~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Biggs walks down the quiet street, quietly watching Tru. She's beautiful, that's for sure. But there's something that makes her beauty dark. Maybe it's that she's a little skinnier than she should be, or that her light purple eyes seem to have seen too much pain. Her long, curly, chocolatey hair falls to her waist. It's pretty, but Biggs is kind of mad that it veils her face.
"So, you grow up here?" he asks, trying to get information out of her. Max and Alec told him that they had overheard her asking the little girl if she needed to be 'special' when some bad guys came and trashed their place. She shakes her head.
"No. We grew up in New York." she says, motioning to the little girl in her arms, who's clutching the teddy bear with all of her four-year-old might. She sighs, "I can't tell you how many people think I'm her mom."
"You're not?" Biggs says, beyond relieved.
"Nope. She's my sister. Our real mom kicked us out. I've been taking care of us both ever since." Tru explains, and Biggs nods, glad to be getting some information out of her. She seems to be telling the truth, but he can't be sure.
"How old were you? If I'm not making you uncomfortable." he quickly adds, not wanting to pressure her or make her feel like she's being interrogated. She shrugs.
"No big. I was fifteen, she was almost one year. So, basically, I've been like her mother." she says, then anger paints her face. "What kind of mother throws her eight month old baby into the street? I don't even care about me, but it f*cking sucks that she doesn't have a mom."
Biggs is now positive that she's telling the truth, by the hurt and anger on her face as she tells him. He hesitantly wraps an arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her in some way. She leans into his touch, glad to finally have someone to tell this to.
"That sucks. I'm so sorry." he says, truly meaning it. "It's hard enough to be alone when you're young, but to have to take care of someone else must be really shitty."
"Why do I get the feeling you know what I'm talking about?" she asks, trying to read his eyes. He shrugs.
"I had a pretty shitty childhood, too. But at least I just had to worry about taking care of me." he says, and Tru nods. "I bet you can get pretty stressed sometimes."
She laughs, but it sounds cold. "That's the understatement of the century. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the girl." she assures him, and he nods. "But I just...I never really got to be a kid."
"Me neither. How so?" he asks, curious. She kicks a rock on the ground, sending it flying into a nearby building.
"My real dad died when I was six. I was a real daddy's girl, so it really hit home. My mother, the player that she is, started dating before the burial. Jessie was an accident when I was fourteen. Mom was really surprised. Then she found out that I was..." she pauses, not wanting to continue.
"Look, I promise I won't freak or yell or whatever you're afraid of me doing." he says, and she looks at him with a 'yeah right!' face. He looks her in the eyes, hoping that she'll see he's telling the truth. She looks at him again, then nods as they turn the corner and head into the lobby of the Oakleaf Motel.
She freezes, spotting undercover agents and pulling Biggs back into an alley. "I can't go back there. They're after me. I swear, I didn't do anything wrong, but they still want me." she promises, her face a mask of fear and panic. She squeezes Jessie to her, trying to protect her in some way.
"I believe you." he says, looking her in the eyes. He steers her through the back streets of Seattle to avoid anyone who might be after either of them. He ushers her into his apartment quickly, motioning for her to lay Jessie on the bed in his guest room.
"Thank you. Thank you so much." she says, squeezing him tightly in a hug. "I guess I need an explanation." she says, and he nods, knowing that she's not a transgenic but curious to see why they're after her. She straightens her shoulders, walking to the lights and turning all of the lights in the apartment off.
"Don't worry. I promise I'm not trying to like kill you or anything." she tells Biggs with a grin. He smiles back, perfectly able to see in the dark room, thanks to his genetically enhanced vision. She raises her arms, and a bright purple ball of light grows between them. She points to the tv, and it goes on, Wily Coyote chasing Roadrunner while Biggs just stares in shock as she turns to the lamps, turning each one on in turn. She lowers her arms, the purple light dissipating.
She gives Biggs a woried glance, lowering herself to the couch. "I'm a freak, aren't I?" she asks, suddenly very interested in studying the floor. Biggs just chuckles. She glares at him, and he swallows, suddenly reminded of Max.
"No, you're not." he says, earning him a scoff and an eye roll from Tru. "Ok, so it's definitely not normal, but either am I." he says, earning her attention. He turns around, pulling down his collar to reveal a barcode on the nape of his neck.
"You're one of those transgenics, aren't you?" she asks, and he nods. "God, I'm so sorry for what you've been through. It sucks." Biggs just looks at her like she's crazy.
"All the news stations have been broadcasting the theory that we're monsters without souls. You really don't care?" he asks incredulously. She shrugs, giving him a shy smile.
"Everything is biased. Besides," she says, "usually you just have to look a little deeper to realize the truth. And I have a feeling you've been to hell and back, and you still have bad guys on your ass all the time."
"Tru, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship." he says, and she nods happily.
"Indubatably." she says, and they sit on the couch, eating cold pizza out of a box on the coffee table, watching old movies and cartoons through the night. Biggs slowly wraps his arm around her, pretending to reach for a cheeto and just leaving his arm there. Tru moves a bit closer, leaning her head on his shoulder.
~I know I should tell Max and Alec, but I just want one night to get to know Tru.~ Biggs watches her smiling at Tweety foil Sylvester's dinner plans yet again. She feels his gaze on her, and looks over, giving him a shy grin.
"You'd think that cat would just give up, you know? I mean, that is one hell of a smart bird. How's he gonna catch it?" she asks him, rolling her eyes and pointing to the screen, where the cat's being strung up to the ceiling fan.
