Disclaimer. Tragically Dark Angel and its characters do not belong to me.

This story is dedicated to the author formerly known as D***d***** who suggested the plot to me.

Alec McDowell waited happily if with his normal impatience in the queue for his twice weekly bath. Water was being strictly rationed in week four of the siege of Terminal City and three people had to share the same bath water. Fortunately Alec was getting to go first today, and he was looking forward to shaving as well.

An X5 named Syl pouted at him enticingly. He smiled back politely, he knew she was one of Max's fellow 09 escapees and as such he felt a residual dislike of her. Her clone hadn't survived the re-indoctrination process and had been a bitch anyway.

Syl went up to him and started flirting outrageously. Alec looked at her startled as he clicked into what she was coming onto him for.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but are you about to prostitute yourself to me for first dibs on a bath?" he smirked in delight.

"Well yeah," Syl chuckled huskily. "I'd normally kill for a bath but I figure that's just a tiny bit antisocial just now."

"Works for me," said Alec letting her in the line, ignoring the filthy looks the others behind him gave them.

Syl and Alec entered the bath house and began stripping off their clothes.

"I suppose you don't kiss?" Alec said to her pulling her close.

"Fellow X5 I'll make an exception." Syl replied pulling his head down to hers.

Alec began to copulate with her swiftly holding her legs round his waist and trying to keep them both off the floor and out of the bath water. Alec was holding his clothes against Syl's back keeping them off the filthy floor and wet bench. He should have brought a plastic bag but he just hadn't been expecting his first screw in eight weeks. 494 was also conscious of the time factor. He had a meeting with Max and Mole in fifteen minutes and the queue for the bath had taken ages. Alec wondered what the etiquette was here, should he bother to make sure Syl came as well? Nah the hell with it, he really needed to make that meeting.

He let himself go focusing on the point of release increasing the speed of his thrusts resting the small blonde transgenic's behind on the makeshift bathtub. To his and Syl's mutual astonishment this fast in and out penetration seemed to trigger something in Syl and she started to scream nosily.

People started to bang on the wall outside yelling things like. "Have a frickin bath! Go for it, 494! My god, that is disgusting!"

"Oh my god! I'm going to come, just give me two minutes, 494." Syl gasped desperately burying her head on his chest.

Now unfortunately for himself Alec was one of nature's natural gentlemen. In spite of Manticore's best efforts Alec had a weakness for the fairer sex. He didn't want to strangle or garrotte females he wanted to take them out for dinner and have them go down on him in gratitude afterwards. Alec loved making women climax and he had had never screwed with a fellow transgenic before so he had a lot of factors working against him at that moment.

"Oh god! Oh god!" wept Syl in ecstasy. She clenched around him and raked her nails down his back as her whole body shook with orgasm.

Alec was shocked to find himself growling like an animal , he bit Syl's shoulder and thrust into her so hard as he ejaculated that they both fell into the bath with a loud splash, still holding onto their clothes.

Alec quickly got off Syl and she raised herself up out of the water coughing.

"Please excuse me." He said apologetically to her falling back on his normal good manners, not the street patois he put on with Max. "I'm afraid I've got both our clothes wet."

"Oh that's okay, G." Syl replied cheerfully, wringing out her wet jeans into the bath tub. "It couldn't be helped."

Alec wondered why Max couldn't be reasonable like Syl; he had obviously been hanging out with the wrong 09 escapee for the past year.

Alec grabbed his shaving kit and started to shave. Syl lay back soaking in the warm water smiling. Alec couldn't believe the female valued a hot bath over sex. It was amazing the head jobs Manticore had pulled on every one.

Alec got out of the tub quickly and wrung out his clothes, it was no use they were sopping. He'd have to run back to his apartment and get dry clothes. At least his blue towel was dry.

Alec wrapped his blue towel round his waist and strode out nonchalantly of the bath house.

Catcalls and wolf whistles met his appearance and oh shit a glaring Max.

Max stood with her arms folded and her foot tapping. "Ready for our meeting?" she snapped at him.

"Well obviously not, 452." Alec shot back tersely. "But my understanding is that meeting is in six minutes at the control room, not here outside the bath house."

