Title: The Waking Hours
Author: Restive Nature (aka Bavite)
Rated: up to M, this chapter is suggestive... so PG-15
Disclaimer: All characters within this fiction are the property of Cameron/ Eglee. I just like to play with them.
Timeline: Sequel to Dream Within. Fiction starts about six weeks after FN.
Pairing M/A
Summary: Dreams don't often come true for Manticore-bred soldiers. So when the chance comes along for Alec, he's not quite sure how to take it.
A/N- This chapter is dedicated to bty804100, a prize in my Christmas Fiction Contest. Congrats!
Chapter Eight
Brand New Day
Alec stared down at his traitorous body. He'd just woken moments ago, wincing as his damn mind recalled with perfect clear detail the dreams of last night. Okay, so he couldn't control his dreams, that much was clear. But Manticore had taught him to control his mind and body. Except, going through every exercise at clearing unnecessary thought from him wasn't doing a damn thing. He glared at the hard evidence of a night spent dreaming about Max and all the things he would dearly love a chance to do to her, with her and for her.
It was all her fault, Alec decided angrily as he kicked the covers the remainder of the way off his legs. He rolled to a sitting position on the edge of his bed. If it hadn't been for her smile when she greeted Jiminy at her apartment door the night before, Alec wouldn't have been reminded of how she had smiled at him that way. Wouldn't have been reminded about how she'd thrown herself into his arms, wanting and needing to be comforted after her accident. It didn't help that she had subtly tried to send Alec on his way after his showing Jiminy where her apartment was. His excuse, that he wasn't about to leave a newcomer and potential threat alone with the leader of their fair city went unspoken. But Jiminy, smart transgenic that he had been designed to be, had sensed the undercurrents. He'd handed Max the brown paper bag, waited as she looked inside and exclaimed profusely over the item or items inside, endured her thanks and took his leave.
It didn't matter that the other man had been there for only a few minutes. Whatever it was, and Max certainly hadn't shown Alec, the contents of that bag had put such good humor on her face that Alec was jealous. What on earth could the new transgenic have found that would make Max that happy? Alec had no clue. Realizing that once more, his thoughts had been centering on the Max-go-round again, he'd given her a curt goodbye and declared that he needed to get back to headquarters to finish up his work. Max had completely missed the tense set of his jaw as she turned to carry her package to her bedroom. She had just admonished him not to work too late and wished him a good night.
But back at his office, Alec couldn't concentrate. He'd finally given up after several more hours of unproductively and his mind had swung once more to that damn brown bag. He wondered briefly if there was something Max needed that she hadn't thought to ask from himself. Or Joshua or Gem or any of the other trannies that she'd grown closer too. It had gnawed at him again that Max actually had known Jiminy prior to his appearing in TC. But if she did, the other man certainly gave off no indication of it.
Pushing off the bed, Alec strode through his apartment, naked. That was it, a cold shower was the only recourse left to him it seemed. Since Max was fully expecting him to walk down to HQ with her this morning for the morning meeting, Alec knew he certainly couldn't show up at her door sporting the mother of all boners. For once Alec was glad that the water heater in their apartment complex worked only sporadically. It was something they were working on fixing and in general, Alec couldn't wait for the day when he had hot water at any time he pleased. But this morning, it wouldn't be a blessing.
He climbed into the shower, flipping the water on, bracing himself for the sting of the cold spray. Instead, his mouth went dry and all the remaining blood in his body rushed straight to his groin as he heard through the flimsy walls of their apartment, a most definitely female moan. 'Max!' his mind flashed. Their bathrooms shared a wall, an incredibly non-soundproof wall. Alec could feel the cold droplets pelting his chest, abdomen and thighs, running down his legs as he grit his teeth. But it didn't matter as he heard water lapping next door. 'Max and her baths,' he decided, knowing that was the only answer. And oddly, instead of anger that she was unconsciously tormenting him this way, Alec was strangely thrilled.
Did she have any idea that he was just on the other side of the wall right now? Had she heard his shower come on and was picturing him under the spray as he'd imagined her so many times? Or was she so lost in the ecstasy of a bathtub full of warm water, her responses low and natural and so sexy as hell. Alec wasn't sure. He reached for the sliver of soap, set in the little niche beside him and began lathering up his hands. It was probably the latter, he figured. Why on earth would she be thinking of him...God, if she only knew. Surprisingly, Alec's face felt flushed, his entire body overheated, despite the icy spray. Or perhaps it was just accentuating the lingering heat of desire that curled through him.
He could just see her, lounging dreamily in her tub, identical to his own. Her legs pressed together as the water brimmed around her, threatening to spill over. The clear water would afford him a perfect view of her body, one that was blazoned into his brain thanks to entering her apartment at one surprisingly opportune moment. Oh how her cheeks had flamed, along with her eyes as she had screamed at him. Alec drew in a shaky breath as the thought of those eyes staring up at him, full of need, full of desire, full of... he wanted to say love, but he knew better. It had just been her dream. She hadn't been reacting to him. But Alec had dreams too.
Damn, he wanted her so badly!
Alec, now composed much more suitably, knocked at Max's door. After he'd gotten cleaned up from his little adventure in the shower stall, and part of him still couldn't believe that he'd done that knowing that Max was in the bathtub right next door, he'd jumped out and gotten dressed. He tried a few more cleansing exercises that he'd been taught and instead, brought to mind the list of things that they needed to work on this day. With this litany of chores running through his mind, he headed over to Max's.
She answered the door and Alec's jaw clenched when he saw that she was still in her bathrobe.
"Hey, come on in," she invited and stepped back. "I'm running a little late," she informed him unnecessarily. Alec said nothing, just shut the door behind himself as Max quickly made her way back to the bedroom.
