recaptured '09er and that he'd tried to stay just as strong under pressure as his companion. He hadn't allowed himself to read into it.
But now, he couldn't stop. Whenever Zack looked his way Alec wondered if whatever insanity fueled his feelings for Max would end and if he might transfer those misdirected feelings to Alec, instead.
And that thought drove him crazy because he had never wanted to be with a man before. He certainly had never obsessed about anyone quite like this before.
The door crashed open with such force that the hinges rattled and the entire wall shuddered. Alec's face registered surprise when he saw the figure framed in the doorway.
"Why are you spying on me?"
Alec's mouth opened and closed and opened again before snapping shut. What could he say to that?
"I know it's not because you don't trust me."
Alec shook his head. No, it definitely wasn't because of that.
"At first I thought you were checking Max out, but now I don't think so. So tell me, why have you been watching me?"
Alec would normally have come up with some witty rejoinder or made a quip and brushed it all off. He couldn't quite fathom, therefore, why his brain and his tongue decided to cooperate and say the stupidest thing.
"You look good."
Smooth, Alec, real smooth.
The look on Zack's face bespoke bemusement and a hint of - was that unease? He hoped not. The blond quirked his lips briefly when he noted the slight pink stain to Alec's cheeks, but the moment passed and his features were once again impassive, if a little intense.
Not wanting to prolong Alec's agony or discomfort, Zack changed the subject.
"I owe you an apology."
"Don't sweat it, man," Alec said dismissively, thankful for the reprieve.
"Don't worry, it's not like I'm losing sleep at night," Zack returned with the hint of a smile, eyes crinkling at the corners.
Alec let out a short laugh but turned away quickly. Zack found his behavior odd, but in observing the younger man's body language, he pieced it together.
"I'm not good at this kind of thing, either," he rumbled in a low voice just behind Alec, his warm breath tickling the other man's ear.
Zack noticed the visible shiver and the fluttering of lashes, the almost imperceptible shudder that washed over Alec.
Alec spun around.
"What?"
Zack closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the breath out agonizingly slow and staring pointedly into Alec's eyes as he did so. He licked his lips and smiled.
"You smell good."
If he'd had any doubts before, they were certainly gone now. Alec stared wide-eyed.
"I thought you- I mean, Max- you- she- but-," he rambled, tripping over his own words, his mind working furiously to process this new information.
"We can thank Manticore for crossing the wires. I tried to explain that I never wanted to act on these feelings and she didn't take it too well. Max just reamed me out because of it."
Alec wasn't surprised that Max would blame Zack for something he couldn't control. It wouldn't be the first time. But he was still unclear on something.
"She didn't take what too well? I thought she'd be happy that your sibling bond hasn't crossed the line into incest."
Zack cracked a grin.
"Well, she brought up this moment we shared in Logan's family's cabin, back when I almost got her to leave Seattle and move to Canada. I made up some crap about wanting someone to care for. She didn't like it when I told her it was all an act."
Alec laughed. "You didn't!"
Zack nodded. "I did." This earned another peal of laughter from the younger transgenic.
"Anyway," the blond shrugged, "this thing with Max. The sister thing aside, she's not really my type."
Alec smirked. "You also dig blondes?"
Zack's eyes glinted. "Blonds, brunettes, doesn't matter."
"Too mouthy, then?" Alec continued, playing oblivious.
"Nah. That can be a bit of a turn-on in the right person."
"So what, not a breast man?"
Zack grinned. "Definitely not a breast man."
Boldly, Zack snaked an arm out and around Alec's waist, pulling his lean frame against his larger body, splaying his hand flat over Alec's stomach which trembled lightly on contact. "But I do like hard, flat abdominals."
Something in Alec snapped. His control, his sanity, and a consuming need bubbled forth from some hidden spring within. Whirling around, he crashed his own soft, full lips to Zack's slightly rougher ones, sucking his lower lip into his mouth and nipping with quick, sharp bites before moving on to the top one.
A low, needy moan escaped the blond and he stumbled beneath the onslaught, taking the pair a few steps backward and falling onto the old bed. Hands flew haphazardly, alternately caressing and grasping skin and body parts, exploring new territory together. Clothing was shed piece by piece.
The kiss consumed them both, lips fused, short panting breaths escaping at random intervals, tongues twining and sucking, caressing and reaching, as if to prove they were one entity.
The pair rolled until they were facing one another. Alec had only a moment to appreciate just how well their bodies fit each other, how comfortably his leg rested between Zack's taut thighs.
A hand slipped between the light fabric of his cargos and further, beneath soft silk and closed over steely, heated flesh.
Alec gasped, and went rigid. "Fuck."
