Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews, they mean so much to me! Also thank you for our patience with the updating, I'm just thankful Fanfiction.net is letting me upload stuff again. I'm so glad that you guys saw the contrast between the viewpoints of Alec and Biggs in the last chapter, it was EXACTLY what I was striving to show. I hope you enjoy the chapter, it's setting up future conflicts between Kris, Cece, and Alec. Please read/review and I hope you like it!

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"You okay?" Kris asked as she laid beside Alec that night. She wondered why he had been uncharacteristically quiet since they had gone to her place.

"Yeah, just tired," he replied, gently stroking the exposed skin between her pajama shirt and pants. In all honesty, he was thinking about what Biggs had told him. Could his relationship with Kris get stale, boring, or even downright pointless? Yes.

"Is that it?" she asked his, running her hand through his hair.

No. That wasn't it, but was it appropriate for Alec to ask her what he wanted to ask her? He wasn't sure. But then again, she was usually cool with his stupid questions.

He kissed her naval area gently before asking, "Kris, do you think you'll get bored of me?"

"Mm, not if you keep that up," she jested, alluding to his kisses.

"I'm serious."

She frowned and sat upright. "I'm sorry. No, of course I won't get bored of you," she stated seriously.

"But how can you be sure?" he asked, sitting upright as well.

She blinked several times, trying to find a good response, but nothing came.

"You see? You don't know," he said.

"Where did this question come from?" she asked.

"Biggs. I said that you were the one and he basically told me that I was being stupid because love doesn't last, especially between people who are different."

"And he knows this from personal experience?"

"No."

"Alright...well, I mean, what can I say? I disagree with Biggs," Kris said.

"Did being a transgenetic affect your decision to be with me?" he asked her.

"What?" She was completely confused now. Alec was asking such weird questions.

"Did it?"

"Yes, of course it did," she replied.

Alec sighed. Biggs was right. Being a transgenetic was some sort of excitingly sexy thing that would eventually grow tiresome.

"Aren't you gonna ask me how it affected my decision?" Kris asked.

"How?"

"Remember when we had our first fight? And you told me all those things you did when you were at Manticore?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that got me thinking. Would he do that to me? Would he hurt me like he hurt those other people? You know, that kinda stuff. But I knew the answer was no, which made me think more. It made me think about how far you must have come, as a human being, since you first left Manticore. You were trained to be ruthless, yet you were always so caring towards me, you always had my back. And, I respect you so much for changing like you have because it showed what kind of a man you are, and I knew that you are the one for me."

A smile slowly spread across Alec's lips. Biggs was wrong.

"What did Biggs say about being a transgenetic?" she asked curiously.

"He said that girls found it exciting, but that would die and you'd want a normal guy," Alec replied, playing with the short, fine hairs on her arm.

"Exciting? He has no idea what he's talking about," Kris said dismissively. It was more like nerve-wracking because she didn't want some damned government official coming and taking him away from her. "And I don't want anyone else."

"You better not..." he teased, moving closer to kiss her. Afterwards, he asked, "So, it wasn't a sexy thing then?"

"What?"

"Me being a transgenetic. It didn't make me sexier?" he asked mischievously.

Kris chuckled. "You are impossible..." she said, sliding back down into the bed.

"And you didn't answer the question," Alec retorted, sliding down as well and leaning over her.

"Being a transgenetic didn't make you sexier," she asserted, looking up at him.

"Oh yeah?" he asked kissing her neck lightly.

"Uh huh," she replied absently. Her attention was diverted to the wonderful kisses.

"I didn't need to be sexier, huh?" he joked between kisses.

She laughed. "I'm not going to answer that," she replied.

"Why?" he asked, staring at her.

"An ego can be inflated only to a certain extent or else it pops," she answered before pulling him down to her lips for more kisses.

He couldn't argue with that.

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"Man, it's cool working here," Biggs said eagerly after coming back from one of his runs a week later.

