Disclaimer: Dark Angel still does not belong to me, and unfortunately, it never will.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! It helped motivate me to finish this short little fic. Yep, this is the last chapter, folks. Once again, thanks, and know that any reviews would be appreciated. Happy Holidays!
Chapter 2
A peaceful Saturday had come and gone without anything momentous happening at Terminal City. Now it was Sunday, Christmas Eve, and Max was on her guard more than ever.
An ordinary person may have forgotten the strange look that Alec had on his face just a couple of days ago, as well as his cryptic little speech, but unfortunately for the cocky transgenic, Max was no ordinary person. The fact that he hadn't caused any trouble yet was only making Max more worried about what he would do next.
She sat at her desk once more, on-edge and annoyed at the crude decorations being put up around various parts of Terminal City, trying to assess how much food they would need to buy or steal to survive the next winter under siege. She looked up suddenly from her work as her delicate transgenic sense of smell picked up some male disturbance at her doorway. Her lips twisted into a slight grimace. Alec…
"Max! C'mon, get your coat!"
Max looked at Alec worriedly. What could be so urgent that he would need to take her away from her work immediately? Then she noticed his face and regained some of her previous annoyance. He looked anything but alarmed. Alec's face was lit up like a Christmas tree, actually. He looked excited, and a trace of pride showed on his features. Max almost snorted at the thought. Like that's a shock. Alec has to be the proudest person I know.
Alec helped himself to her closet as he rustled through it to grab her coat for her since she wasn't making a move to do so herself. He found the coat and wrapped it around her shoulders hurriedly, crossed over to the door, opened it, and turned around to face her again expectantly, all the while with that excited little boyish look on his face. "C'mon, Max!" he repeated eagerly.
"Alec, just what the hell are you doing? Where are we going?" Max swore silently as she realized that she had given in to him without thought. But she was somewhat curious. Really, what was so urgent to Alec?
Alec simply grinned that irritating smirk of his. "Don't worry, Maxie. You'll see soon enough!"
And with that, he grabbed a startled Max's hand into his and tugged her along the hallways of HQ to the door.
One whole minute of brisk walking through the cold landscape lightly dusted with the remains of an overnight snow passed with virtually no sound except for Alec's steady breathing before Max could no longer take it. She knew she must have looked ridiculous, the leader of the whole city being led along through the snow at a near jog. "Alec! Where are you taking me?!"
"It's a secret!"
"If you wanna keep your ability to breathe, you're gonna tell me right now!" Much to Max's increasing annoyance, he just chuckled at her. "Alec!"
"Max!"
"Alec! I mean it! You've practically kidnapped me here! I have a right to know what you're planning in that sick little head of yours!"
"Aw, c'mon, Max. Don't be such a Scrooge. If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore," he said with a grin aimed at the path ahead.
Max growled, feeling about ready to kill him, when he turned his head to speak over his shoulder at her. "Besides, we're here now!" Having said that, Alec stopped abruptly, forcing Max to either stop short or collide with him. Alec released her hand and jogged forward.
In front of them was a rusted-over truck commonly used by Alec and the other X5s as a transport for large bundles and furniture throughout TC. Instead of a truck bed piled with chairs, blankets, firewood and food, though, the truck held lots of little bare Christmas trees and all the trimmings waiting to be used on them all.
Max frowned at the sight. What is he playing at? I just told him all about how I can't stand all the stupid hypocrisy of Christmas, right down to the friggin' tree! Now he's giving me a whole forest of them!
"What the hell is all this?"
"This, Max, is a whole bunch of Christmas trees."
"Yeah. I got that, thanks. What are they doing occupying valuable space in my city's shipping truck?"
Alec faked a look of surprised confusion. "Why, Maxie, I thought you'd be able to tell! We're making a delivery." He smirked at her, knowing how much he was annoying her by being so vague.
Max gave him a pointed look to elaborate. Alec's only response was to open the passenger side door of the truck and say, "Hop in! We've got four places to hit!"