Warm lips nibbled their way down the column of his throat while long fingers tightened around his cock, stroking steadily. He felt like he was on fire, stoked by the strong hand wrapped around him. Alec was having a hard time breathing. Never, in all his sexual experiences, had he felt so incredibly hot, so cold, so incensed and dizzy and short of breath. He felt utterly alive.
"Touch me," Zack shuddered into the crook of Alec's neck and rubbing his erection against the younger man's thigh. His jeans were unzipped and gaping slightly, but the denim restricted his movements and he longed - ached - to feel Alec, skin on skin.
"God, please touch me."
Alec's hands were shaking slightly, and he panted harder as Zack's strokes became surer, tugging long on Alec's now fully exposed cock, his boxers and pants having slid down his legs at some point.
He grasped the other man's jeans and pushed them down his hips just enough for his member to spring free of its confines. Alec took him firmly in hand, enjoying Zack's hissed groan of pleasure, released in a puff of hot air on his lover's sweat slicked neck, as he strained against Alec's palm, the blond tightening his own grip on Alec's cock and working the hard length rhythmically.
Alec pumped his fist over Zack's shaft, earning another moan from the larger transgenic and causing a wild bucking of the hips. Zack's teeth grazed the rim of Alec's ear, causing him to shudder. He, in turn, nibbled along Zack's jaw, sucking on the faintly stubbly skin in randomly placed wet, red patches.
Each exhalation of breath, every murmur and whisper, each grunt and moan to pass Alec's lips was a drug, a fan put to the embers in Zack's belly. It unnerved him somewhat; he'd never had an intense connection like this before. It had always been sex, sex, sex. Never had he wanted a coupling to be anything beyond a means to achieve sexual gratification. Yet Zack burned for something else, longed to touch Alec in a way he'd never before experienced, to be the one who would help him reach nirvana.
Frustrated and aching, Zack flipped Alec onto his back, pressing him firmly into the mattress. Squeezing Alec's sac with just enough pressure to draw confused eyes to meet his gaze, Zack rubbed his hardened nipples over his lover's chest and said in a voice heavy with lust,
"This isn't enough. I need more."
It was the only chance Alec would have to back out - he could see it in Zack's eyes. He was well aware that the other transgenic was holding himself back, teetering on the edge of control, his muscles tense and coiled, sweat beading on his hot skin, eyes shining with restrained desire.
Alec nodded slowly and raised his hips up, mashing his groin into Zack's, trapping his hand between their bodies.
But Zack didn't move, and confusion marred Alec's face.
"I need to hear you say it. Tell me that you want this. Want me."
Swallowing hard, Alec nodded again. "I want you."
He didn't have time to blink before Zack's lips descended upon his own once more, the need and the passion, the force driving their union like a fire in the blood racing to completion.
Releasing Alec's cock, Zack ran his finger across the seam of Alec's lips, wordlessly urging him to admit the digit into the hot, wet cavern of his mouth.
"Wet it for me," he demanded breathily.
Alec looked at him questioningly, wondering at the abrupt change in activity.
"No lube," he grunted when Alec's tongue swirled around his finger. He bucked his hips in response. Removing the finger from his mouth, Zack slipped his hand under Alec's ass and pressed the wetly coated digit against the younger man's rosebud. Alec clenched his butt cheeks at the invasion.
"Relax," Zack cooed, adding more saliva to the pucker-hole. "Bear down when I push in and then relax."
Wordlessly, Alec nodded and let out a shaky breath. As much as he wanted this, these feelings were new and somewhat frightening, if only because it was a completely new experience.
Zack pressed against his opening again and Alec stifled a gasp when Zack worked his finger inside. The sensation was odd, not comfortable but not quite uncomfortable. Cool wetness at the base heralded another finger and soon Alec found himself rocking back and forth against the intrusion.
Zack's other hand, not idle in the least, played with Alec's nipples, pinching lightly and then with more force when Alec moaned and arched upward. He smiled into Alec's neck, alternating between scissoring the fingers of his other hand and then holding them together and pistoning them in and out of his lover's anus in an imitation of the act he so longed to perform for real.
Alec must have gained some confidence, for he boldly lubricated his own finger and probed at Zack's ass, slipping into his hole easily and rubbing just within the rim. The stimulation was all Zack needed to push him over the edge, and with a loud growl and a harshly snapped reminder, "Bear down," flipped Alec onto his knees, resting on all fours. He spat furiously between the well-shaped cheeks directly in front of him, positioned his cock at the entrance and surged forward with one mighty push until he was buried balls-deep.
"Fuck!" Alec half-shouted, half-cried. The penetration was unexpected; he hadn't had enough time to gain his bearings before the larger transgenic had slammed into him. It hurt. Having Zack's cock up his ass fucking hurt! But there was also a sense of fullness, and he could feel the other man's penis throbbing and pulsing inside him.