"I think you are the first person to say that," Sketchy replied, bored.

Alec laughed. T.C. was up and running to its full capacity and Alec was back making his own deliveries. Max, however, still ran around doing work for T.C. with Logan while Alec, O.C. and Kris covered for her.

"Seriously, this old lady gave me a cup of coffee and a cookie for delivering a package," Biggs said happily.

"How is it that you get food and I get pinched in the ass?" Cece asked, annoyed, overhearing their conversation.

Biggs looked at her rear end. "I'll admit that it's nice but..." he said cockily.

"Sugah, you betta watch it or else she's gonna kick yo ass," O.C. warned Biggs.

Alec and Sketchy laughed as Cece gave Biggs the death glare.

"So, you going to The Crash tonight?" Sketchy asked Alec.

He shrugged. "Not sure, I'll hafta run that by Kris." Sketchy and O.C. nodded in understanding while Cece scoffed.

"What, is she your mommy?" she teased.

Alec looked at her strangely. "No..."

"Then why would you hafta ask her what you can do?" Cece asked him.

"It's called courtesy," Alec replied.

Cece laughed.

"I never thought I would see the day when you would become just another love-sick fool," Cece said disappointedly, moving closer to Alec, placing her hands on his shoulders and trailing them down his well-defined arms...she could feel his muscles tense through his denim jacket. "What a waste," she sighed before walking towards the exit.

Alec turned around to see Kris looking at him and Cece. As Cece walked by Kris, she gave her a little smirk as Kris gave her a cold glance. Well, this was an awkward position for Alec to be in.

"Um, I'm going to deliver more packages, see if I can get more free stuff," Biggs said uncomfortably, once Kris had approached them.

"Yeah, yeah, me too," Sketchy rambled on, walking away from the somewhat tense situation.

"Boo Numba Two, I saw the whole thing, she totally came onto him," O.C. said sternly to Kris. Kris nodded and O.C. left Kris and Alec alone.

Kris looked at Alec, waiting for him to say something. A girl just made a move on him and he just stood there, accepting it.

"There's nothing going on," Alec said, reading her look perfectly.

"Does she know that?" Kris asked, slightly impatient.

"Yeah, but Cece was always the aggressive type. She might not want to admit that I'm not interested in her," Alec answered.

"What gave her the impression that you were interested in her in the first place?" Kris asked.

Alec shifted uncomfortably. He looked around to make sure they were alone. "She was my first, I was her first," he explained.

Kris stared at him strangely until she finally understood what he was talking about. "Oh..."

"But that was like five years ago, and it meant nothing. It was awkward and stupid and meaningless."

"Perhaps for you, but maybe not for her," Kris replied uneasily.

"It was part of our training for solo operations, that's all," Alec insisted.

Kris grimaced. The way Alec talked about sex made it sounded so...sterile. "I believe you, really I do, but I just worry about her," Kris reassured him, putting her hands in the pockets of his denim jacket and reaching up to kiss him. Afterwards, she rested her head on his chest and he held her against him until Normal said they were slacking off. They grudgingly separated.

He draped his arm around her shoulders and picked up a package as they walked out of Jam Pony. "Don't worry, she knows that I love you," he reassured her.

Kris smiled. She would never get too much of those three words from him.

They rode to their delivery destination in comfortable silence until Kris finally said, "But I thought Rachel was your first time."

"No, first time it meant something, I consider it my first time," Alec replied.

"Oh, I see. You just never mentioned Cece or anything like that," she commented.

"Yeah, cuz it didn't mean anything," Alec replied.

Kris thought about it and nodded her head. "Right."

Alec smiled. Kris was so cute when she was figuring something out.

"So, tonight, do you wanna go to The Crash?" Alec asked.

"Sure, I'm cool with that."

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That night at The Crash, Max, Logan, O.C., Sketchy, Biggs, Cece, Alec and Kris shared two tables. Sketchy was busy flirting with Cece, Biggs was checking out some girls at another table, and Kris and Alec were playing pool.

