What the !*$% is going on?
By Sinful Starlet
Disclaimer: once more for the record - not mine, never will be, yadda yadda yadda!
Rating: who knows?! R - probably!
Summary: My version of how Dawg Day Afternoon should really have gone for all you Max/Alec shippers out there! Oh yeah - and just for originality - Max goes into heat!
Author's note: What is this - chapter five right? Actually finished the story now, so it's just a matter of getting it all posted! Loads of good Joshua / Alec interaction in this part! *SS*
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PART #7
Eventually, they did get back to Joshua's place and they all piled out. Logan called to Max before she could get out and attempted to talk to her. He could see that he wasn't exactly holding her attention though, and gave up reluctantly. He too noticed that she was acting strangely, but was clearly not in the mood to talk about it. She apologised for being so distant, but turned down his offer of a ride home. "You're staying with Joshua tonight?", Logan asked, actually meaning was she staying with Alec, which Max was just alert enough to catch.
She firmly denied that, needing to convince herself as much as him, saying she was going home but that she had her bike there. That seemed to be good enough and he said goodnight, driving off a little too quickly. Alec had already gone inside the house by then, Joshua saying he had gone to order pizza, while Joshua said goodnight to Annie. Max hugged Joshua and said she would be inside in a minute, but that she was going to walk Annie home first, if she didn't mind.
Annie accepted happily and her and Max set off together, leaving Joshua to go back into the house. "So", Annie said as they walked along, "thanks for coming through for us today - you will thank Alec too won't you?" "Uh, yeah", Max said, trying to sound as casual as she could, but knowing that she had failed miserably. "The two of you seem pretty close", Annie said, changing the subject. "Who? Me and Joshua? Yeah of course", Max breezed.
"Yeah I'd noticed, but I was actually talking about you and Alec", Annie said, knowing she had struck a nerve when Max's grip on her tightened a little. "He has his moments", Max said awkwardly, really not wanting to talk about it, "but most of the time he's just a huge pain in the ass - trust me, you're seeing him on one of his better days and those are mostly few and far between!" "Guess I don't know him as well as you!", Annie laughed, really wishing she could see just for a second so that she could see Max's reaction to her next question. "But he's really hot right?"
Max practically choked on that - great, she had come with Annie to get some time away from Alec, and this was really helpful! "I know I can't see what you see", Annie went on, trying to force Max to make an admission, "but I touched his face - I saw him the only way I can, and I can still remember what hot guys are like - regardless of annoying personality traits!" Max breathed the hugest sigh of relief when she saw that they were outside Annie's house and Billie came rushing up to greet them.
'God bless that dog!' Max thought as it created just the distraction she was looking for. Annie straightened at last, standing up to say goodnight to Max. "Well it was nice to meet you", she said, smiling, "tell Joshua I'll come by and see him tomorrow afternoon". "I will", Max said, starting to walk back towards his house, while Annie couldn't resist calling out one last parting shot. "And say goodnight to Alec for me!" Max gritted her teeth, willing herself not to react to that - actually it wasn't the goodnight that was scaring her, it was the possible 'good morning'!
Max walked into Joshua's house to find the two guys sitting on the sofa, watching the TV, both with stupid grins on their faces. "What's so funny?", she asked, feeling just slightly too awkward as Joshua extended a hand to her, pulling her down onto the sofa in between him and (just slightly too close to) Alec! "TV man talking 'bout me!", he said proudly. "They've just done a whole story on the guys who chased Josh in the first place", Alec explained, "the cops called off the search after we left, reckoning that the whole thing was just a hoax in the first place!"
Max smiled back at Joshua then. "So - you staying for dinner?", Joshua asked hopefully. But Max couldn't stay there much longer, being that close to Alec - she was practically sitting on his lap for Christ's sake - was seriously disrupting her concentration! "Nah - I've gotta go", she said, practically leaping off the sofa and heading for the door, "I'll come by and check on you tomorrow", she finished, adding, "and Annie's coming by tomorrow afternoon", before she forgot. "Thank you", Joshua called as she ran out the door, a smile appearing on his face as he now knew that he was right.
PART #8
Alec just scratched his head as Max left, reaching for another beer. "I don't know what is up with that girl today but she's driving me crazy! I swear her and Logan have got some twisted mind games going on with me right in the middle!" Joshua just laughed at that, a big grin plastered across his face. "What?", Alec asked, a little annoyed, "What's so funny?" "Joshua spent all his life up till a few months ago living in a basement - and he still know more about women than Alec!" Alec quickly interrupted there - for the sake of his pride if nothing else!