The pain was slowly subsiding, dying to a dull ache that was quickly becoming pleasurable as Zack thrust gently, holding his hips for leverage. Alec felt his own cock bobbing, flying half-mast, and he felt the uncontrollable need to bring himself off, in time with the rhythmic pumping of Zack's hips, the push and pull of his cock, pressing just so, deep within him.
Zack noticed this, and reached up to grasp Alec's shoulder, pulling him forcefully, pushing his body to take his shaft deeper and harder, delighting in the low moans of pleasure and the shudders rocking his lover's body and rippling around his cock in a wave of delicious vibrations.
Alec pumped his erection more firmly, his breath coming faster and harsher, rocking in time with the movement of hips and pelvis behind him, ball sac slapping in a way that he never imagined would feel so erotic.
Alec stroked more hurriedly as he strived for completion and his eyes rolled back in his head when Zack's hand closed around his throat, restricting his airway and making him lightheaded. The combination of pressures, deprivation and pleasure had him seeing stars.
Alec was thankful for the strong grip of his lover, holding him in place when he climaxed, for he surely would have collapsed boneless otherwise. He came with a strangled cry, shaking uncontrollably which changed the angle of penetration slightly and drew an aggravated growl from Zack's lips. The blond withdrew without warning, eliciting a ragged cry from Alec, who felt suddenly empty and cold with the loss of contact. Zack reached around Alec's waist and gathered the fresh cum in hand and proceeded to smear it around his lover's reddened rosebud. With a great and mighty push, he sunk his cock deep into his lover's body.
Alec wasn't prepared for the sudden propulsion to his shoulder blades and found himself, face mashed into the rank old mattress, the coils straining through the warn material and into his chest and cheeks. But somehow, the abrasiveness didn't matter, the scratch of rough upholstery forgotten as Zack drove into him with the strength of ten men; a strength that would easily have crippled an ordinary human. Alec knew this, and he reveled in the knowledge that there couldn't have been many satisfactory experiences for the blond transgenic and that he could give the other man what he so needed.
The sensations, too, were enough to blow the mind. Zack's breath was coming faster now, his grip bruising, the force of movement and the speed of his pistoning hips, the wet, slapping of skin on skin filled Alec with a smug satisfaction.
"Fuck, yes!" Zack gasped, thrusting desperately, clutching Alec's hip in one hand, and grasping his shoulder tightly, pulling him hard over his questing cock and surging upward simultaneously. It was as if he sought to bury himself whole within Alec, to possess and be possessed.
When Zack suddenly went rigid, holding Alec's hips tightly, the younger man felt his lover come, felt the warm streams of his release, Zack's sexy grunts accompanying each short spurt as he shook with the effort until finally slumping forward across Alec's back.
With difficulty, Zack withdrew and rolled onto his back beside Alec. Crossing one arm over his forehead and the other over his stomach, Zack let out another ragged breath.
Alec turned gingerly and laid out next to Zack. His butt was sore and his body ached but overall he felt satisfied. But his partner didn't appear to share his feelings. His eyes were focused on the ceiling, unblinking, and his lips were drawn in a tight line.
Zack was also strangely quiet and Alec wondered if he regretted their actions.
"Maybe I should -,"
"I'm sorry," Zack interrupted.
Alec felt that cold hand of doubt curl around his heart. He didn't know if he wanted to hear Zack apologize for something Alec had wanted. He didn't want to know that feelings hadn't been mutual. After all, he had been the one to kiss Zack first. No-one likes to hear that their advances were unwelcome – after the fact.
Quickly rolling to the side and swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Alec sat up and reached for his scattered clothing.
A hand on his arm stilled his movements but he refused to turn and face the other man.
"Alec, I don't regret this," he clarified, the frustration in his voice drawing Alec's gaze to meet his own and the blond gestured between them, "Don't regret us."
Alec scowled. "Then what?"
"I went to fast. I didn't prepare you. I -," Zack's regret was genuine, and Alec found his concern endearing, though he would never admit as such out loud.
"Look, don't worry about it, okay? I enjoyed it. You enjoyed it. We're good."
The blond nodded, rising from the bed and gathering his clothes. Silently, the two dressed, not making eye contact, the air in the room still heavy with the awkwardness of a morning after between strangers.
The simultaneous buzzing and ringing of cell phones broke the uncomfortable silence and gave both men a reprieve.
"I'm gonna -," Alec said with a shrug after snapping his phone shut.
"Yeah."
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Their eyes met across the table, the noise, their friends' chatter and the pounding music faded away as they communicated wordlessly with one another.
A quick series of hand signals were exchanged and a pitcher of beer later, no one noticed the two empty seats or their former occupants sneaking away, the tall, broad-shouldered blond pressing the slimmer brunette up against the wall in a darkened alcove of the club.