Max gaped at Alec. "What do you mean, four places? Damnit, Alec! This is starting to piss me off!"
Alec pouted. "Max, that's no way to be on Christmas Eve. What will the kids say?"
"What kids? What, have you volunteered me to be one of Santa's little elves this year?"
Alec tilted his head from side to side, weighing his answer. "Uhm…. Yeah, somethin' like that. C'mon! Time's a-wastin'!" He jumped into the driver's seat and turned on the engine, passenger door still open, looking at her with twinkling eyes.
"Trust me. If you help me with this, you won't regret it. In fact, I'll make it worth your while afterwards. I promise," he said with a wiggle to his brows. Max rolled her eyes and jumped into the passenger seat. Alec's smile widened as he stepped on the gas pedal.
"OK, now what?" Max asked impatiently once they arrived at their first stop.
Alec turned in his seat to face her and regarded her seriously. "Well, we're gonna go in there and give a group of kids a tree to play around with."
Max gave him a flat look. "And we're doing this because…?"
"Because they see the rest of the world that they're trying to join celebrating and making everything pretty and new, and they want to have some part of that, too. Surely you of all people could understand the desire to fit in, right?"
Max glared at him in response.
"I think you're gonna need to put on a happier face to greet the kids, Max." She kept the glare pointed at him, "Besides, you look a lot prettier when you smile. I mean, you're still hot 'n' all when you're glaring, or pretty much doing anything, but it helps a ton to look happy." Max smacked him upside the head. "Ow! See, that was not happy, and it wasn't very attractive."
"Oh, on the contrary, I was very happy once I did it. It was pretty satisfying, if you ask me."
Alec frowned. "Well. OK, then. Let's go give those kids a Christmas." He hopped out of the truck and started unloading a tree and a box of decorations. Max wasn't budging, so he opened her door with one hand while toting the heavy box of decorations with the other, mock-bowing with a flourish to her like a footman. She sighed at the dramatic gesture and got out of the truck.
They got to the door of an apartment housing a group of X6s who lived together and rang the bell. One tall, skinny blonde girl opened the door, and her whole face lit up when she saw who was there. Without even saying anything in greeting, she backed up and yelled loudly, "Guys! Come quick! Look what Max and Alec brought for us!"
Instantly, the rest of the group came to the door and gaped at the tree and the box of trimmings. As a group, their eyes were wide as saucers.
Alec spoke over the excited babbling. "Hey, fellas! Merry Christmas! Well, technically, Christmas is tomorrow, but that's all the more reason for you guys to have the appropriate digs, right?" He beamed at them. "OK, so where do ya want this thing?"
They found a good spot in front of a large window that would show the rest of TC their creation once it was finished. Alec set up the tree in a nice, firm pot and proceeded to show them how the lights should be placed on it. The kids set to work and pulled out curious silvery strips of a light-weight material that Max recognized as tinsel. "What's this stuff? It looks weird…"
"But pretty! Look at how the light bounces off of it!"
Alec interjected, "It's called tinsel, and yeah, it is pretty, isn't it? It goes on the tree like this," he said as he laid some gingerly on one of the front branches.
Max was still grouchy and tried not to smile at the happiness of the children at something as simple as a Christmas tree. As Alec tried to demonstrate how to separate the silvery stuff, Max stood with her arms folded across her chest. What's so great about decorating a tree with stuff you never see in nature? It's so fake! I just don't get it…
"Sir? Why do people put this shiny stuff on a tree anyways? Why do Ordinary people celebrate Christmas with a tree?" one of the kids asked, echoing Max's thoughts perfectly.
Alec smiled at the little X6 boy. "Listen, kid. I'm no Ordinary person, and I'm not gonna pretend to know why they do stuff. But I know why I do stuff, and I like decorating trees and giving gifts an' all that because it gives me a reason to spend time with the people I care about." He stood up and put his arm around Max's shoulder and turned his smile to her. "Right, Maxie?"