"I was going to walk with you to the meeting." Max told him looking hurt .Why the hell was Max hurt? "But I could see you're too occupied getting busy with my sister."

"Huh?" Alec said puzzled. "Look I'll see you at the control room okay? I need to go to my apartment and change."

"There's no time." Max said irritated. "Not even if you blur, you'll just have to dry out your clothes in the control room."

"Fine Maxie I'm sure the usual arguments about stretching our non existent rations even further wouldn't cope with me being five minutes late." Alec replied annoyed at her.

They walked in silence back to the control room.

Once inside Mole greeted Alec with a raised eyebrow. "Californian Surfer look in vogue with X5s this summer?" the lizard man inquired archly.

Alec put his arms over his head and grinned confidently, leaning back in a chair. "Blame 452, she wouldn't let me change."

"You two love birds make me sick." Mole laughed good naturedly.

Oopsie! Alec immediately realised the reason for the hurt look on Max's face. Max had that ridiculous pretence going they were a couple to stop Cale crushing on her. Oh great, as far as most of Terminal City was concerned he had just cheated on their saintly leader with her unit mate in a bath house.

Alec went through the rest of the meeting with part of his grey matter solely devoted to getting into Max's good books again.

Max and Mole argued over the finer points of calorie requirements for X8s and Alec nodded uncaringly.

At last the meeting was over and he could get Max alone. Alec dragged her into a side room prepared to grovel.

"Max, I'm really sorry huh?" he began, trying to melt the ice in her frosty glare.

"I don't believe that for an instant, Alec." Max turned pink. "I heard you growling for god's sake."

"Yeah that took me by surprise too. It was very sudden, Max, and I..."Alec was interrupted by Logan barging in through the door.

"Hey bud." Alec smirked. "Don't you ever knock?"

Logan Cale took a swinging punch at him that Alec ducked effortlessly. Max darted forward and then stood back frustrated, unable to touch the man she loved due to the damn virus Manticore had cooked up.

Alec held Cale back with one arm, clutching his blue towel firmly with the other. "Whoa there, pal, what's the problem?"

"You, you sociopath." Logan shook in fury.

"That hurts, Logan." Alec said insincerely. "Are you referring to my environmental friendliness in the bath house this morning?"

"How you could cheat on her." Logan spat disgusted. "She is so above you in every way."

"It's okay, Logan." Max said firmly. "It's not what you think. You see the thing is with me and Alec, the truth is…"

Thank god thought Alec she's going to tell him the truth, this ridiculous charade can be over.

"We have an open relationship …it's an X5 thing." Max finished lamely. "I'm okay with it." She said defiantly at Logan's revolted look.

Alec rolled his eyes at her over Logan's head. For the love of god!

"I can't believe what he's reduced you to, Max." said Logan brokenly and fled out the door.

"Charming" Alec commented unwisely.

"Just shut up!" yelled Max. "That was your entire fault. You couldn't keep it in your pants could you? My god, Syl just arrived last night."

"Well what's it to you, little girl?" Alec screamed right back in her face "Because according to you we have an open relationship. And yeah, I know the chorus, you hate me."

Alec stormed out of the room furious at himself for not knowing why he was furious and narrowed his eyes at everyone in the control room pretending to suddenly be busy and not like they'd been eavesdropping on his and Max's fight.

Alec grabbed his damp clothes from a chair and stalked off to his apartment to change.

Alec was extremely surprised to see Joshua in his apartment. His apartment was completely trashed over and Joshua was tidying it up.

"What the hell happened here?" he asked his friend.

Joshua looked up apologetically from his dust pan and broom. "X7s and their pet gossamer. Unfortunate accident."

"Why couldn't they be normal eleven year olds with labradors?" Alec asked not really expecting an answer. He spotted something terrible "Oh frickin' shit!"

"Unfortunate." Joshua repeated looking sadly at Alec's clothes covered with Gossamer spit.

"If it's not bad enough my favourite jacket got a bullet hole in it, now it's covered in monster hoik." Alec commented angrily.

"The X7s are coming back to wash your clothes." Joshua appeased.

"Great." said Alec. "Why were they in my room anyway?"

"People put them up to it. People angry at you getting busy with Syl when you're with Max" Joshua explained.

