Story Title : What You Can't Have
Chapter Title : Food for Thought
Disclaimer : All DA characters, references etc belong to Cameron/Eglee and Fox. Katie belongs to me.
Summary : Max re-analyses her feelings for Alec after a new female transgenic arrives in TC. M/A Post FN.
A/N : Thanks to all my ffnet reviewers, kisses and hugs for you all :o). I also wanted to let you know that this fiction is updated up to a week earlier at NWP (), but will also continue to be posted here. *hint hint* This is most obviously a NWP plug. Go register there, it's wonderful, all the nuns rock!
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(Max, Alec's and Katie's Apartment, 6:15pm)
It took Alec exactly 2.3 seconds to react to the current situation. In those 2.3 seconds, one thought repeatedly flashed in his head, not unlike one of those annoyingly glary neon green signs.
He whistled. Wow. What a body.
And what a body it was, even if Alec was the only one there to appreciate it. Katie's long, slim legs were bare since the 'towel' hardly covered her very nice, Alec thought, small bottom. His eyes skimmed hungrily up her body, resting on a nice upper region before his gaze caught hers. He cleared his throat gruffly, breaking the stiff silence.
"Uh. Well. This is interesting." No answer from the female X5, who had the decency to flush, albeit prettily. Katie was obviously quite unaware of the effect she had on him. "I'm just going to go outside for a while, maybe you should, uh, get changed."
All that alcohol he'd consumed earlier must've had an effect on his blurring ability. Alec could've sworn he broke the speed barrier, the way he hurtled out of the building.
Alec knew that it would have been so easy just to walk across the room to Katie. Realistically, though, it was apparent to him that the consequences of such an action would leave both parties in pain, having to live together and pretend that nothing had happened. Tthat would have been the scenario, it would have been a mistake, two people giving into a very big temptation. He couldn't, and wouldn't, do that to Katie.
Besides, being with Katie would have meant him betraying his own heart. But being primarily male, he didn't know that.
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(Max, Alec and Katie's Apartment, 7:00pm)
Max was uncomfortably bored. While rushing back to the apartment earlier, she had steeled herself for what she assumed to be an 'Alec Worshipping' kind of dinner. Oh yes, she'd been prepared to ignore the flirtatious glances and coy comments that she was sure would be the standard from Katie.
How wrong she was.
Apparently Max Guevara had been a bad judge of character. For right at that moment, she couldn't detect the slightest suggestion of interest on Katie's part. There was definite tension in the air between the other two transgenics, but not of the sexual kind.
Max chewed her lip, looking directly across the table at 'Miss Perfection' (as she had dubbed Katie). Miss P, we shall call her, had spent the past half an hour staring down at her plate, glancing up only occasionally to her right, where Mr P, also known as Alec, played uncomfortably with his eating utensils.
Miss P, Mr P, what the hell is happening to me? My god, did I just rhyme? Indeed, Max was so bored she had resorted to making up horribly bad poetry in her head. What had the world come to?
"That was great, Katie. Didn't know you could cook so well," Max resolved to break the silence. "Where'd you learn to make food like that?"
Katie looked up, startled. She blushed in delight. Max cringed. Now, if only I could blush like that without looking like one of these tomatoes. She played with the red fruit on her plate.
Mr P and Miss P, sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
"I'm not sure. I just love to cook, it comes to me naturally I suppose," Katie answered. Max was intensely grateful for the interruption to her runaway thoughts.
"Well, it was great," Max, you idiot, you already said that, she chastised herself. She was tired, and for once felt like an early night was needed. She also had the sneaking suspicion that the bad smell in the air was in fact emanating from her. S'what you get for not taking a shower in days. But then again, it wasn't her fault that power and water had only been restored a day ago.
"Yeah, it was delicious," Alec said, breaking his half an hour silence. He smiled heartbreakingly at Katie, who blushed yet again.
"Thank you."
Ugh. Time to go. Max felt that 'Alec Worshipping' time was approaching fast, and wanted to get out of there before it began.
"Well, I'm really tired. Gonna get some shut eye. That was a great dinner, thanks Katie." Mentally hitting herself in the forehead again for repeating herself, Max pushed back her chair and cleared away her plates. She was reluctant to leave Katie alone with Alec, for whatever reason she had no idea.
Mr P and Miss P, sittin' in a –
"G'night!" Max said a little more loudly than needed. The other two X5's looked up at her from where they were still sitting, lost in thought. At least that annoying rhyme's stopped.
She closed the bathroom door behind her, only to be greeted by her thoughts yet again.
Mr P and Miss P …
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The silence was brutal. Alec flinched each time Katie's fork 'clinked' against her plate.
"So."
Katie looked up, startled.
"So." She replied, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Katie glanced down at her plate again. "About before…"
"Yeah." Alec had a one-word-at-a-time vocabulary tonight, it seemed. Well, if Max could be a terrible poet, Alec should be entitled to be lost for words.
