Author's Note: Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful reviews. They mean so much to me. Anyway, this chapter is just to establish the Kris/Alec friendship before moving on to the WAY more exciting stuff. I hope you're enjoying the story! Please review!

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I love this movie," Kris commented while sitting on Alec's couch in front of his salvaged plasma screen TV.

"What is it?" Alec asked from his kitchenette. He was getting a pint of mango sorbet from the freezer.

"Gladiator," Kris replied. There was no response. "Pre-pulse movie. Won the Academy Award for best picture one year. It's got love, honor, great fight scenes, and hot guys. What more can a girl ask for?" Kris explained. She had forgotten that Alec hadn't seem films during his time at Manticore. He had talked about the brainwashing videos X5's were forced to watch once, but no entertainment films.

"Sounds nice," Alec said, jumping over the back of his couch to sit to the left of her. He handed her a spoon and placed his right arm on the back of the couch. She rested her head on his shoulder and took a spoonful of sorbet.

"Thank God today was payday," she commented to him as she ate.

He smiled, "Yeah, Normal is definitely responsible for our sorbet addiction."

"So, where were you yesterday? Missed you at The Crash," Kris said.

"Oh, I was out stealing money from the rich to give to the poor...again," he deadpanned.

Kris laughed. "Yeah, it still shows," she said, touching his slightly bruised cheek gently. He must have been hit pretty hard for her to see the bruise still twenty-four hours later.

Alec smirked. "All in a day's work," he replied cockily. Kris rolled her eyes.

They watched the movie in silence.

It had been nearly six months and no sign of White. Kris and Alec had become what people would call "best friends" but they never felt the need to give a name to their relationship.

Alec was amazed that he could remain friends with a beautiful girl for so long without either pushing her away or sleeping with her. It even began to bother him that he wasn't as obsessed with other women, that she could have that effect on him. When he was with Kris, he happier than he was with any other woman at any other time. Although he cared about her as more than a friend, he was never sure how she felt about him. He knew she trusted him now, but she had gone through so much that he wasn't sure she would trust him with her heart. Although he stuck to his premature vow of not getting involved with Kris, if she would have him, he realized that he wanted her. And it was a weird feeling to him because he wanted all of her. He had never wanted a complete person before, even with Rachel, he had barely known her.

"You're right, it's a great movie," Alec said as the credits appeared on the screen. Silence.

"Kris?" Alec asked, looking down at his friend. She was asleep on his shoulder. He smiled, she looked so vulnerable when she was asleep.

He gathered her in his arms and carried her to his bedroom, placing her on the bed.

"Alec?" Kris mumbled as he covered her with blankets.

"Shh, go to sleep," he replied softly.

"Kay," she replied as he left the room.

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It smelled like Alec, a musky vanilla smell. Why did it smell like Alec? She fully opened her eyes and realized she was in Alec's bed. She wrinkled her eyebrows in frustration. Alec had given her his bed again while he slept on the couch. She didn't mind sleeping on his couch, although it was a little lumpy.

She got out of bed and headed to the kitchenette. Alec was making instant coffee with his back facing her. She gasped slightly. No matter how many times she saw him without a shirt, she was always surprised by how tone his body was. He had such a nice back...

"Morning," Alec said, turning around and breaking her trance on how amazingly his shoulder blades moved.

"Oh, uh, morning," Kris replied, blushing slightly because now she saw his chest which looked, for lack of a better word, yummy. "You didn't have to give me your bed again, really. I don't mind the couch."

"Yes, you would mind the couch. It's fine, I feel very chivalrous giving you the bed," he replied, cocky smile on his face. Over the six month period Kris knew that underneath the cocky smile was a good heart. And that was what mattered.

Kris laughed. "Right...I'm gonna go brush my teeth." She walked into the bathroom and reached for her blue toothbrush that she kept at Alec's apartment specifically for this reason. She couldn't help but smile. She saw a shirtless Alec first thing in the morning, it was going to be a good day.

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Kris opened Alec's apartment door quietly a few days later. He was probably still asleep, and they had work in half an hour. If Kris didn't come over every morning to wake his sleepy ass up he would have probably been fired for always being late. Then again, Normal adored him. She slipped Alec's key back into her pocket and opened his bedroom door.

"Wake up, sleepy head. I brought..." Kris couldn't finish her sentence. Her voice got caught in her throat.

Alec woke up, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, hey, Kris," Alec said sleepily, smiling at her.

