AUTHOR: Empress Vader
RATING: R
SPOILERS: none yet
WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/lady_vader21/FanWork.html
E-MAIL: Lady_Vader21@yahoo.com
Summary: Max feels she must return to Seattle after months on the road with Jondy. But homecoming isn't quite what she expected and Max's relationships with Logan and Zack become even more complex. Meanwhile, Original Cindy and Jondy have problems dealing with their feelings for each other.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel belongs to FOX.
Slash warning: This fic contains an intimate relationship between two
women.
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II: HOMECOMING
The sun seemed to shine just a little bit brighter on that Seattle morning and she couldn't stop smiling as she sped through the familiar city. She went through familiar market placed, exchanged pleasantries with a vendor she knew and brought a couple apples. It was still early, everyone was at work. Her motorcycle hummed through the doors of Jam Pony and stopped in front of Normal, who stood there holding the familiar clipboard and an expression of complete displeasure.
"Honey I'm home," Max announced with a smile.
"Miss, I don't know where you've been, but this doesn't belong here and neither do you," Normal told her.
"I missed you too," Max shouted toward him.
Max looked around for Original Cindy as various Jam Pony employees came up to welcome her back.
"It 'taint been the same without yah Max," Herbal said as he hugged her.
"Yeah," Sketchy said. "You and Original Cindy were the flavor of this place."
"Well Original Cindy was still around."
"Yes, but Jah found a certain balance between the two of you, "Herbal told her. "One no complete about the other."
It was seconds later when Cindy came in and saw her. Max turned toward her and smiled. It was one of those moments suspended in time, where everything stopped and the world greeted you with warmth. The spell broke and Max and Original Cindy ran to each other like two school girls.
"Take it outside ladies," Normal said to them.
Original Cindy and Max rolled their eyes at Normal and walked outside.
"So where's that fine sister of yours,"
"I don't know," Max answered.
Max read the disappointment in her face, just before Original Cindy covered it over with a smile.
"You gonna kick it in Seattle long?" Cindy asked.
"As long as possible," Max replied. "I never had a home before, I mean I never knew what it was to come back to a place and feel like it's home."
"And Jondy?" Cindy asked.
Max noted this was the second time she'd asked about Jondy. She smiled to herself.
"Jondy's afraid to come back," Max said.
"Afraid of what?"
"You."
Cindy didn't say a thing after that. They just sat in silence for a
long time, staring into the broken city before them. But for the moment,
the world was perfect.
******************
Max had been holding her breath about coming to Logan's place. She didn't know what to say to him or how to say it. If she had discovered one thing through Jondy, it was that keeping things buried inside didn't do anybody any good. But she couldn't just go up there and say "I love you, I missed you."
"Max," a voice said surprised as it approached her. She turned and saw Bling standing there.
"Bling," Max said as she hugged her old friend. "Still working with Sir Grumps a lot?"
"Yeah," Bling replied. "He had a real hard time after you left. But he's back on his feet, literally."
"Really, "Max replied. She turned back toward the building.
"Max," Bling said grabbing her arm.
"Yeah," she replied.
"You may not want to surprise him," Bling told him. Max read the concern in his face, concern about what?
"He may not be to happy to see you," Bling stated plainly.
"Logan's rarely happy," Max said walking off toward the building. Bling
followed.
She couldn't help feeling this sense of dread as Bling opened the apartment door. She heard Logan talking to someone, she assumed he was on the phone till she heard a second voice, a female voice.
"All right, I'll get back to you this evening," the unknown woman said as she exited Logan's study.
She was a tall woman, red hair, decent shape, about Logan's age and she carried it all well. Logan walked out behind her. He was using a cane, but he was WALKING. A smile fell over Max's face as she saw him. But he didn't return her joy, in fact he shot her the most deadly, cold, look he ever could have.
He turned to his female companion. "This is Max."
"Max? The Manticore soldier?" the woman exclaimed. "Wow, she certainly doesn't look deadly, must work to her advantage."
Max didn't quite know how to feel about that statement. "And you are?" she asked.
"Clara, Logan and I attended high school together," Clara said. "I ran into Logan a couple months back and boom, I find myself working for Eyes Only."
"She's an ex-bodyguard," Logan told her.
"Really?" Max replied unimpressed.
