A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm thinking of going with one of the ideas. Thanks, ting and all of my reviewers! I promise, the plot is here!
This is my version of the whole runes thing. Whoops! I gave part of it away. My bad.
Jam Pony was incredibly awkward for Max. Running into Alec was what she dreaded most. She didn't see him when she walked into the small business, half an hour late. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood though- even Normal was smiling.
"Hello, Missy Miss! How are you? Want a package? No, not today!" Normal greeted her with an enormous smile and a cheery tone. Max was pleased to not hear a single "bip" or a comment on how late she was. He must have gotten laid. She looked around more carefully at the place. The walls were painted over with a new coat, as were the lockers. The floor was so shiny; Max could see her reflection. The room seemed to beam as much as her boss. Scary.
"Hey Normal! What happened? Did 'golden boy' give you a kiss or something?" Max said skeptically, but she still enjoyed the atmosphere. She was most shocked at what came out of Normal. He laughed.
"Max, that's a good one! No, but it's a shame! I could only wish, but what happened was that a very satisfied customer gave an anonymous donation! Who knows why, but who cares? It did have a note that said something the lines of 'To my Jam Pony associates who do such great service.' I'm so proud of everyone! I'm going to give you all a day off!" Normal was the happiest person in the world, and Max was a bit worried. She slipped off and decided to start her day off right then. Hopping on her Ninja, she sped over to her favorite place.
He's gotta see this new boyfriend more often.
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After hearing about his day off, Alec decided to pay a visit to Terminal City. Stepping into headquarters, he greeted his friends. I guess Normal's cheery mood is contagious.
"Hey, Alec. Have you seen Max?" Dix questioned. This broke his caught-on cheeriness into reality.
"No, why? She hasn't stopped in?" He asked, his wild grin missing from his face. After work, Max always visited TC. What was up?
"Nope. We had some plans to discuss with her, too. Was she not at Jam Pony?" Concern in Dix's voice was a bit upsetting to Alec.
"No, we had a day off. That's why I'm here. I'll go find her, though. If it's important." He knew she did not want to talk to him. It was obvious when she left Joshua's apartment early. Why, he wasn't so sure. That's why he had added the 'if it's important' part. Unfortunately, it was important, so he left TC to find Max. Fortunately, he already knew where she was.
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Max sat at the top of the space needle, dreaming and wishing and thinking while looking over her home. She supposed it would be her home for quite a while now. Seattle was a good enough place to live. She was happy having her friend there. Original Cindy had been at Jam Pony when she heard about the day off. She smiled to herself as she remembered her friend's shocked face. She had other friends, too. Sketchy who, when sober, was a good guy to talk to and joke with. She had the T.C. gang. Well, more like the T.C. neighborhood. The thought of TC always put one particular and gorgeous face into her head....
Alec. Things always came to Alec. When she was disappointed, mad, or self- conscious or when every emotion was filling her genetically enhanced mind, Alec was there. She was either telling him about it or telling someone about him. It was like that saying, 'All roads lead to Rome.' Or was that home? Who cared? She smiled when she heard herself whisper almost inaudibly for her extra sensitive ears, "All roads lead to Alec." Why did I just smile???
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Alec strained to hear what she had whispered to herself and smiled as he could (only) make out the word "Alec." Why did I just smile??? Oh right, because you've only have had feelings for her since the day you met her, idiot. How could you forget?
"Heya, Maxie! Talking to yourself, or is that you invisible friend?" He shot her one of his trademark grins as she turned around. He was the one who said the first words between them since last night. Normally they would have had a silence as long as one night even when things weren't awkward, but this time, it seemed like he was the first to talk in twenty years. But it didn't seem like it took twenty years for Max to reply.
"Yep, meet Bob, the invisible X5 that only I can see. Oh, and he's coming to kick your ass, just to let you know." She rolled her eyes and turned back around. Alec could sense she didn't want to talk to him now, so he pressed her a bit more. A pissed Max was more amusing than a silent Max.
"Hi Bob! I'm Alec, you've probably heard about me, or my ass, from Max." playing along with her comeback. She didn't say anything, but he could hear her smile as a quiet laugh escaped her mouth, which quickly she turned into a fake cough. He moved to sit beside her and touched her shoulder. He felt her shiver, although from the cold (she was wearing short sleeves, but X5's don't get cold easily so you know that wasn't it) or from his touch, he wasn't 100% sure. Noticing her short sleeves, he noticed something right under them.
"Max!? When did you get a tattoo? What does it say? Why didn't you take me?" the questions ran out of his mouth as if they had an X5's blurring legs. He looked into her deep brown eyes, only to receive a confused expression and a "What tattoo?"
"Oh, come on, Maxie! I can see it on your arm. Why are you denying it? Does it mean ' Alec's the hottest guy on earth' in some foreign language?" Alec knew full well that is wasn't just some foreign language. He was trained to be fluent is almost all of them. He loved to tease her and one tiny part of him wished she would say yes. Well, more than a tiny part of him actually. He pointed to the symbols on her arm. As she turned her arm, he could see more of the strange symbols showing themselves and darkening when he touched her. Odd.
"Oh my...we...I...Alec, help!" Max squirmed to see more of the mysterious markings all over her body. "I can...feel them...pulse..." She looked into his eyes. "Take me to TC. Please Alec? I need you."
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Don't forget that pretty little button down there that would make my day... Thanks again!