Author's Note: I wasn't going to write a sequel to A Light in the Dark. It was meant to be just a short "this is the way it should have been fic." But Queenie and a few others have asked me to continue it (asked in quotes because I really mean ordered). So...I hope you're happy guys. It's all your fault :)
Sequel to A Light in the Dark
Chapter One: The Way it Should Be
It was early morning and Terminal City was bustling with transgenics and transhumans alike, all going about their daily business. It seemed as if the entire city was awake, ready to face this new day. A lot of things had changed in the 5 years since the war against the 'freaks' had begun. Some good, some bad, but some things would never change.
High above the city, in a newly renovated apartment building, a man and a woman sat at a kitchen table in the apartment they shared, their voices raised in irritation.
"You are an idiot," Max accused, a hand moving a thick strand of long chestnut hair out of her face.
"Max, I'm not an idiot. Sometimes I think I'm the only one that has any intelligence left in this city," Alec argued. His hazel eyes held that familiar spark of energy that Max knew so well. To anyone who didn't know them very well, it would seem the two were on the very verge of tearing each other apart. To someone like Joshua, who inhabited the apartment next to the couple, it was the way they were, one of the ways they showed each other they cared. It was a way the two of them could vent their anger and frustration on someone who understood and could forgive them; an added bonus being that they both loved seeing the flames that burned in each other when they were angry.
"It's a good idea, but there's no way the pros outweigh the cons. We're finally being accepted, largely in part to you. You can't give up your position now, not when it's doing so much good."
"Maxie, I've done what I could with my position in the city council, but I'm tired of having no time to spend here with you." Alec's expression softened visibly and he reached out to put a hand on one of hers that was setting on the table. "It's just been one conference after the other. I never know when I'm going to be home, or even in the city. It's time for someone else to take over. I don't want to be away from you anymore. And when this election starts, I'll be gone even more."
"Alec, you know how much I miss you when you're gone, and I would love to be able to spend more time with you. But who's going to take your place? Mole?" She laughed slightly at the thought of the lizard man in a business suit, standing at a podium giving a speech, talking through the lit cigar in his mouth. Alec smiled at the flicker of laughter that shined in Max's eyes.
"Actually...there is someone. Jake wants to run." Jake was an X4 who had quickly made his way up the ranks in Terminal City after the incident with the Familiars 4 years ago. He was now next in command after Max and Alec.
"Wow...he'd be great. Not quite as charming as the incumbent, though. Almost as good looking...with those chiseled features and those big blue-"
"Hey! The incumbent who is coincidentally your BOYFRIEND sitting exactly here!" Max grinned and chuckled at the look of jealousy and playfullness on her partner's face. Seeing her expression, Alec chastized himself mentally for not realizing she was just trying to get a rise out of him.
"No worries. I said almost. No one's quite as good looking as my baby." She leaned across the table and kissed him tenderly.
Once they broke apart, Alec's face turned serious.
"So, I was thinking, after the election is over, do you think...maybe we could get away from here for a little while? Maybe take a much needed vacation?"
"I think I'd like that," Max replied.
Alec scooted his chair next to her, the woman of his dreams, and embraced her. This was exactly the way things should be, should have always been, and he told her as much.
"Yeah, you're right. I love you Alec. This is exactly the way things should be."
"I love you too. And it's not exactly the way things should be." Max raised an eyebrow questioningly. Alec smirked and said, "Ideally, there'd be less talk and more gettin' naked." Max smacked him playfully on the back of the head. "Seriously, some things never change," Alec said while rubbing his head dramatically.
A man watched from a van in an alleyway as the two transgenic leaders walked arm in arm toward the headquarters of Terminal City. He played back the audio feed from the apartment, listening with quiet rage.
"I love you Alec. This is exactly the way things should be."
"I love you too. And it's not exactly the way things should be. Ideally, there'd be less talk and more gettin' naked." A small thwack could be heard in the background. "Seriously, some things never change."
The man leaned back in the van's seat, arms behind his head. "And some things just need a little push to get to the way they're supposed to be." He smiled with satifaction as he started the van and pulled out of the alley, the couple completely oblivious to anything but each other.
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