"I missed this," Alec said as they played.

"What? Me beating you?" Kris teased.

"Well, that too. But just hanging out, not worrying about the shit that's out there. You know, just having some fun," Alec said with a smile.

"Yup, I couldn't agree more," Kris replied.

Alec leaned over the pool table to take his shot, but missed.

"Aw, tough luck, Golden Boy," Kris teased. "Eight ball, side pocket." It sank. She smiled gleefully. "Now, about my reward..."

"Yes, Goddess." Alec bowed playfully down to her in mock worship. He rose to look at her, smiled mischievously and lifted her up onto the pool table. His weight on her caused her to fall back onto the table.

She laughed happily between Alec's passionate kisses, and a red tint flushed her face. She hadn't meant for him to do that there, in public, but she couldn't complain.

"So, can I get next game?" a female voice asked, breaking their kissing session.

Kris looked over to see Cece smiling courteously at them.

Kris swallowed hard. "Yeah," she said feigning casualness, getting off of the pool table and walking away. She refused to play the overprotective girlfriend and allow Cece to look like the innocent victim.

"I meant with you," Cece called after her.

Kris turned around, frowning. "Why?"

"Well, you beat Alec, didn't you? Why would I want to play the loser, unless, of course, he lost purposely," Cece said, taking a jab at Kris' ego.

Alec looked at Kris, shaking his head. She didn't need to prove anything, she didn't need to put Cece in her place.

However, Kris didn't see it that way. She stared intently at Cece, took the pool stick from Alec, who kissed her gently on the forehead, and played against her. Alec sat on a stool and watched.

It didn't take long for Alec to realize what Cece was doing. Whenever it was her turn, she would lean over the pool table to tease Alec with either peaks at her cleavage or rear end. And as she waited for her turn, she would jut her hip out to one side, accenting her long, lean figure. She would catch him looking at her, which would only encourage her more. What she didn't know was that Kris was well aware of what she was doing.

Cece was a good player, but Kris was better.

"Good game," Kris said in a neutral tone after she had won. Alec came over and hugged his arms around her neck from behind.

Cece smirked. "You too. Guess he wasn't playing easy," she replied, glancing at Alec.

As she walked away, Alec kissed Kris' neck from behind. "What do you say we get out of here?" he suggested.

Kris sighed. "Haven't you seen enough tits and ass for one night?" she asked, annoyed, as she pulled away from him.

Alec was in such shock that he couldn't respond. It felt as though he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"She does have a nice body, doesn't she?" Kris commented sarcastically.

Alec turned red. "Uh, yeah, yeah she does...but not as nice as yours or um...shit, I'm sorry," he rambled.

"Sorry for what?" Kris asked, walking towards the tables of his friends.

"Sorry for looking at her," Alec replied, following her.

"Well, it was sorta unavoidable, wasn't it? I mean some part of her was always in your face, taunting you," Kris replied dryly.

"True, but..." Alec didn't know what to say.

She shrugged. "I don't see you running after her for something more, so I guess there should be nothing to worry about," Kris replied grudgingly.

Alec smiled. "It's good that you don't feel threatened."

"No, I do feel threatened," Kris stated honestly. "Look, can we not talk about this here?" she pled.

Alec frowned, "Yeah, let's go home."

"What's up you two?" Logan asked as he watched Kris walk purposefully over to the table and grab her jacket.

Kris looked around quickly, thankful that Cece wasn't there to see her so upset. "Going home, been a long day," Kris replied, unable to hide her irritability.

"Everything alright?" Max asked, concerned. Kris looked rather flustered and Alec looked distraught.

"Peachy," Alec replied wryly as he followed Kris out of The Crash.

Max looked at Logan, confused, but all Logan could do was squeeze her hand and hope everything would work out for the other couple.