"It's never happened to me before, I don't want you to think that I'm a… a…" She searched for the right word.
"Tart?"
She blushed, her long eyelashes fluttering unconsciously.
"Yes. Something like that. I mean - "
"It's okay. Let's just forget about it." Alec felt the need to change the subject. They both sat in complete silence for a few moments.
"So…"
"So…"
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(Max, Alec and Katie's Apartment, 6:30am next morning)
"What're you doing up so early, Alec?" Max walked past Alec, ruffling his hair. He didn't say anything in reply, but she supposed since he had his head face down on the kitchen table, he must've been tired. She tugged open the fridge, grabbed a carton of juice and headed back to join him. "Alec?"
"Mmf."
"Huh? Speak up." Last night's shower had done wonders for her mood.
"Mmmmf!"
Max, irritated by his lack of comprehensibility, proceeded to smack him upside the head.
"Ow, Max! Could you save the Alec-bashing til after nine? Let a man get some sleep, will ya," Max's object of detestation raised his head and looked at her with bleary hazel eyes. Alec's head hit the table top with a thump. "Need sleep."
"Oh I'm sorry," Max dripped sarcasm all over the place. "I wasn't aware that you prefer the kitchen table to your bed."
"Hmmph."
Why he's up so early is beyond me, Max thought. Though she had a niggling feeling about it. Something to do with the new "Alec Worshipper" recruit, the endearingly articulate, ever so elegant, annoyingly perfect, Katie? Maybe he planned to impress her with the way he could wipe down a table with his face. Yeah. That's such an Alec-y thing to do.
It's not important anyway, Max thought, not wanting to dwell on the possibility that Alec might want more than friendship from Katie. She had better things to think about, such as what she was going to do on her day off. Being the unofficial 'leader' didn't come without it's privileges, one such privilege dictating that she should get a day of rest each week. Then again, Mole probably thought she would bust a vein if she worked 24/7. The same went for Alec, who also had a day off today.
Drinking down the juice, she decided that she would just go check up on TC HQ, in case they needed her for anything. If they didn't, she'd have the majority of the day to herself, until it was time to see OC, Sketchy and Logan out of TC safely that evening. Might go visit my girl before tonight, Max planned to have a real 'girly talk' with OC, not having a chance to do so in the past week. But what to do for the rest of the day?
Max had the sudden impulse to go to the Space Needle. Yes, so maybe it was an unrealistic wish, seeing as it was dangerous to go outside TC and all, but the itch to go up to a high place needed to be scratched. Maybe Alec would want to come. She hit him on the shoulder with the now empty juice carton.
"Alec…" What if he says no? Max instantly regretted the thought of asking the smart ass to come with her.
"What?" He raised his head again, then rubbed at his eyes.
"You know how it's our day off and all…" Max was kicking herself. Or would be, if it was physically possible.
"What 'bout it?" Alec proceeded to yawn loudly, stretching out his arms above his head.
"I was wondering if you wanted to," Max paused, while she watched him pick up the juice carton and attempt to drink some, only to realise there was none left. "Uh, wanted to…"
Alec stood up, stretching out the rest of his muscles, and strode towards the kitchen. Max eyed him irately, annoyed that he was seemingly ignoring her. She stormed after him.
"Hey, asshole, when I talk, you listen, got it?" She stalked over to where his rear end was projecting from the open fridge and slapped him over the head, again.
"Owwww, Maxie! What'd I tell you about no hitting Alec 'til after 9?" He reached a hand up to inspect the little damage she'd done to his head. "And you messed up my hair!"
"You little…" her eyes narrowed dangerously, but she calmed down somewhat when she saw the telltale twinkle in his hazel eyes. I've never seen his eyes this close before. They were standing with less than a ruler's length between them. Max wanted to turn away, protect herself from the effects he was having on her, but found she could not move.
Instead, she found herself wondering why she treated him so badly in the past, and present, she thought rather guiltily. He really hadn't done much to warrant her hostility. He'd been on her side the entire time, only she never knew it, because she hadn't trusted him. He did screw-up … but not often.
If Max really thought about it, the only resentment she ever had against him stemmed from his preventing her from obtaining the long-revered cure. The one substance that could break down the invisible barrier between her and who she thought was her soul-mate, her destiny. Logan Cale.
She'd been served a rude wake up call. Logan, when it came down to it, was just a lonely old man with a penchant for machines that would prevent him from actually using his brain. Not saying that he actually possessed one.
Back to the present, Alec looked down at Max curiously, who had her hands on her hips and head turned slightly to the side in thought. What's with all the spacing out? He wondered. He'd fully anticipated the angry reaction to his ignoring her, but Max being off with the fairies was not expected. An idea came to mind, and he grinned mischievously. Moving closer so that his body came in contact with hers, he brushed his lips against her ear.
"Maaax…" he whispered sexily, waiting for the harsh blow to his head, which seemed to be her favourite body part to abuse today. Needless to say, he was stunned when he felt her lean into him and arch her neck back.