"Well, I guess I'll excused myself, see you Bling, Logan, Max," Clara said as she went out the door.
"I'll leave you two alone," Bling said leaving the room.
Max and Logan regarded each other for a long time and then finally, Max broke the ice.
"So, she's my replacement huh?"
"Eyes Only was never the work of a single person and it never depended on a single person."
"I left because I had to Logan."
"You left because you wanted too. Our deal was fulfilled, you found your family."
"I found my family over a year ago when Zack offered me a contact number. I could have had them then, but I choose you over them."
"You choose yourself," Logan shot back. "You didn't want to give in to Zack. It was never about me."
"How could you say that? I risked my neck, my life, to save your life. I put my feelings on hold to protect a doctor you wanted to help you walk again."
"And then you just left."
"You know how much exposure I got from Eyes Only, after years of being invisible!" Max shouted at him. "You know what fuck you, fuck Eyes Only."
Max stomped angrily out of the apartment and slammed the door. She heard
Logan yell, "it's all about self-preservation." As she left EO headquarters.
*******************
Max was glad Original Cindy hadn't gotten another roommate. She was able to come home and just crash at her old place. Kendra, Walter, Jacinda, Omar, Herbal and his woman, Sketchy, and a few others came by and gave her an impromptu welcome home party. And Max was able to shut out everything that happened with Logan. After awhile though, the place cleared out and Max and Cindy sat down together and talked about the evil captain Eyes Only.
"He don't deserve you," Original Cindy told her. "And I thought Logan was one of the few civilized males."
"You can never tell."
Cindy started nodding off and forced her eyes back open.
"Go on to bed," Max said softly.
"You sure you cool, I know you hurting right now."
"Yeah, I'm cool. You know me, I take a lickin' "
"And keep right on tickin' " Cindy finished. "Night gurl. I will see you in the morning right?"
"Yeah, I'll be here," Max said to her.
Cindy went off to bed. Max stared at her bike. She was feeling that need down inside of her again, the need to just go out and burn up the streets till only speed was on her mind and not this pain inside of her. She had been with and broken up with quite a few guys and it didn't feel like this. Logan had never even been her boyfriend, never her lover, and yet here she sat, empty and in pain because he had rejected her. A part of her wanted to leave Seattle and find Jondy again, another part of her liked being home. Inside she was all torn apart, a conflicted mess. She had been sitting there for hours when the door opened and she saw the familiar red paint of Jondy's motorcycle. Max smiled and looked at her sister.
"Couldn't stay away?" Max stated.
"Well, my sister's here, my girl is here, where else should I be?"
"So you going to go for it with Cindy," Max asked with a smile.
"Well, I'm sure going to feel it out, see where it goes."
"Good for you," Max said.
"You don't look too happy," Jondy said. "Homecoming not everything you expected."
"A little shaky," Max replied. "With Logan."
"Want to talk about it?"
"I'm sick of talking about it."
"Wanna race?"
"No, not right now."
"A'ight sis," Jondy said giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Go see your girl," Max said.
Jondy smiled at her sister and slipped into Cindy's room.
She was as beautiful as Jondy remembered her. A stunningly beautiful brown Venus, a vision of tasty dark chocolate begging to be tasted. She hadn't meant to come back to Seattle, she had got on her bike with every intention of heading in the other direction as fast as she could, but somehow she'd ended up back here. And she couldn't lie to herself, it was for the woman before her. Always, the desire to touch her, to taste her was outweighed by fear of disturbing the lovely peacefulness she had while she was asleep. It almost made her jealous that she didn't have that luxury. She crawled up on the bed and kissed her sleeping beauty. And just like the fairy tale, her princess woke up and looked at her.
"Jondy," Cindy said sleepily, before she even opened her eyes.
"Yeah," Jondy said stretching out beside her, her finger tracing the other woman's lips ever so softly. "I guess I had to come, I missed Max."
"That the only reason you here?"
"Well," Jondy said with a smile. " Seattle does hold other pleasures found no other place in the world."
Jondy kissed Cindy softly, then let her arm rest across the other woman's
chest and enjoyed the silence of the night. Eventually Original Cindy fell
asleep and Jondy just laid there, enjoying the feeling of warmth and the
creature comforts of home.