"I would have been ready on time," she continued, her voice floating out to him where he stood in the middle of her living room, resolutely looking away from her almost closed bedroom door. "But I got up early this morning and heated some water for a bath. And then I stupidly went and fell asleep."
Alec's eyes widened fractionally as he heard what she was telling him. So when he'd been in the shower... she'd been asleep. Okay, that was better than he could have hoped for. So she was probably not aware of what he'd been... doing in his shower and not just hiding her awareness from embarrassment or to tease him about it later. Okay, he could definitely live with that. But still... "Not really a smart move Maxie," he called out.
"I know," she answered back immediately. "I guess I just didn't realize I was that tired."
And she shouldn't have been, Alec knew. Not with her DNA predilection to less sleep. Was it the result still of her accident. Alec chewed on his lower lip as he pondered that. But then he realized that she was addressing him again, her words covering the sound of her dressing.
"Did you get the supply run set up?" she called out to him. "Or did you need a little more time?"
There, that was something on a impersonal level that he could work with. "I did actually," he called back, raising his voice slightly. "We can go ahead with it if we want, but I did receive some fairly reliable Intel about the warehouse, so we might be better off to wait."
"Okay," she agreed immediately and Alec was surprised. "Do you see that notepad on the floor? By the couch?"
Alec glanced around until he saw the tattered and water-stained paper notebook. "Yeah. What about it?"
"That's this morning's itinerary for the meeting," Max explained. "Go ahead and add that on that empty line under the provisions."
Alec glanced over what Max already had written in on the sheet. Each item that they usually discussed at these morning meetings was mapped out with at least one line in between each. He located the pen that had been left beside the notebook and perched on the edge of the sofa to add the notation as she had asked. "Gotta keep notes now Maxie?" he asked in what he hoped was a teasing voice. It actually worried him. She should have been able to keep this information in her head, just like the rest of them did.
"Thought it would be a good idea," she called back. "That way I won't miss anything. Plus, I was kinda bored last night." He nodded as he glanced over what he had added. Supply run- go ahead or wait? Simple enough and direct. And since it was in his handwriting, she'd know who to ask about it. He glanced up when he heard the door to her bedroom open. He blinked several times as she stepped out into the main room. Max noticed him staring and a small grin graced her face. "What?"
"You're wearing your hair back," he offered, feeling slightly stupid for just blurting it out. But it was different. And Max never did things differently. At least the old Max didn't.
Max shrugged. "Well, it's not like I have to hide my bar code here," she defended. "Plus it was getting in my way, you know. Or maybe you don't. Where did you get your hair cut?" Alec blinked again. He'd gotten his hair cut? Oh right. It had been several weeks ago, but still, she had noticed.
"Oh um, I had Rory do it," he informed her. Max nodded and began to move to her kitchen to rummage through her cupboards.
"Maybe I can get her to lop off some of mine," she chuckled. "Want some coffee?"
"Actually I think he specializes in high and tights, since that's all Manticore ever let us guys wear," Alec shot back. "But maybe he's branched out since then. I can always ask. And are you sure you want to be drinkin' that sludge?"
"It's okay," Max grinned over her shoulder at him. "I told you, I was bored last night. So I gathered some water and let it settle. All the minerals and gunk settled to the bottom. And then I very carefully poured off the better water and voila!" She held up the coffee carafe for a moment and then began pouring coffee into two mugs. Alec, settling the notebook and pen in one hand, stood to accept the coffee that she brought to him. He took a cautious sip and was pleased to find that it was much better than he'd expected.
"Mm," he sighed appreciatively. "Don't know why we didn't think of this before."
"Probably because we're in too much of a rush in the morning," Max smiled as she held her own mug between both hands. She took a deep sip and then glanced around. "Okay, just let me get my shoes and we can get going. Oh and hey, if there's anything else that needs to be brought up at the meeting, just add it in at the bottom."
"Like making appointment's with Rory?" he asked teasingly. Max just shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You know Max, if you just want to chop off the extra weight, you could do it yourself you know."
"Right," she huffed as she set her coffee cup on the floor and bent over to slip on her runners. "The last time I tried that... let's just say that it's a good thing my hair is so curly when it's short."
"Really?" Alec grinned. That would have been an interesting sight. As far as he could recall, he'd never seen Max with anything but that straight-laced hairstyle since they had first met. Well, there was the odd time or two when he'd caught her getting ready for a bath, when she'd done some loopy thing to her hair and pinned it up. "You were probably cute as a button," he quipped before he could stop himself. Max grimaced and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Thanks," she scoffed as she retrieved her coffee. "Who on earth came up with that saying. Buttons are boring."
"Oh I don't know about that," Alec shrugged one shoulder, mindful of the items in his hands. This conversation was good. Not too heavy, nothing taxing, just banter back and forth, without the former rancor. He kind of liked this. "Have you ever seen those novelty ones?"
"So now you're comparing me to a button in the shape of Petunia Pig?" Max scowled, though Alec could see that she was fighting a grin.
"They have those?" Alec tilted his head in puzzlement.
"Believe me," Max finally let the grin through, "if someone thought it was marketable, it would have been done. I mean, look at the cartoon paraphernalia that still floating around out there."
"Yeah I guess," Alec nodded. She was right. There were some strange bits of crap available to the public for consumption. "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Max nodded. She held out her hand for her notebook and Alec handed it over. He led the way to the door, opening it for her since both her hands were full. He made sure to switch off the overhead light before he pulled the door shut behind them, Max continuing their conversation. "So I'm thinking, if Rory isn't into cutting hair, maybe we can find another transgenic that is."
"Maybe Max," Alec agreed with a grin. "I think people'd find we're full of surprises."
