DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement was intended.
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Max had hurried back to her tiny apartment to dress for dinner. Her choices were more limited than they'd once been. She'd given away most of her clothes when the siege had begun and she'd realized that there were so many trapped in Terminal City that had far less than she herself had. She still had several dresses that she'd used for Eyes Only missions, because really, strapless red satin evening wear, not the most practical apparel for a soldier. And maybe just a little over the top for a first date with a secret admirer, she decided. She felt like such a girl as she held outfit after outfit up and looked them over with a critical eye. Finally she settled on a simple black dress.
She hurried through a shower, a decided lack of hot water taking all the enjoyment out of it. Stepping out and drying off, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and her eyes narrowed. She grinned and hurried to her room, deciding to take Gem up on an offer she'd made awhile back.
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Alec wasn't much for fancy food the way that Logan was, he was more of a red meat and potatoes kind of guy. And he didn't know much about wine. Sure he could learn, but scotch and beer were really more his speed anyway. He figured that he should play to his strengths instead of trying the emulate Roller Boy. No pasta or bruschetta tonight. Steak, loaded potatoes, and salad with some fresh baked brown bread were on the menu instead. He'd had to watch a few cooking shows but he'd finally gotten a handle on the making of edible food. He even had the perfect place to serve it.
He'd been exploring a couple of days earlier and had come across an office on the top floor of a building that proclaimed itself to be the Synthadyne Corporation. The building itself was in worse disrepair than many of the other surrounding structures which is why it was empty at the moment. It would eventually get turned into apartments for the ever expanding population of Terminal City but not until it had been shored up some. The office was on the top floor and the entire south wall of the room was floor to ceiling widows, which surprisingly were intact. It offered a nice view of Seattle, with the Space Needle smack dab in the center, which he knew Maxie would appreciate.
He'd been smuggling things in ever since he'd found it. A small folding card table, a couple of chairs, a cream colored linen table cloth and burgundy napkins, silverware, enough candles to light a space twice that size, the list went on and on. He set up the table first, working in the relative darkness, because he didn't want the candlelight to draw unwanted attention. By the time he was done, the place looked pretty magical, if he did say so himself.
Hurrying back to his apartment he set to work cooking the meal he'd planned, placing it into covered containers and a bag so that he could carry it all over to the office. He paused long enough to change into a pair of loose fitting blue jeans and a white button down shirt before heading for the door. He'd rolled up the sleeves and left the top couple of buttons undone, trying to look casual but liked he'd put at least some effort into his appearance. He'd tucked a preprepared note card, his exit plan in case it looked like she wasn't receptive of him as a secret admirer, into his back pocket and one last glance around the apartment showed him that he hadn't forgotten anything.
He managed to make it over to Synthadyne without being spotted and after placing the food on the plates that waited on the table, he began to light the candles. He'd just finished lighting the last of them when he heard Max, walking down the hall towards him. He threw himself down onto one of the chairs and slouched, trying to look comfortable.
Looking up when she opened the door and walked into the room, he felt his breath catch in his throat. She'd literally taken his breath away. She looked beautiful in the simple black dress she had on but then she looked beautiful in anything. He suddenly realized that she'd cut her hair. It was tumbling around her face in a riot of curls that he found entrancing. He grinned wickedly at the pole axed expression on her face until he caught what he assumed was disappointment clouding her eyes. The grin slipped away as he tried to tell himself he didn't care but who was he kidding.
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The last person Max expected to see when she walked into that office was Alec but there he was, lounging on a chair, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. If she were going to be honest, Max would have to admit that her heart leaped at the sight of him, the idea that he might be her secret admirer thrilled her. She'd been thinking more and more about Alec for awhile now. A small part of her had been hoping it was him, unrealistic as she knew it to be. She remembered the conversation she'd had with Gem and Cece not long ago and it made common sense come rushing back in. Cece had been the one to suggest Alec might be behind the gifts but Gem had shot that idea down. After all, she reminded them, they all knew what a playa he was. It couldn't be him she knew so this must be some kind of mistake or set up. Maybe he knew the secret admirer and was here as an intermediary? The disappointment she felt shocked her. What was it Alec had said when they were rescuing the mermaid? Something about always wanting the ones he couldn't have. Too bad he didn't want her. Of course she wouldn't settle for being just another notch in his bedpost so maybe it was for the best.