"That not the kind of experience Joshua meant!", Joshua replied, still smiling widely, embarrassing Alec a little. He may have been stuck in a basement all his life, but a few weeks of living with Alec and he knew exactly what kind of experience that boy had! "Okay - so what do you mean?", he asked, an expression of confusion colouring his face. "Max awkward with Alec in the car back there because she had told Logan that she was gettin' busy with you now!", Joshua explained, laughing again when he saw the reaction on Alec's face.
He had debated whether or not to tell Alec that, knowing Max would not be pleased, but he felt like someone at least should explain the situation to him. "I can't believe her!", Alec gasped, "I mean was she even going to tell me?!" Joshua shot him a look then, and he had to admit it, "Okay so I'm not exactly fuming with rage, but she shoulda said something at least!" The door knocker went then, and Alec jumped up, bringing in the pizza that he had ordered and setting it down between himself and Joshua.
"Oh well", he said, a few minutes later as he finished his third slice, "I guess that explains a few things that happened these last couple days right?" He looked over at Joshua who was suspiciously trying to avoid eye contact, and he could tell that that wasn't everything. "What else?", he asked, warily, "Don't tell me I got her pregnant or something?!", that last question was supposed to be a joke, but the smile quickly fell from his lips as Joshua simply said, "Getting closer".
"Closer to what?", he asked, now seriously concerned, "Josh what the hell is going on?" Joshua hesitated for a few seconds, this really was going to get him in trouble with Max, but he was worried what would happen to her if he didn't say anything. "What Manticore teach you about mating?", he asked, figuring the best way was to work up to it. That surprised Alec, but to give him fair dues, he recovered well. "Uh, you wanting a little biology lesson Josh?"
Joshua shook his head - clearly the subtle approach wasn't working. "Max in heat", he said quickly, watching Alec carefully to gauge his reaction. Alec gulped - that he had not been expecting. "Are you sure?", he asked, not too sure where all this was leading. "Certain", Joshua nodded, "pheromones", he explained, "can smell her from a mile away - how'd you think we found you in the sewers?" Alec sat back against the sofa, taking all this in - well that did kind of make sense he supposed.
"I still don't see what this has to do with me--", he started, but again, Joshua interrupted. "Max acting bizarre", Alec smiled, that was one of Josh's favourite words that he had picked up off of OC, "because she actually want to get busy with Alec now!" "Come again?!", Alec questioned sceptically, "We are talking about the same girl right?" Then it suddenly came flooding back to him. One day when they were all about fourteen, back at Manticore, one of the doctors had taken all the male X5s away for a briefing, where they explained something about the girls' biology.
He explained that since there was often quite a large amount of feline DNA given to the girls, they were starting to experience feline mating cycles. Alec remembered with a slightly embarrassed smile why they had had to have that meeting in the first place. They had still been sleeping in communal dorms and one of the girls had jumped him in the middle of the night! The doctor explained that because of their genetic similarities, female X5s would always seek out X5 males as breeding partners during these cycles, becoming fiercely protective and attached to the male in question in the process.
Because of that, female X5s in heat had been separated from the rest of the group during heat, once they had started the breeding program. If a female and male X5 did copulate during a heat cycle, then that female became irreversibly attached to that male, and would refuse to take other assigned breeding partners. He realised that that must be why Max was acting so strange - she didn't want anything to happen between them and she wouldn't understand the genetic attraction, having left Manticore before they got that little lesson.
'God' he thought, chastising himself for not noticing something sooner. But it had been over six years since that incident with the female X5 so he had begun to forget the symptoms associated with the heat cycles. 'Well this was in no way awkward!' he thought. "Alec should talk to Max", Joshua offered after he had been silent for several minutes. "No", Alec said, standing up and starting to pace round the living room, "are you kidding? She'd kill me!"
"Maybe not!", Joshua said, unable to resist the joke. Alec moaned under his breath, really wishing Joshua hadn't just said that! "No", he said, more firmly this time, "I can't talk to her about it. I was with her practically all day today and she couldn't wait to get away from me once you and Annie were okay". "I mean come on", Alec went on, "if she really wanted something to happen between us, it would have. One thing we did find out at Manticore was that X5s in heat tend to have very little restraint, but she managed to stay away from me all day!"
"Whatever her cravings are telling her right now", Alec said, sitting down and unable to quite hide the sigh in his voice, "they're to do with my biology - not me as a person. And besides - she's still nuts about Logan". "Not so sure", Joshua said, comfortingly patting Alec on the shoulder, "she told Logan the two of you were happening before she went into heat right?" "That was just convenience", Alec argued, "Logan knows Max too well - no way would he have believed she was with Normal, and Sketchy's like her brother so that wasn't too likely either!" "Still", Joshua insisted, "could have said it was someone Logan didn't know - why pick you?"
AN. Okay I know - evil cliff hanger right? I promise - it will be quickly resolved! *SS*