"I'm not with Max!" Alec sighed. "If I was really with her I never would have done that. I don't think."

"Joshua knows you're not with Max but Max even she forgets sometimes you're not with her." Joshua said cryptically.

Alec sat down on the floor and kept his blue towel carefully around him. He put his head back against the wall and clenched his jaw with frustration. Why whenever he was getting on well with Max did something happen to screw it up?

He hung his ungobbed on clothes out the window to dry and started to help Joshua clean up his room.

Suddenly a young man who looked like a male version of Max burst into the room without knocking.

The stranger was the second of the male of the day to attack him, but unfortunately this guy being a transgenic he was able to sock Alec on the jaw successfully.

Joshua growled and flung the intruder off Alec. Unfortunately Joshua flung the male against the wall with the window so hard Alec's drying clothes fell into the street two floors below.

Alec instantly recognised the angry male as one of the 09 escapees, he had been friendly with the guy's clone in Manticore. This guy must be Krit.

"Good afternoon to you too, bud." Alec said lightly. "What can I do you for?"

"Stay away from my sister! Syl's mine." Krit snarled with fury struggling against Joshua's pinning grip.

"Right, and I had to spend six months in psyops." Alec blinked startled rubbing his swelling jaw. "I'm sorry pal, I didn't notice property of a madman tattooed underneath Syl's barcode when she screwed me to enable her to get a bath this morning."

Joshua threw Krit out of Alec's room and Alec went down to retrieve his clothes from the street below. His clothes were now covered in mud so Alec handed them to the X7s who had come to wash his gossamer phlegm covered wardrobe.

Alec went to the set up mess hall to get a late lunch and ran into Max.

"Are you still in that towel?" Max sniffed disapprovingly.

"I'm starting a trend." Alec smiled tightly, slopping his ration in a bowl. "Please keep me company as we dine on this fine cuisine."

Max sat down with him and forced the unappetising gruel down her throat. "You're such an ass." She hissed.

"This mess including the fact I have nothing to wear now but this towel is all your freakin' fault, Maxie." Alec said pleasantly "You and your stupid lies."

"I was protecting Logan." Max reinformed him.

"Just spare me the drill. What have I ever got out of this stupid set up?" Alec asked her.

"You get off knowing everyone thinks you're getting jiggy with me." Max retorted. "And you know it."

"I'd get off so much better if you actually were, Max." Alec told her bluntly.

"Gross," Max scowled offended. "I knew you've always wanted me."

"Yeah I have and I'm sick of this pretending, either you let me bang you for real or I'm telling Logan." Alec said scraping the last of the ration out of his bowl.

"I can't believe I'm being sexually blackmailed by someone wearing a blue towel in a mess hall." Max hit her forehead on the makeshift table in despair..

"Life's full of little surprises." Alec told her cruelly. "Now if you'll excuse me, 452, I have some clothes drying to supervise."

He got up and walked off coolly his superior hearing allowing him to duck in time as Max threw her metal lunch bowl at his head.

Alec successfully stayed out of sight in his apartment and spent the rest of the evening cleaning it.

A knock on his door sounded late in the evening. He opened it still in his blue towel and saw Max with burning cheeks standing outside his thresh hold.

"Told Logan?" Alec asked her.

"No." said Max crossly. She pulled off her tank top. "So go ahead, you prick, take me."

"Take off all your clothes first." Alec demanded.

Max glared at him and stripped off in silence. Alec admired the way she was able to keep perfect balance even while taking her boots and socks off standing on tiptoe so as not to get her socks dirty on his mud covered floor..

"Well that's a mighty fine sight, Max." Alec said slowly looking her up and down. "But I'm not going to have sex with you tonight."

Max went to slap him but Alec blocked her in time. He pulled her close and smiled at her angelically. "I can wait till bath night this Friday. That gives you three more nights to get it together and tell Logan the truth about our non-relationship." He kissed her lightly on the forehead.

Max shook with rage. "You complete freak."

"That's me, sweetheart." Alec released her. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Max."

Max pulled on her clothes and left in silence that was far more scary than if she had said something.

Alec sat down on the floor and started to chuckle manically to himself so this was what happened when he wasn't given access to television.