There are days she can forget.
Today is not one of those days, not with Alec's smirking face swimming in and out of her vision. It says I've a secret - don't you hope I won't tell? and unsettles her.
The things she's been actively not-remembering spring up hot and ugly in Terminal City. Before, among all the Ordinaries, as Mole calls them, she'd blended into the crowd with only a few hiccups. And with Logan to focus on, she'd been able to forget the nights she'd spent in her cell with Alec, back at Manticore.
Frustrated with the slow progress of her escape, dealing with the first rumblings of her heat, Max had taken advantage of the warm, willing body stuck with her for hours at a time.
Against the wall, the door, in the bed, on the floor - no surface on that cell remained unsullied. She learned every inch of him, and none of it was gentle. He was angry too, he took it out on her. He bit and bruised and made her scream and she knew he needed it just as much as she did.
Once she'd escaped, she'd seen a doctor and made sure nothing came of it before pushing the matter out of her head. When they'd met up at Jam Pony, she hadn't mentioned it, and neither had he.
Now, however, he was very obviously thinking about it - he sent looks her way that filled her with fire before she remembered it was Alec and he annoyed the ever-living fuck out of her. He'd watch her from across the room, his hands would be busy, cleaning guns, sorting provisions, but his eyes remained on her. His game with her went on for weeks before she snapped and demanded what the hell he thought he was doing.
"Maxxie, relax!" he said, voice filled with surprise. She could tell it was fake. "I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't been doing anything. While, besides keeping us able to eat - and for that I say, no charge."
"Don't be a smartass!" Max snapped back. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."
A long moment passed. Alec's grin dropped and he stepped closer. Max became acutely aware that they were alone in her makeshift office and her desk was directly behind her. Another step and he'd have her fenced. "Stop acting like I'm dirt on your boot." he said lowly, voice edged with anger. "Good enough in Manticore, but scum out here, right?"
"Alec, I didn't mean -"
"You forget," he interrupted. "I know what you sound like when you're begging for it. You should be a little nicer to me."
He pulled back and stalked away, slamming the door behind him. Max let out a long breath, feeling winded. She stayed in her office, silent, for nearly an hour before Mole barged in demanding a fresh supply of cigars. "Cuban." he insisted as she tried to ignore him. "Cuban."
The days after their confrontation passed uneasily. Alec seemed unwilling to make up, and kept his stares stony and his silences cold. Max tried to talk to him, but at best she got one word answers. It didn't help that all of Terminal City thought they were the best team to send out for the heavy stuff, like ammunition or gas.
"I don't understand why you wouldn't let me drive." Max said grumpily as Alec lurched the van over another curb.
"Because your flair for dramatically jumping over obstacles will eventually get us killed. I'm hoping for later rather than sooner." Alec replied, refusing to look at her.
Max sighed but didn't reply. Their cargo shuddered as Alec took another turn too quickly. "Could you not?" Max snapped. "We crash, we die. That shit is flammable."
"Yeah, gas go boom. I get it."
"Well slow the hell down then!"
"Don't be an idiot!" Alec shot out, suddenly harsh. The casual edge to their banter disappeared. "It's nearly dawn, if we're not back in the city within an hour, we'll have to hide out for the day. Despite what you may think, I'm not really interested in hanging out with you."
Max stared at him, angry and indignant. "Me? You don't want to hang out with me? How do you think I feel?"
Alec slammed his foot against the brakes, sending Max into the dashboard. "What the fuck, Alec?" she cried, hand going to her forehead, which was sure to bruise later.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about, you uppity bitch." he turned to look at her, shoulders set with anger. "Acting like it'd be a chore to even breathe my air. News flash: you're not the funnest person for me to be around."
"Jesus, Alec, you give as good as you get."
"Yeah, but -"
"No! I'm serious! I'm done feeling bad." Max ripped away the seat belt, hand going to the door latch. "Last couple days, I've been tiptoeing all around your PMS, or whatever this is, feeling bad that I hurt your feelings - but now I remember why you piss me off! You're a fucking asshole!"
She left the van, heading for the nearest warehouse. She needed to get up to the roof, she could make her own way back to Terminal City.
"Max!" Alec was out now too. "Max, get in the damn van!"
She ignored him, reaching to pull down the fire escape ladder.
"Max, I'm serious. We've got to get this shit back to the city." he sounded irritated, and Max hoped she was throwing a wrench in his plans. "Max, come on! Just get in the van and we'll go home."
She was halfway up the ladder when a hand on her ankle yanked her down. She grunted, hanging tight to the rung above her. Another tug and she let go with a yelp. She fell to the ground, landing gracelessly. "Would you just leave me alone?" she demanded. "Just take the cargo and go back." She stood, dusting off her pants. Alec lay on the ground, groaning from the pain of the landing. He looked at her balefully.
"What do you think is gonna happen to me, I roll back into the city without you? Josh'll eat me alive for leaving you behind."
"I can take care of myself."
"Yeah, well, he's not known for his logistics -"
A rumble interrupted him and they turned, stunned as the van drove away. "You left the keys in?" Max cried, running a few yards after it. "Alec, that was three weeks worth of fuel." she spun to glare at him. He climbed to his feet, a scowl set to his mouth.
"This wouldn't have happened if you'd stayed in the van!" he accused. "This is on you as much as it is me!"
Max frowned, not wanting to concede but guilt filling her. Hard earned money had been wasted because of her temper. "We've got to get it back." she decided. She set off after the van at a light jog. Alec stared at her for a moment before moving to catch up.
"We don't have any weapons." he pointed out. "We don't know where they're headed, and we'll never catch up to the van itself. How're you planning on getting it back?"
"You know as well as I do that thins is the E-Street gang's turf. Any profits made have to be approved. The thieves will head to their base before taking off for good." She took a sudden turn, and Alec nearly tripped trying to keep up. She was running harder now, but neither of them were out of breath yet. "We've just got to get there first. Intercept them."
Alec threw a glance up at the sky. The first light of dawn was showing, a pink hue against the dark. He let out a frustrated noise. "And after?" he demanded. "By then we'll be on lock down. We can't take the van into the city by day, so we'll have to hide. Where will we go?"
"Back of the van, moron."
Alec didn't reply, just let her lead the way as they ran through the back alleys of the district. It took another twenty minutes before Max spoke again. "Up there. Look."
Their van sat outside an old home with six or seven men on its porch. No one was guarding the van, but it was too much to hope that they'd been as foolish as Alec and left the keys in.
Max slowed, getting low to the ground and using another car as cover. "You get any better at hot wiring?" she whispered. Alec shook his head. "Alright. You go around the left, I'll head for the middle." He nodded, taking off. It was a minute or so before he appeared on the porch, hands spread out in apparent innocence. Another minute passed before the first punch was thrown, and then Max was running, throwing herself into the fight.
The part she kept hidden, the part that loved this, that was what she could show around Alec. They were built for this, the hunt and the capture. They were built to be better, and the low-level thugs didn't have a chance. Max was breathing heavily once they'd gotten the keys back, but she had a grin on her face and a certain mischief in her eyes. Alec looked the same, and as they raced back to the van, Max could feel the first cracks in the wall between them.
Alec pulled into the underground garage with a sigh, settling into a parking spot on the lowest level. "We won't be bothered here." he assured. "I've hidden out here before, it's not patrolled on weekdays."
Max nodded, settling back into her seat. If they were going to be there all day, she might as well get some sleep. "Take first watch, will ya?"
"Yeah, sure." Alec said, voice quiet and contemplative. Max cracked an eye and looked at him. He was resolutely not looking back, his hands curling over the steering wheel. Max opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it. She let herself fall asleep.