"Alec…" Max was living a dream, one where Alec loved her, and she loved him, and they mad wild passionate love in the kitchen. Her dream came crashing down around her when she realised that, in reality, yes they were in fact in the kitchen, but Alec didn't love her, and, she thought somewhat reluctantly, there was no wild passionate sex in the equation. As for her loving him, her feelings were so muddled up she wasn't sure what to make of them.
Max needed time to think, and knew where she had to go. The Space Needle.
Her cheeks flaming, she backed away from Alec and essentially blurred to the door.
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"Uh. Well. Bye." Alec mumbled, still dazed from the recent eye-opening event.
Maybe I have a chance with her.
Did Max just respond to my advance?
Was that really Max?
Maybe I have a chance.
What the hell is she on?
Maybe I have a chance.
A million thoughts whirled madly through his head, driving him to distraction. He needed some time to think, a quiet place where he could sit and contemplate the meaning of what happened just before.
"Hi Alec. You ready to go?" Ah. Problem numero uno. He'd promised to show Katie around today, the idea that resulted from their stilted conversation the night before.
What a choice to make.
Go into isolation from the world for a few hours so that he could think, while risking straining his already on-the-rocks friendship with Katie.
Or happily show Katie around TC, while risking going crazy due to the loony bin of thoughts in his head.
Maybe he could kill two birds with one stone. Figuratively speaking, of course.
"Yeah, I'm in the kitchen." He looked at her when she glided in. "Listen, do you think maybe I could show you 'round TC tomorrow? There's something outside I want you to see."
Liar, his inner voice said, you just want to go there and brood over Max.
"Oh, okay." Katie raised her thin eyebrows, her brown eyes registering surprise. "So where are we going then?"
Alec gnawed at his thumb while he spoke.
"It's called the Space Needle."
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Post Valentine's Day roses to my reviewers:
Sam: Sorry about the wait in between chapters, I hope this chapter's content makes up for that :o). And I too think that Logan is a lil dumb. 'Dumb' is just scratching the surface of his stupidity, though. Thanks for reviewing.
choca: Well … I wouldn't say Logan is leaving just yet … I have plans for the man. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Mooch: Thank you for saying that you liked this story! It does wonders for my ego *lil ego grins happily, and swells*. If I write Max out of character, be sure to tell me :o).
Mystik87: You have no idea how deliriously happy I was to hear you say that you're going to stick with the story til the end. And I worked hard on that Katie-and-the-towel situation, so I'm glad you liked. Thanks so much for your support, it means so much to me :o).
Caderyn: I too support the 'M/A lovin', and I took your advice and changed the category to Romance/Humor. Thanks so much for your encouragement, and I hope this chapter satisfied your M/A cravings somewhat :o).
Dominique: Well, Dominique, I wouldn't say Logan is out of the picture entirely … more on a pro-longed holiday, since I can't be bothered writing him in (he's just too hard to make interesting, y'know?). Thanks for your review.
constar494: Hey, girl, didn't you review me over at NWP? Never mind :o). And as for you not liking Katie, maybe by the sixth chapter you'll change your mind somewhat. Or maybe not. Who knows. *creepy music*
RagingConfusion: Like you said, Max kept her word, booting Logan out of TC, but will Logan keep his word, and leave? Find out soon … (What a plug, eh? Heh.)
panda007: Hiya, girl, you're another one of my NWP reviewers! Well, I spose you already know what happened in this chapter, seeing as it's already posted at NWP. Thanks for reviewing, your support is much appreciated :o).
Pati: Thanks for your compliments, they've sure corrupted my ego here *lil ego swells, much like a balloon*. I hope you liked this chapter, and thanks so much for reviewing the last.
fuko: As much as I liked your speculation, I'm sorry to say (as you probably already know) you were wrong. Max didn't burst in on the Katie-and-the-towel scene, but the next scene will be very interesting. I promise. Love ya for reviewing. :o).
StarlitePrincess: Hi! I'm assuming that you're the kick-ass author who posts over NWP, and I have to say, thanks so much for your comments! You have no idea how it feels to have another DA author (who is awesome in her own right) compliment your work. And I'll take the 'painful death for Logan' into consideration :o).
pressandclick: Logan annoys me too. Very much so. But I am considering a painful death for him (idea courtesy of starliteprincess). Thanks for reviewing.
MerykeyX5 494: All your speculation was giving me a headache :o). Maybe Alec will get with Katie, maybe he won't. Maybe Logan will die, maybe he won't. Maybe the sky will collapse and suffocate all the residents of TC, we won't know til the next chapter. But I did enjoy reading all your predictions though. Thanks for reviewing!
pinay: You've already reviewed me at NWP, so I can't really see you reading this chapter again :o). But if you happen to be reading this, then I want to say thank you for your support so far. Have a Cadbury Crème Egg. They're nice.