The kids beamed at the pair adoringly. Max had the feeling that he was talking to her, no matter who he may have been looking at. She had no choice but to leave his arm around her shoulders and smile thinly back at the kids watching them. "Yep…. That's right," she managed to get out.
After a good half hour, they left the kids to finish by themselves. As they drove off, Max saw the blonde girl who answered the door through the window. She picked up some of the tinsel and threw it at the little boy. Suddenly the whole window seemed to be full of flying tinsel and laughing kids as they used their powers of speed and agility to have an extreme tinsel fight.
Max smiled in spite of herself. She couldn't deny that it was wonderful to give the transgenics a reason to celebrate something. Alec was right, in a way. They didn't have to become normal, because as Max herself had had to learn the hard way, they simply weren't normal and never would be. But it was nice to see them do normal things every once in a while. It was a refreshing break from military training and being hunted. No, instead they were celebrating a holiday and taking time off from being depressed. A lot like the rest of the world does this time of year, actually.
They finished setting up Christmas trees in the other three locations, last of all being the one to be put in the room shared by Joshua and Mole. In Max's opinion, that one was the most fun.
Up to that point, she hadn't understood what Alec had meant when he was talking about spending some fun time with those you care about just by decorating some dumb tree. But soon Max saw that it wasn't about the tree, exactly. It was about talking and laughing and working together to turn something rather ugly into something meaningful and beautiful.
Mole complained the whole time about how ridiculous he looked decorating some 'Ordinary tree', as he called it, causing Max to tell him to shut up and consider her plight, too. She was forced to do it, after all. Joshua just smiled at them and glanced between a grinning Alec and a Max who was trying not to grin at Mole. He didn't look ridiculous; he sounded ridiculous! He sounds a lot like you did yesterday, girl. Max ignored her traitorous thoughts. Stupid Alec, with his happy-go-lucky Christmas spirit! He was rubbing off on her too much today.
They got back in the truck after saying good-bye to Josh and Mole. Alec clapped and rubbed his hands together eagerly. "OK, Max. I told you I'd make it worth your while, and now I'm gonna make good on that."
Max felt her heart miss a beat. "What do you mean, 'worth my while'?"
Alec acted as if she hadn't spoken. "But first, I have to blindfold you. It's a surprise!" He grinned excitedly at her.
"Oh, wonderful! If it's anything like the first surprise, I just might have to kick your ass big time! I never volunteered to bring this stupid holiday to TC!" Then she processed the rest of what he had said. "Wait a minute. Blindfold me?! No freakin' way, Alec!"
"What's wrong with that? You have pretty good sight, Max. I don't want you to spoil your own surprise by looking ahead out the window. I promise I won't try anything," he added with a knowing smirk. Max just wanted to slap it off of his face.
"C'mon, Max. Please? For me?" he implored her. "Hey, I've been a good boy all day today. I think this is the least you could do for me."
Max groaned. "If it'll get you to shut up, fine! Put the damned blindfold on me!"
Alec's face took on that impish grin again as he whipped out a dark red cloth and wrapped it expertly around Max's head, being careful to pull her hair through it gingerly. He finished tightening it and turned to drive.
Max sat in sullen silence at the humiliation of being voluntarily kidnapped once again, this time complete with a blindfold, while Alec rambled about how excited Joshua was at the chance to decorate a real Christmas tree with his two best buddies. Max knew that Joshua had enjoyed what they had done and had probably had the best day yet since coming to TC, all thanks to Alec's idea to give free Christmas house-makeovers, but she was really in no mood to feed his already inflated ego.
Finally, Alec stopped the truck and threw the gear into park. Max heard the jangling of keys and the brush of leather and denim as Alec moved around in his seat and unfastened Max's seatbelt. Max felt Alec's firm grip on her arm. He pulled her gently into the driver's seat and picked her up into his arms in one fluid motion.