She looked at him startled, realizing that he'd said something but she had no idea what. He must have known by the look in her eyes because he repeated himself.
"Thanks for inviting me to dinner Maxie. I know I'm hot but there's no need to wine and dine me. All you gotta do is ask. You know I'd be more than happy to relieve some of that tension." He said with a suggestive leer and a comical wiggle of his eyebrows.
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Ok, so he wasn't the world's greatest catch and he wasn't all sophisticated and money bags like Logan but did she have to look so damn disappointed to find him in here? He opened his mouth with every intention of telling her he was her secret admirer and letting her know that he could see that trying to change her feelings was useless but instead the words that came out were pure snark. Apparently he'd decided to fall back on plan two without consciously realizing it. She looked kinda cute standing there gaping at him but he decided to put her mind to rest. He pulled the note card out of his back pocket and tossed it onto the table.
No one enjoys eating alone. Dinner 6pm, top floor Synthadyne building.
He could have sworn he saw a hint of hurt before her Manitcore mask came crashing down into place. "Good little transgenics never turn down free food but if its bugging you that much that I'm here I'll take off." he told her, far more gently than he normally would. He was relieved when she shook her head.
"Nah, the guy is right, no one likes to eat alone."
"So I guess this is part of that whole secret admirer deal you've got going on?" He asked her, figuring he might as well do a little probing see what she was thinking about things so far. "Like those flowers and that card I found?"
She nodded but she looked a little glum. Until she lifted the silver dome that cover her plate that is. She couldn't help but grin at the feast underneath. She liked the food that Logan cooked but sometimes a girl just wanted red meat.
"You think that looks good? Look what I found." Alec reached under the table and with a grin pulled out a couple of frosted mugs and a pitcher of beer.
Beer was not something it was easy to get ahold of here, and it was hardly a priority on the supply runs they put together. He'd missed being able to head to Crash at the end of a long day and taking turns with the others buying pitcher after pitcher until they were all relaxed and he knew Maxie had too.
They began to eat in silence, enjoying the food. Eventually though, Alec decided it was time to start trying to get some answers out of Max.
"So, this is pretty cool. Must be nice having someone go through all the trouble for you." He said and congratulated himself on picking a good opening comment.
"Its nice enough," Max said, not bothering to look up from her plate. "But the mystery is getting a little old. I don't understand why the guy doesn't just step forward and drop with all the pretense."
Alec shrugged and pretended to think about it. "Maybe he's afraid of rejection? Manticore wasn't big on emotions or relationships, its probably hard for the guy to work up the nerve to tell you who he is. It'd suck to put yourself out there and then get shot down, don't you think?"
She thought about what he was saying and had to admit that it did make sense. "I guess but the longer it goes on the more it makes me wonder why they're hiding."
"There's the fact that you're still with Logan." He told her hurriedly. "Which I sort of want to talk to you about but I don't want to get my ass kicked. I'd rather enjoy my food without a side of pain."
Max sighed and finally glanced up briefly at him. "Talk away, no violence tonight without monumental stupidity on your part as a provocation."
"Your relationship with Logan is putting you on rocky footing as a leader." He told her, taking her at her word. "You know Logan's not my cup of tea but I don't really have anything against the guy. There are a lot of others that don't feel the same though. They see you turning to this ordinary for help or just for advice instead of them and it makes them wonder if you aren't alpha enough to lead them. Plus most of them don't have the best history with ordinaries because of the guards, the medical staff, the handlers." He paused and watched her for signs of anger, waiting to see if his words would sink in before she exploded. It sort of shocked him when she started to nod.
"Can I tell you something?" She asked him.
"No," he replied, just so he could enjoy the look on her face when her eyes flew up to meet his. "Gotcha." he continued grinning and loving the fact that she smile back, even if it was a very small smile.