Kris swallowed hard and Alec looked over to his left side. A naked woman was there. How did she get there? Oh, god, Kris is seeing all this. The Crash...oh shit! Alec thought.

"Look, I can explain..." Alec started, but the woman next to him, what was her name?, began to wake up.

"Alec, baby, lie back down. It's cold," she said as she snuggled up against the sitting Alec. She then realized Kris was there, "Oh, hello, do you want something?" she asked in an incredibly annoyed and bitchy tone.

Kris looked at her in silence, not embarrassed but rather shocked. This woman was blond with crystal blue eyes. Her breasts were huge, which made Kris think she was flat as a board. Kris felt terribly stupid and tore out of the room, slamming the bedroom door after her.

Alec sighed in frustration. She saw him with a woman in bed. Stupid, Alec, stupid. He cursed himself.

"Alec, come on, let's forget about her," the naked woman purred, gently stroking Alec's bare chest.

"No, stop," Alec said, removing her hand from his chest. "I think you need to go," he said quietly.

The woman turned icy. "She's Kris, isn't she?" the woman said angrily. Sandie, that was her name.

"What? How did you know that?" Alec asked defensively. A million scenarios whizzed through his mind.

"You cried out for her," she said bitterly, putting her clothes on and leaving the room.

Alec's shoulders slumped - Kris had successfully permeated every aspect of his life. He got out of bed and began getting ready for work.

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Kris leaned against the hall wall, her head down and her arms crossed. Why did it hurt so much? It wasn't like they were dating. He was a player, she knew this. Alec rarely told her about the girls he was seeing or sleeping with, but that didn't mean there were no girls. Stupid, naive little girl, Kris thought. She was beginning to understand why she was so jealous.

Just then the apartment door opened and Sandie walked out. Kris sighed slightly, Sandie looked like a model despite her disheveled appearance. Sandie looked at her smugly and walked away. Kris shrugged, yup, she was way more gorgeous and sexy and all that than Kris, she couldn't change that.

A few minutes later the apartment door swung open again and a tired Alec emerged. He looked at her in complete shock. He had expected her to not talk to him for a very, very long time yet here she was waiting for him. Although he wanted to think she was embarrassed, Alec had seen the hurt in her eyes. With other girls he enjoyed watching then be jealous over him, but he didn't want to hurt Kris. He had actually done a good job over the six month period of not hurting her.

"Hey," Alec said softly.

She turned to his slowly, giving a small smile. "Um, I, uh, brought you breakfast," she said, handing him one of the two small brown bags she was caring.

He took it, looked inside, and smiled. Two jelly donuts. "Thanks," he said as they walked out of his building. The walk to work was quiet.

As they approached Jam Pony, Alec stopped walking. He couldn't stand the uncomfortable silence anymore. "Kris, look, I'm sorry about what you saw."

She stopped and turned around to face him. She shrugged. "Its alright. I'm not a little girl, I know what you do," she replied, unable to look into his eyes. She probably would start crying if she did. She scolded herself, she was acting like a little girl.

Her comment hurt, not because it was blunt but because it was true. Whenever he was with Kris, he never needed anything else to feel fulfilled. But, on those days she opted to not go to The Crash, he hooked up immediately with a pretty face to keep his mind off her.

"Still," Alec started uncomfortably, "I should have been more considerate. You come over every morning." He usually went to the woman's place and left before the sun came up to get some quick sleep in his own bed before Kris woke him up. Sandie, however, insisted on going to his place, and he wasn't one to ask questions.

Kris smiled slightly, Alec was becoming more thoughtful. "Well, I'm sure you had other things besides me on your mind."

Apparently not, Alec thought. He nodded slightly in response.

They continued walking.

Kris stopped right outside Jam Pony. "Alec?" she asked, looking troubled.

"Yeah?"

"They don't use my toothbrush, do they?"

"What?"

"My toothbrush, they don't use it, right?"

She shifted uncomfortably as she awaited his response. His answer would address so many layers of their relationship. Did he respect her? Did he think of her in the presence of far more attractive women? Did he view her differently from other women he spent time with. She used to be sure that the answers to all these questions was yes, but seeing Alec with another woman gave her so many doubts.

Alec shook his head. "No, I tell them not to touch the blue toothbrush."

Kris grinned. "Good," she said, as they stepped into Jam Pony.

"People, people, where have you been? You're half an hour late!" Normal yelled as the two walked in.

"I'm sorry, sir, we'll try harder tomorrow," Kris replied respectfully.

Alec nodded in agreement and Normal let them go without another word.