Title: Caged Hearts
Summary: They weren't trained to love. They're not even supposed to know what love is. So can they hide their feelings in a place that's watching their every move?
Rating: R (NC-17 version can be found on my web page at gumboot mafia)
Pairing: M/A
Genre: Angst, romance
Background: In 2009, Max was caught while the others escaped. She, along with a few others, was moved to a different facility. She went through reindoctrination until she became a good little soldier again. At fifteen, the X5s were broken down into different groups according to whatever specialized weapon they were to become. In Max's group is 494. She names him Alec. Their relationship started off antagonistic but by 2018 when the story begins, they are involved in a "secret lovers" relationship.
Part 3
THWACK!
343 hit the mat hard and 452 didn't waste time before quickly using her body to pin the other girl firmly to the mat.
A month had passed since Max had been released from the infirmary. A week later and she was at full strength.
"You give." Max whispered in 343's ear. The girl struggled a moment longer before relaxing and then nodding her head.
Max sprang off of her and then held out her hand to help 343 up. It was the last rotation and since their fight was over, the two could leave to shower and then turn in for the night.
"So 343, who is he? Relax, girl, I'm not going to say anything." Max explained when 343's alarmed eyes met hers.
"What are you talking about?" 343 asked.
Max rolled her eyes and then pointed to the red mark on the side of the other girl's breast.
"I…ugh…that happened from sparring earlier. Yeah 299 has some unconventional moves."
Max laughed. "Nice try 343." She looked around. The communal shower area was empty except for the two of them. Max smiled devilishly "Come on, divulge."
"There's nothing to tell."
"Jace." Max whined. 343 looked at her sharply and Max flushed. "I..I..mean 343." 343's look softened gradually. "Look I know that's a hickey and I know that you haven't been out of Manticore lately so who's the lucky guy. Its okay 343, I'm not gonna tell, sides you've got something on me now so we're even." Max bargained referring to her use of an unauthorized identification. 343 slowly reached for the shampoo bottle and sighed.
"His name's Victor."
At Max's dropped jaw, 343 continued. "He's a lab tech." Max had been expecting a number. And she thought she was taking a risk with Alec, but a member of personnel, that was unheard of unless…
"Jace," Max said seriously. "He's not—"
"No." Jace said emphatically knowing immediately what Max was implying. "I wanted to be with him. He was my observer for practicum. But after it was up, we kept seeing each other. I just kept finding myself near the lab during his shift." Jace laughed. A rare sound. "And then…well, I thought it was just luck that he was later assigned the midnight shift until he confessed that he requested it so that we could spend more time together alone." Jace laughed again and Max couldn't help but smile back. Then 343 paused in lathering her hair and looked at Max.
"I…I think I love him."
"You what?" Max snatched the shampoo bottle from the shelf and applied a generous amount to her hand. "How would you even know?" She asked genuinely confused.
"When he told me that he loved me—"
"He said that?" Max asked incredulously while looking as if she just tasted something really nasty.
Jace nodded. "I asked him what he meant, but he couldn't really describe it for me. He finally just said that you just know."
Max shrugged. "So now you think you just know?" She asked disbelievingly.
"Well, I know the only time I'm ever happy is when I'm with him. When I'm not with him I think about him all the time. I really like when we…you know.
"Have sex?"
"Yeah…only he calls it making love."
Max laughed. "Oh wait, he was serious."
Jace nodded firmly despite Max's baffled expression.
"Making love…hmm…interesting."
Both girls look towards the door when they heard the sounds of approaching feet.
"This stays between us, right?" 343 whispered.
"Of course."
"Thanks, Max." Jace's smile was beautiful and Max got a warm feeling at the rare sight.
She returned her smile and added softly. "No problem."
***
Caught! Alec cursed to himself when he heard the sound of the doorknob turning behind him.
You see, sir, it's like this. I needed some fresh air. The barracks can be pretty stuffy so that's why I'm here holding this screen that I just took off that window at three in the morning.
"Max?" Alec breathed when instead of being met by a member of staff he was faced with the beautiful brunette. "You scared the shit of me. What are you doing here? I thought you'd already be on the roof."
"Construction. My way's completely blocked off so I had to come all the way over here." She whispered back.
Most of the night staff were familiar with her sleep patterns, or lack there of, and didn't give her grief about wandering the compound late at night. There were still plenty who would give her a hard time, but they were easy enough to avoid even when she had to go all the way from the female barracks to his.
"Shame." Alec smiled before setting down the window screen.
It really was a shame. It was so much easier getting to the roof by her barracks. She would have been there a full hour before him, making sure it was safe, and setting up a place where they could be together.
The top of the compound was the best place to meet. None of the creepy X7s patrolled there. There were numerous nooks and crannies that the two could fit in to avoid the lights from the towers that occasionally swept the area. But they didn't meet here too often. It was a lot riskier for Alec to sneak out of his barracks and then to the room with the drainpipe right outside of the window he was currently climbing out of. Plus, they could only meet on the roof in the middle of the night and unlike her, he needed to sleep sometimes.