"I..." She stopped and Alec could tell that she was unsure whether she really wanted to trust him with whatever she was about to say. "I'm starting to not be able to stand him." The words came out in a rush, as though she was ashamed to be saying them. "I know that its my fault that he got shot and that I'm the reason you get to call him roller boy but god, he's so condescending! How did I not see it before?"
"What do you mean its your fault?" He asked and he had the feeling that this was weighing even more on her than Ben's death. He tried to be objective as he listened to her as she explained but found himself snorting.
"Maxie, be honest. Would Logan have been there that day if the two of you hadn't met?"
"Yeah." She said and she didn't even have to think about the answer.
"So you're blaming yourself for not going, just cuz you had the misfortune to get caught trying to swipe some of his stuff, when he would have gone anyway, that makes sense to you?" He tried to sound reasonable but he knew the fact that he found her logic crazy crept into his tone. "He's a grown man Maxie, he chose the life he leads, any consequences are a result of that choice."
Max wanted to lash out at him, anger was her first response to most things these days. But she forced herself to remember her promise and to think about what he'd said and it struck her that he was right. Sometimes she felt like she'd lived more than most people did in a hundred lifetimes but the truth was that Logan was older than her, more worldly, and he'd walked into the Eyes Only gig with his eyes wide open. He'd seen friends hurt and killed for trying to tell the truth about the police during the riots after the Pulse, he had to know it could happen to him. He'd known the risks, probably better than she and her siblings had when they'd busted out of Manticore. They'd all made their beds and they'd all had to lie in them.
Alec heard the words he'd never expected to hear pass her lips. "You're right." It was said with sadness but with a firmness that told him that she really believed it.
"Of course I am. I'm always right." He winked at her, doing his best to lighten the mood and he knew it worked when she rolled her eyes.
"Who do you want it to be?" He asked abruptly, truly curious about whether there were any X's that she was interested in. Of course that didn't stop him from chanting Not Brant Not Brant Not Brant in his head.
She shrugged, "I don't know. I've talked about it with Cece and Gem and O.C. I can't imagine any of the guys I've met going through all of this trouble. There's only one guy that I've got any interest in and he's not the type."
Alec was cussing to himself after hearing that. He knew she had to be talking about Brant but the masochist he was he couldn't stop himself from asking her what she meant about the guy not being the type.
She shrugged again, staring out the window at the Space Needle, seemingly lost in thought. "He's just kind of a tom cat ya know? Doesn't seem like the type that would be interested in settling down anytime soon."
"Like me." He said, watching closely for her reaction. He wasn't sure what to make of the slight blush that settle onto her cheeks.
"Yeah, like you."
"I don't know Maxie. He might surprise you. I was talking to Asha awhile back and I told her that if I found the right woman I'd tell her I loved her, if I wanted her, I'd tell her straight up."
Max seemed to be thinking really hard about what he'd just said and he could almost pinpoint the exact moment she came to a decision, it didn't lessen his shock when she leaned forward and looked into his eyes though.
"So you think if I'm interested in this guy I should just tell him?" She asked, voice husky with emotion and he found himself nodded soundlessly only to feel his heart break as she stood abruptly. He was sure that she was going to take off out of there and go after Brant and it was killing him. But she started pacing, obviously trying to talk herself into or out of something. He'd started to get dizzy when she stopped suddenly and walked over to him. She bent down, getting right in his face and his instinctual reaction was to cringe just a little. Maxie getting up close and personal with him like this usually ended with him in pain.
He felt her grab the collar of his shirt in her fists and braced himself for the ass kicking he was sure was soon to follow. When her lips crashed down onto his, he probably looked like a deer caught in the headlights, it took a few seconds but he was kissing her back, his hands sliding up her back and into her thick curls, fisting there among the silky strands, trying to hold her in place, never wanting this feeling to end.
When they had to come up for air, he stared at her, still stunned.
"What about your secret admirer?" He asked.
"Shut up Pretty Boy." She replied. "I know its you."
"How?" He asked, slightly miffed, because he thought he'd done a damn good job of covering his tracks.
She just laughed "Even now I can't get you to shut up." she said before straddling his legs and kissing him again.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I think there'll probably be one more chapter, possibly two, to tie up the loose ends, like Logan. ;)