"See, I kind of root for Sylvester. All he wants to do is eat the cute little bird, and he's getting slaughtered for it." he says, and they both grimace as Tweety turns on the fan. "See, it shows something for determination." he says, happy that the cat has the bird, but then the dog taps him on the shoulder and hits him over the head with a pan.
"He's just so bad at planning things, and he's so mean to Tweety. I mean, the canary's ingenious, but Sylvester deserves it, because he's the instigator." she says, sticking her tongue out at him when Sylvester falls out a window.
"He's the instigator? You are sorely mistaken, girlie." he says, pointing to the screen. "See, look at that! He just tempts him!" he says, watching Tweety sashay around, turning into a drumstick in that hungry cat's mind eye.
"Well, maybe it's just because he's tempting. But he's just so darn cute!" she shrugs, not really having anything else to defend her argument.
"You can't even tell if he's a boy or a girl!!" Biggs says, throwing up his hands in aggravation. Tru looks at the screen, trying to decipher the question that's been in her mind for years, but finding no answer on the screen, which has now moved to Granny yelling at Sylvester for trying to get Tweety.
"I personally think that he's a transvestite." she says, and he gives her a look and opens his mouth to speak. She holds up her hand, stopping him. "See, he's always smoking cigars and doing stuff not-too-ladylike, and he hits on girls that Sylvester likes. But he wears dresses as disguises." she says, and he nods in understanding, then looks at her incredulously.
"And you still like the transvestite canary more than the poor, hungry cat?" he asks, and she nods, laughing.
"You make him sound like a hobo!" she says, and he shrugs.
"Well, he did dress like one in that one episode." he says, and she nods, yawning tiredly. "Why don't you go into the extra bedroom and get some sleep." he tells her, looking down to find her already asleep on his shoulder.
"I like this better, too." he says, pulling a blanket over them both and slipping into a semi-sleep normal for transgenics.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bigg's apartment
Tru opens her eyes to find it still night, and Biggs asleep with his arms around her. She smiles slightly at how peaceful he looks. She grabs the tiny backpack that she had packed in case of emergencies from where it lies on the floor, glad that Jessie remembered to bring it. She reaches in and grabs out an old, over-used, beat up pair of ballet slippers.
She looks at the clock, which tells her that it's 2 in the morning. She opens the door silently, slipping out into the hallway and hurrying to the nearest stair well, not aware of her follower.
Biggs had woken up the moment that she had pulled away, however stealthy she was. But, out of habit, he stayed still, adjusting to his surroundings and watching her. And, like the cat he partially is, curiosity led him here, to the roof.
He watches her sit down in the midst of the dirty roof and tie on her pointe shoes, stretching a bit. She raises herself to her toes, her arms floating gracefully above her head as she spins around the rooftop, pure happiness coloring her face. It's no secret, just by watching her, that this is her dream.
~And it's one that she could easily pursue~ he thinks, watching her doing a pirouette. She keeps spinning, going in a continuous circle for at least a minute. He smiles to himself, wanting nothing more than to keep watching her, but knowing that she probably doesn't want to be seen. ~She's too shy, too humble.~ he thinks, closing the door silently behind him and pulling out his cell phone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Alec's apartment
"Go for Max, you insomniac." she says, walking out of the room so not to wake Alec. He mumbles something incoherently at the ring of the phone, but then falls back into a sleep, his hand moving to where Max had just lain.
"Biggs. Tru's here right now." he says, and she pauses, a bit confused.
"Um...you guys get it on? I didn't take her to be that kind of girl." she says, shrugging as she opens the fridge to scout out the food prospects. ~Ok, definitely eating out tomorrow.~ She shudders at the sight of the Question Container, one that's supposedly been there since before Alec moved in.
"She's not! I mean, we didn't, and she's not that kind of girl." he says, appalled.
"Then what's so damn important that you had to call at 2 a.m.?" she asks, not like it mattered to her anyway. ~Damn shark DNA.~ She fills up a glass of water.
"Well, she's a mutant." he says, and Max chokes on her water. "Not transgenic, mind you, but-"
"How?" Max interrupts, and he stops her.
"Just wait, Max. God, you're almost as impatient as Alec." he tells her, and she smiles a little.
"Well, he does tend to rub off on you, doesn't he?" she asks, lost in thoughts about her man.
"Argh! Just...just come over here before work, okay?" he tells her, beyond frustrated now.
"Mmkay." she says, smiling wickedly as Alec walks out of the bedroom and wraps his arms around her. She turns off her phone, kissing her boyfriend happily. "I thought you were sleeping."
"I was, but I missed you too much." he says, giving her that 'I'm a charmer' look. She snorts, hitting his shoulder lightly.
"Suck up." she says, then remembers why she walked out in the first place. "Biggs says we need to stop at his place before work. Something about Tru." she whispers as he bends down to kiss her.
Alec looks at the clock, ecstatic to see that they have a couple hours til work. "Well, we have some time before then. What do you propose we do?" he asks, playing innocent.
"I'm sure we'll think of something." Max grins, leading him back to the bedroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
A/N: Hey guys! You said more M/A action, so I hope I fulfilled requirements!! Tell me what you think, even if it made you barf. Also, if you don't think that Tru should be a dancer, tell me. I just thought it kinda fits her character.
Well, review!
DISCLAIMER: too lazy...1st chapter.
Luv ya!
Molly Jeane