"Hey! Put me down! Alec, I am so gonna kick your ass! Put me down, you big idiot!"
Alec laughed softly. "Hey, I don't want you to fall, Max. You have to be healthy to have fun with your surprise!"
But Alec did put her down into the snow after just a few more steps. With her feet safely back on the ground, however more cold it was than being carried, Max told herself it was better because she had control back. If you could call it control to be led on by hand again because you couldn't see where you were going. The thought made Max even more impatient to be done with the blindfold and with Alec's antics.
"Are we there yet?" she whined. Alec took the moment to smile endearingly at her since she couldn't see him with that blindfold on.
"Almost," Alec said as he took both of her hands into his and led her along while he walked backwards, knowing exactly where he was going.
Max tensed as Alec took her hands, but she went with him. She came this far, after all. She might as well see what this great surprise was. This had better be good, for all the shit I put up with today!
"OK, Max. Here we are!" Alec released her hands and slowly pulled her hair back to allow him to undo the blindfold. Max shivered slightly as Alec's hands brushed the back of her neck.
Once the cloth was removed from her eyes, the world blazed at her in a bright white flash. Max found herself staring with her mouth agape. The sight that met her was incredible. An ice rink clearly made by the transgenics in the city waited for her in a snowy background, a perfect little winter wonderland. Short pine trees with snow-covered branches and white lights lined the rink, forming a little gate, with a big gaping entrance for any would-be skaters.
Alec was messing around in a pile of assorted ice skates near the edge of the rink. He pulled out two pairs that looked a bit worn but functional as Max approached slowly in wonder, gazing at the group of X6s and X5s figuring out how to ice skate in that makeshift little rink. Alec glanced up at her as he sat on the ground next to the pile of skates, and a smile was fixed on his face as he noticed Max's reaction to his little surprise.
Max reached Alec and examined the pile of ice skates curiously. She gestured to the pile, her fingers brushing the air just above it, as she asked, "Where did you get all th - ?"
Alec cut her off by grabbing her extended hand again and yanking her down into his lap in the snow. A full-blown smile decorated his face as he tugged her boots off gently and tossed them behind him. He delicately stuffed her feet into the skates he had chosen for her from the pile.
Max was shocked not only by the scenery and by his actions, but also by the fact that he had actually chosen a perfect fit for her.
Alec smiled at Max, still perched in his lap, and asked softly, "So you know how to ice skate, right? 'Cuz to tell ya the truth, I've never really tried it before. But it looks like fun! I guess I was hopin' you would help me out on the ice…," he trailed hopefully.
Max couldn't help but smile slightly at Alec's admitted weakness. So superman couldn't do everything, it seemed. There was something cute about the way he was smiling sheepishly at her as he got to his feet a bit clumsily. Max finished tying her skates and stood up quickly to help Alec keep his balance. After all, he had apparently gone to great lengths to make her happy this Christmas. She might as well enjoy a little ice skating.
Max smiled at him as she grabbed his arm. "You big idiot. You can't go out on the rink stomping like that. You'll punch a hole in the ice." A strange look passed over Alec's face as she took his arm and led him to the rink. Ha, now I get to lead you, pretty boy!
They got onto the ice and Alec started to slip, but he caught himself with a catlike grace that only a transgenic could possess. Using that same grace, Max showed off her skills by skating in a circle around Alec as he struggled to stay on his feet. She laughed at him as she made the circle tighter and tighter.
Alec smiled in pure delight as he watched Max enjoying herself on the most unlikely of days.
Night started to fall and stars gave their light to the darkening sky, and the rest of the transgenics in the ice rink left laughing breathlessly, enjoying the elation that comes with the freedom to try something new, exciting, and somewhat dangerous. Alec and Max were left by themselves on the glowing sheet of ice.
"So how'm I doin', instructor? Do I pass the class?" Alec asked jokingly.