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The walk back to Alec's apartment was silent. Kris was trying to convince herself that everything would be alright while Alec was wondering why Kris was acting so strangely. She was always the secure one, convincing him that everything would work out well. But tonight, she was the one with the mood swings and caustic remarks.

When they entered his apartment, Alec immediately said, "There's nothing for you to feel threatened about."

Kris studied him for a bit then replied unemotionally, "I know."

"Then why are you acting like this?" Alec asked, confused.

"I can't help it, I'm sorry. Look, I'm just exhausted and so maybe that's why I'm moody. Don't worry about it," she said.

"I do worry though," Alec said.

"Well don't."

"Kris, just tell me what the hell is wrong. Let's fix it," Alec said.

"You can't fix it, Alec, that's the whole point. We're different, Biggs was right about that. And tonight, it just got me thinking, maybe like attracts like," Kris tried explaining.

"Okay, what are you talking about?" Alec asked, still confused. Was this how it felt to be Kris when he was going through a rough spot in his life?

"Cece, Alec, I'm talking about Cece," Kris said. Alec was about to protest when Kris cut him off, "I know she doesn't mean anything to you now, Alec, but it's just that she has a hell of a lot in common with you. And you know how Biggs was saying how I might get bored with you? Well, let's reverse that and think about you getting bored with me. I mean, we're different in so many respects and I couldn't blame you if you'd want to be with someone who could understand you on that level that I could never relate to. So, I mean, I just started thinking about that tonight, and you can't do anything for me or whatever, they're just my insecurities. I gotta just deal with them."

Alec furrowed his eyebrows, trying to think of something meaningful to say to her, to alleviate her worries. "How could you think that I would get bored with you?" was all that came to mind.

"Well, I couldn't ask you the same question," Kris retorted, smiling slightly.

Alec chuckled lightly. "But seriously, Kris, you're...you're mine. I'm not sure how to explain it any other way. I only want you. I don't want Cece, I never did. Yeah, she's a transgenetic, and yeah, we can connect about that, but, she doesn't understand me. You get me. And like I told Biggs, I'm steady," Alec said.

She nodded her head. "I know that, Alec. Really, I do, and I trust you. But, I sure as hell don't trust her, but it's just that girly jealousy thing. Cece is trying to get you and though I know she won't succeed, it still bothers me. And she won't be the last girl to try this. It's just something I have to deal with. I'm not pissed that you checked her out or whatever, but I just don't understand why certain people have to go after people who are taken," Kris said.

Alec smiled. "They like the challenge," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She hugged him tight. "They're so mean," she mumbled into his chest.

"Well, their logic is if the guy cares enough about the girl he's with, he won't stray and the challenger will fail. If he doesn't care enough, he shouldn't have been with his girlfriend to begin with," he explained.

This was all explained to him at Manticore in his solo training as a method he could implement if necessary. He wasn't proud of the fact that he had done exactly what Cece was doing during some missions.

Kris sighed. "It's annoying," she said.

"I think it's rather flattering," Alec jested.

Kris looked at him with exasperation. "You are impossible," she said, trying to get out of his arms.

He wouldn't let her. "What? If you were in my position wouldn't you think it was flattering that someone would try so hard and fail so badly to win you away from me?" he teased as she squirmed in his arms.

"No, I'd be like, Who the hell do you think you are? Are you blind? I have a boyfriend, but then again, I'm not the one with the ego blimp," she teased back.

"Oh that's it," he said, tickling her.

She laughed and screamed happily as she ran around the apartment and Alec chased her, much like they had done one of the first days of their relationship - before transgenetics were dying on television, before White reappeared on the Evil Radar, before jaded people were saying they wouldn't last, and before others were trying to break them apart. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note: I'm still writing the next chapter, but I know where the story is going. Thank you all for your support and to the M/L shippers, have no fear, something's gonna happen soon, but I don't know exactly when since I haven't written it yet! Anyway, thank you again and please tell me what you think!