Author's Notes: This is a short, 3rd person POV, fluffy, post-series, A/M ficcy. Big freaking surprise, I know, more like, been done a thousand times. But this one's got better plot then the others, so THERE! J/K. So be a sport and read it anyway, okay? And then you can rant or rave to me in e-mail. Isn't that so much better then just stopping right now? I mean you already went to the trouble of clicking the link and everything!
Story Notes: As is most common with my stories, this struck me late at night, half-asleep. Uncommonly, I saw the entire ficlet, in my head, in its entirety, written out. Every word and line planned. Then, I couldn't get around to writing it for weeks. And during that time, perhaps, it lost some of its power. Most likely, I'll look at it repeatedly and edit to try to capture its initial glory.
Summary: On a season two episode commentary, the note was made that obviously, drinking ages didn't much matter in a post-disaster country, since Max was only supposed to be 19-20 during the time of the show. But perhaps there is more meaning to societal laws than just arbitrary numbers, especially in a world where little is solid and dependable anymore.
Rated: PG-13
Thanks: H2O Lilly! Babe, haven't heard from you in a bit, but you're still my inspiration. I write in the aims of pleasing you. Plain and simple, my beta/feedback-goddess!
Feedback: Love it? Hate it? Go on, you'll be my best friend! See, all you have to do is click the little link!
Date Started/Finished: March 11th, 2005
By Delenn
It was crowded, loud. Rank with the smell of sweaty people and stale beer. Not the kind of place Alec would have expected her to frequent. Hell, it was a little much, even for him.
She was sitting at the bar, her back to Alec, tipping back a beer expertly and looking rather lost in thought. Nothing new for her, only a new locale.
Swinging onto the stool next to her, Alec cheerfully teased, "Where's the gang? I would have thought you'd be out partying with everyone else, not all alone in this…" he shrugged, gesturing helplessly around, "place…"
Not turning to acknowledge him, Max shrugged. "This is the first beer I'm supposed to have had."
Rolling his eyes, Alec couldn't help but laugh as this was probably the hundredth time he'd seen Max drink a beer. "What?"
A bitter half smile. Max pointed to an old, tattered, half torn sign dwarfed easily by the 'no biking on the counters' proclamation of a few months earlier. It read simply, 'Legal drinking age: 21. Prepare to be carded.'
Taking a moment to contemplate the absurdity of this sign, Alec finally shrugged it off as yet something else he didn't fully understand about Ordinaries. "So, what's it matter?"
Offering a small laugh at some unshared joke, Max swiveled on her chair to face Alec. "No, it doesn't much matter, does it." She was silent for a moment, motioning to the bartender (who certainly didn't care about ages) for two more beers. Finally, quietly, she shrugged, "I'm twenty-one today."
Alec was nearly floored. Clearly, he was trying to think of the appropriate response, but it seemed to be eluding him. "So, why aren't you out with Original Cindy?" He wanted to ask how she knew.
Max again offered a half shrug; she seemed to be in an oddly calm mood tonight. "They don't know." Alec offered her an incredulous look. "I mean, it's not really my birthday. Just, everybody gets so excited about theirs, so I thought, I'm going to pick a day, and I did."
Now it was Alec who was silent. Suddenly, Max felt stupid. Here she was, sitting in a bar all alone, trying to make something out of a law nobody followed on a day that wasn't even hers to celebrate. Or at least, the odds were 365 to 1 that it wasn't hers. "It's kind of stupid, I guess. I didn't even celebrate it last year… what with-" she stopped.
A sympathetic wince accompanied that; Alec well remembered where they'd been this time last year. Yet, after a moment, a grin spread over his face. A grin that just screamed 'trouble.' Max regarded his suddenly hyper attitude with concern. Finally, he winked at her, taking the offered beer and drinking some. "Well, guess I get to pick my birthday too."
He seemed to be giving the matter a good deal of consideration, so Max took another sip of her beer while he thought. After a few seconds, Alec declared, "How about April Fools?" Max almost spit out her drink. "Nah, who wants to be more of a joke?"
Turning to Max sheepishly, Alec shrugged; obviously completely unaware that he'd echoed Max's almost exact thoughts on the idea. Max rolled her eyes, cuffing him lightly on the back of the head, "Brilliant observation there, Alec."
Unconcerned, Alec ignored the less than par insult. "Well, if you just randomly decided on today, then I think I'll do the same. We can share the drinks."
Astonished, Max shook her head, "Alec, we can't have the same birthday!"
"Why not," he gave her the best puppy-dog eyes (second only to Joshua), making her wonder if perhaps he'd gotten a little bit of dog in his genetic cocktail.
"Because," Max struggled with her exact objection, "won't it be weird?"
Shaking his head determinedly, Alec denied her excuse, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling Max closer to him in a good-natured hug. "Nah, it'll be fun. You can't hog all the seedy bars to yourself."
Laughing, Max stayed under Alec's arm a moment before ducking out of the embrace, regaining her balance on her stool. Catching the mischief in Alec's eyes, she nodded. "Why the hell not," shrugged, eyes sparkling in amusement that she was sure would last for years to come. "Happy birthday to us."
Agreeing easily, Alec gave a mock salute. "Twenty-one it is." Then he pulled Max up and onto the packed dance floor, laughing in the dark that they were going to have a real celebration for once.