Max smiled at him, feeling freer than ever. "I suppose. After all, you did enlist an army of genetically enhanced super-soldiers to build the rink out of devotion to the lesson," she played along.
Alec locked his eyes onto hers and gave her a low smile. "Or maybe, it was out of devotion to the lovely instructor."
Max's heart fluttered for a fraction of a beat. "Yeah? Well, grasshoppa, you must perform an ice trick for me, and then we can call it quits. Cool?"
Alec grinned. "Is that all? Easy." He skated out into the middle and went in a tightening circle that centered around Max, just as she had done with him earlier. After practicing all afternoon, he was able to speed up and get the circle smaller and smaller until he could have reached out a finger to poke Max had he wanted to.
Max felt the wind around her, saw Alec's grinning image blur as he went, and smiled up at him.
Alec slowed down and grabbed Max's arms as he smiled back down at her. "How was that?" His breath formed a shimmering cloud in the frigid night air as he spoke and evened out the rhythm of his lungs.
Max held onto his forearms as he continued to take them in lazy, slow circles. She shrugged. "I guess that was good enough. So we can go home?"
Alec kept his eyes on hers. "That depends. Do you like your present?"
Max laughed softly and nodded warmly at him.
He took a deep breath. "Do you still hate Christmas?" He felt the grip on his arms flinch slightly.
"What're you gonna do if I say yes?" she asked stubbornly.
Alec gave her a lopsided smile. "Well, we're just gonna hafta skate here some more, then. I'll have to keep you here in the cold all through the night until you agree to stop being such a Scrooge. Then once you can tell me that you had fun this Christmas and wouldn't mind celebrating again next year, then we can go home," he answered, only half-teasing.
Max attempted to evade. "So it's forcible enjoyment, huh? I think that's against the law." It didn't work; Alec was still staring intently at her. She sighed. "Alec, I… I had a wonderful time today. Really. I guess I just hated Christmas because… I never really had anyone to spend it with," she struggled slowly to explain.
At Alec's confused look, she continued. "Like you said, it's about making people happy and giving them a reason to celebrate. I was always… alone, you know? Like, standing on the sideline, letting me watch people be fake to each other. And I never really fit in enough to be nice to others, or have them be nice to me. Christmas was just another thing that passed me by.
"But today, you were so nice to me, and you went out of your way and planned all this… for what? To make me happy? …Usually I just get some fancy jewelry and call it a day, but you… you made me feel special, and it was a really good feeling," she said softly as she looked up from the ice into his shining eyes.
Alec felt his heart swell at her openness as he gazed into her large brown eyes, looking so uncharacteristically vulnerable. She deserved better than some jewelry; he would give her the world if he could, but he had to settle with making her feel special. Apparently, though, that was all she needed. Alec would try to make every day Christmas for her, then. Especially if it got her to hold onto him like that.
He pulled Max closer to him in a warm hug that she surprisingly didn't fight. "Merry Christmas, Max," he whispered to her as he brushed a kiss on her cheek.
There was a pause before Max said just as softly, "Merry Christmas, Alec." She pushed herself up on the toes of her skates and gave Alec a light kiss on the lips that he found himself returning as if it was the most natural thing in the world. All too soon, Max eased herself back down and skated toward the rink's exit.
Alec trembled slightly as Max skated away, taken aback by the feelings loosed by one small, chaste kiss. Her voice brought him back to earth, though.
"Hey, Alec! Wanna go get some hot cocoa and head over to Josh's place for some more holiday action? My treat," she added with a bright smile that put the stars to shame in Alec's opinion.
He smiled slowly back at her, pleased with how well his plan turned out. "Sure. Sounds good to me." He skated off and joined her as they made their way back to the truck.
Yeah, Christmas is definitely the most wonderful time of the year, Alec thought as he looked once more at a smiling Max before firing up the engine to leave.
A/N: OK, guys! That's it! Hope you enjoyed it. Merry Christmas, all! (and a Happy New Year, lol)
-- Christique