As soon as they found a secluded spot, they shed their clothes and reached for each other. Weeks had gone by with them only having conflicting bouts of free time. When he finished his daily activities early, her squad had to do night drills. When she was training in the south field, he was assigned to the north. However, the worst times were when they were in the same room or standing right next to each other yet couldn't touch, speak or even look at one another. But finally they were both clear of duties at the same time, and they didn't want to waste that time with chit chat.
Alec groaned and Max bit her lip to hold in a scream as they rode out the waves of pleasure together. And then they snuggled close, taking comfort in the sound of each other's breathing.
The air was chilly. A normal person probably would have been shivering. But it felt good to the slightly sweaty bodies of the two transgenics whose, even before the rigorous activity theirs had just under gone, body temperatures always ran hotter than a normal person's.
A gentle breeze caressed their skin and Alec pulled Max closer and sighed. It was so peaceful, probably the closest thing to a romantic setting they'd ever get. That is if Alec cared about romance and all that other sentimental crap. Nevertheless, as he looked up at the numerous stars decorating the sky, he couldn't help feeling content despite where he was. It was the quietness, as well, that contributed to the illusion that he wasn't laying on top of the building where so many atrocities had taken place. In the daytime, Manticore was very, very noisy. And he supposed that was understandable for a building full of people mostly under the age of eighteen. Except that the sounds to be expected in such a building, children's voices, laughter, music, had no place in the ambiance of Manticore. Men shouting, soldiers shouting back, gunfire, explosives, screams, now that was the soundtrack for Manticore. But sometimes at night, and tonight was one of them, all those noises went away and Alec could pretend he was somewhere else.
"343's in love." Max said suddenly breaking the silence.
"Huh?" Alec asked not quite ready to be pulled from his thoughts.
"Yeah, she's been sneaking around with one of the lab techs—"
"Wait, a regular human?"
"Mmm hmm." Max turned her face towards his, needing to see his eyes while she talked. "She said they're in love with each other."
"Please," Alec said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We're weapons not regular people. Even if we were capable, we know better than to waste our energies on emotions like love."
"Well to hear 343 talk, it was like she couldn't help feeling the way she felt for him." Max turned her gaze away from Alec and back towards the sky and shrugged. "It just happened."
"How?"
"I don't know. She said it was from being with him and having sex with him and stuff."
"So having sex with someone means you love them?" He asked skeptically.
"No, I mean, I'm sure it's more involved than that."
"How so?"
"Well, she's with a member of personnel. That's a really big risk. But she's willing to do it. And look at us. Are we only taking this chance of being together because of sex?
"Well yeah. I really like having sex with you. It feels good. Really, really good. Don't you think?"
"Of course. I mean its sex. It's supposed to. After all, sex is a basic biological act and I'd say we've been doing it right, so of course, it feels good and we like it."
Alec nodded in agreement and the two remained silent for a while.
"But do you think we'd like it as much if it was with other people?" Max asked tentatively.
"I don't know. I mean with another X, maybe. I know definitely not with an ordinary female. They told us along time ago we, males, have to be in control at all times when we have sex with one. Only someone like you could take me." Alec leered while tickling her side and making her laugh.
"So with another X it'd be the same?" Max said after slapping his hand away.
"No…well I mean I don't know. I don't really look at the other females here and want to be with them" Alec shrugged. "I only want you."
His words were nonchalant, yet the feelings they conjured in Max were explosive. She felt warm all over.
"I know what you mean. I feel the same way." She replied, her voice sounding different to her own ears. "Does that mean we're in love?"
Alec laughed. "I don't know Max. It's such a weird concept. Private Walker said numerous times how much he loves to eat. And I heard Nurse Laura say that she loves her new car. Oh and once when I had to help the guys down at the motor pool, one of them said how his girlfriend loves to piss him off.
"Yeah but all those uses of the word love were probably slang. I don't think any of them apply to what 343 meant. Back with my old unit," Max felt him stiffen and begin to pull away. "Alec I know how you feel about my old unit, but it's the only way I know how to explain." She explained sternly. Alec sighed before relaxing again. And Max took a deep breath to gather her thoughts to try and explain what, even to her, was a confusing topic.
"I miss them. With them, it wasn't like it is here. We always looked out for each other, first and foremost. And as time went on, I guess we finally got sick of seeing each other getting killed. Perk, Jack, Eva. We didn't care that we had no idea what was beyond Manticore's walls, we just knew we didn't want to see anymore of us hurt or killed. We were willing to risk our lives, our way of life, because we…loved each other more than our mission."
"But Max, look how complicated things got. For you, me, probably for them too, being out in that disgusting world and all. Think about how things would have been if you hadn't felt that way for your unit and then tell me if it was all worth it."
That would take awhile so Max only shrugged in response.
"I like what we have. Love would probably just mess it up." Alec whispered. Max nodded and hugged him tighter in an attempt to get back the warm feeling that had vanished with his latest words.
TBC