Title: Aromas
Author: Dark Roswellian Angel
Elizabeth McDowell
Disclaimer: Still don't. Still depressed. Still asking?
Copying/Downloading/Posting: Please let me know first, and let me know where my work will be posted as I would love to come visit it. Make sure that it is put under my name, as I would love to hear how others feel about it. Thanks ;)
Rating: K+, just in case
Synopsis: Something is up with Alec- he's not acting like his normal self. What (or who) is the cause? What is he going to do about it?
A/N: Still prepping for more work on The End of a Savior Complex, so let me know whether you think I'm ready.
When Alec took his first few steps into Crash, he noticed something. Taking a second to steady himself, he was taken aback as an almost overpowering odor slammed his genetically enhanced senses into high alert. Continuing his descent into the bar, the rich musky scent overwhelmed him causing his legs to buckle and he lost his balance. As he plummeted down the last three steps, he would have wound up sprawled out in a most ungraceful pose if his transgenic skills hadn't saved him at the very last second. But by the time he was able to right himself, he was no longer thinking coherently.
He followed the aroma through the bar, barely concealing his feline qualities as he literally sniffed the air around people searching for its source, though if he had been capable of thinking logically he would have been able to guess. Finally, he reached the bar. This was where the perfume was the strongest, causing him to nearly groan out loud. As the bartender approached him, he was startled when the normally cool and calm Alec reached across the bar and grabbed him by the throat. "Where is she?" he growled.
A surprised and rather frightened man responded, "Who? Who are you talking about, buddy?"
Alec's eyes shortened into angry slits, "What do you mean 'Who'?" His voice lowered another octave.
"You come and go with dozens of chicks, man. How am I supposed to know whi- (the hand on his throat suddenly tightened making it very hard for him to breathe let alone use his vocal cords) –ch one," he barely got out before feeling his air passageway completely cut off.
"The only one who matters."
The guy raised his eyebrows in a sign of a continued lack of understanding. As he prayed for Alec to explain before he lost consciousness, he dizzily wondered what color he was now and if anyone was going to come to his rescue. He looked around the bar and saw several pairs of concerned eyes but none that looked like they had the courage to face the angry bear that was currently mauling him.
Finally Alec willed himself to calm down enough to take pity on the guy and explain a little, "Max. Max is the one I'm looking for."
As understanding lit his eyes, the bartender gestured at Alec's hands that were still holding his throat tightly. As soon as Alec loosened his grip just enough to allow some air to enter him, he gulped it in greedily. But when he felt Alec's hand tightening again, he realized that the young man thought he'd waited long enough. "She… she left. With him," he hoped this wouldn't lead to a recurring lack of oxygen.
"Him… him, who?"
Alec's eyes became even smaller slits and the guy recognized the threat in his voice. Even knowing that the threat wasn't against him, the dangerous glint in the usually placid young face made him try to move away. He was immediately stopped when Alec's other hand reached around his head and pulled it towards him.
"Don't make me ask again. I'm not in the mood for repeats."
"Rafer." As he said the name, he hoped he wasn't signing the other man's death sentence. He had no idea what was going on or what could be happening that was enough to make someone so easygoing become so dangerous, but he had absolutely no desire to be caught in the line of Alec's fire. "Max left with Rafer."
As Alec's upper lip actually curled back into a snarl, he pushed the bartender away from him. "Thanks." Without another word, he half stalked, half bounded out of the underground establishment.