Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel.

A/N: Many thanks for the reviews…

….and many thanks to Mia/RT4ever for betaing:-) All remaining mistakes are mine of course.

Maybe somebody will recognize a part of this as a bit from the snippet-thread over at the BBWW-forum;-)

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Logan's Penthouse, 4:10 PM

A part of Logan wanted to yell at Bling for making Max dash out of the penthouse and away from him. Unfortunately though the concept of yelling implied knowing what the object of one's ire did wrong – and Logan still had no clue what exactly it was that had upset Max about Bling's offer to do a little sparring. The only 'crime' Bling had committed was worrying about Max's well-being, which, as Logan was aware even in his slightly irritated state, was something to be thankful for.

No, this irrational wish to stagger Bling with one of his death-glares simply stemmed from this funny sense of over-protectiveness Logan felt nagging at him when it came to Max. It was a feeling which roots Logan didn't wish to explore further, keenly aware that taking a closer look at his desire to shield Max from all harms might just lead to the delicate matter of what exactly their relationship was.

Besides, Logan mused with a resigned glance over to his friend, how could he be mad at Bling when he displayed such a miserable expression of contrite perplexity? So, instead of holding his friend responsible for Max's inexplicable mood swing, Logan simply offered him a sympathetic smirk, wryly remembering the uncountable times when Bling had remained silent after he had pissed off Max. "That didn't go as planned, hmm?"

Directing his dark eyes onto Logan, Bling leaned onto the workout table, then tipped his head down in a frowned nod. "I need to apologize."

Logan couldn't help but smile at Bling's self-incrimination, which was yet another reason why he deserved the medal for 'Best friend and therapist' on a daily basis. The man had just gotten a full blast of attitude from Max, one that had been pretty much undeserved and provoked merely by his wish to help. But instead of being insulted by Max's rude behaviour, Bling blamed himself and – instinctively sensing that Max anger wasn't really directed at him in person but had merely been a long trained reflex reaction – insisted that he was the one who should apologize.

Allowing himself another smile at the irony of the situation which was quite the reversal of their normal pattern, Logan set on making Bling feel better. "Maybe. First though you need to let her cool of a bit."

That earned him a sceptically raised eyebrow from Bling, telling him quite clearly that while Max might be less agitated after venting of a little this didn't touch the mysterious reason for her peculiar behavior in the least. Logan had to admit that he was right, but cheering up Bling and solving the tricky mystery of Max's inner workings was just a bit too challenging a task to be solved in just a matter of seconds.

Logan was a bit at loss what else to say – after all Max had just managed to render Bling speechless, the guy who so far had provided a wise answer to just about everything. After another moment of silent contemplation though he came up with the one thing that had proven its infallible potential to pacify Max: food. "Listen, Bling, why don't you go home, kick back, grab some food and…" Logan paused, intending to have Bling's full attention when he pulled the joker from his sleeve. "… maybe let Maria work her magic on those kinks you got from messing around with Eyes Only." Maria, the nurse from Metro Medical and more importantly Bling's girlfriend, who hopefully didn't have to work nightshift today, was the one person in whom Logan had full confidence when it came to making Bling feel better. "In the meanwhile I'll feed Max… so, if you come by around nine, I'm sure she'll at least hear you out." The last part was added in a more serious tone and with an expectant glance up into Bling's pensive face, hoping he had persuaded the trainer.

And indeed, his words seemed to have achieved their goal as the beginning of a smile creased the corners of Bling's mouth. It was founded in Bling's gratefulness for Logan's attempt – but also by the thought of Maria, who'd promised this morning to bring home some Chinese takeout after the end of her shift for a nice, comfortable evening in front of the fireplace. Nevertheless, a final bit of scepticism remained, causing Bling to throw Logan an unconvinced look. "You know…I really don't want to interrupt your intimate evening."

As if someone had pushed an invisible button, Logan's face took on stubborn set and, without so much as a second thought or a single moment of hesitation, the usual mantra was out of his mouth. "We're not…"

"… like that. Yeah sure, I know." Finally, as he effortlessly finished the all-too familiar proclamation of denial, Bling's solemnity was broken by a broad grin that did absolutely nothing to hide his exasperated amusement.

Just as always his incredulous come-back earned him an irritated glare from Logan, who had right from the start and with wordless efficiency declared his obvious appreciation of Max to a topic that wasn't to be touched. This time though Logan wasn't able to keep up the well-practiced look of indignation for very long against his relief at eventually seeing the typical expression of calm, balanced friendliness re-established on Bling's face. In an urging tone now he repeated his offer. "Think about it. After I've fed Max with another Cale Culinary Miracle she'll forgive you just about anything."

Bling smirked, momentarily distracted by Logan's complete, utter clueless-ness. His cooking was delicious, no question, but Bling had a strong suspicion that the food would play only a minor role in softening Max into forgiving and forgetting. Nope, the motive behind Max hardly ever turning down Logan's offer of a free meal – glaringly obvious for anybody but Logan – wasn't so much the food in itself, but the unsuspicious opportunity it provided to spend some time in the company of a certain handsome cyber-journalist.

The thought that maybe today Max would decline Logan's offer for dinner because he had spooked her off with his damned persistence efficiently brought Bling back to the problem at hand. As much as he wanted the both of them to spend some time alone over candlelight and wine he needed to make sure that Max was okay and wouldn't avoid Logan just because of his stupid mistake. He didn't want to even imagine the state of hopeless self-neglect Logan would fall into without the regular visits of Max which drew him into short-lived yet blissfully light-hearted moments of happiness and were the only thing that kept Logan from completely drowning himself in the bleak world of corruption and misery. So, as he bent down to pick up his backpack on his way over to the door, Bling reluctantly gave in to Logan's offer. "Right then. I'll be back around nine."

Satisfied and relieved Logan watched his retreating back, his mind already occupied with figuring out how to make tonight's dinner extra-special. His absorbed ponderings though were interrupted when Bling stopped mid-movement as if he had forgotten something. One hand lingering on the wooden room divider, the trainer craned his head over one broad shoulder for a sincere, quiet, "Thanks, man".

Logan just answered with his widest companionable grin. "Hey, you know, it's only payback." And it really was. Bling was a man of many talents, each of them highly appreciated of Logan: ever-patient therapist, motivational guru, valued advisor in Eyes Only matters… wise friend. Logan didn't want to think about what would have become of him after the shooting had he met a therapist who didn't possess Bling's unique mix of resolute gentleness.

And now he had even talked him into learning a bit of self-defence, an idea Logan would have successfully resisted with everybody else. But all in all, Logan decided while he carefully massaged his aching neck, his first, abruptly ended self-defence class hadn't gone too bad. They hadn't done much yet, basically just Bling delivering an interesting physiology lesson as he showed Logan the various points on the human body where with little force a lot of pain could be achieved. Of course, with Bling always being the responsible physiotherapist, this had been accompanied by a little lecture that, in general and with Logan's unfeeling legs in particular, one had to be very careful not to inflict serious bruises and swellings. Both of them only clad in shorts and t-shirts to have a better look at how muscle, joints and nerves were connected, Bling at first had demonstrated the different pressure points with Logan and then had let him test his new knowledge on the muscle-packed body of his teacher.

Things had went well as Logan's curiosity had been awakened by Bling's competent explanations and the trainer's usually patient air soon establishing the comfortable atmosphere which had become so typical for their workouts throughout the last months. It had given Logan a growing confidence that, despite his stubborn unwillingness to believe it, maybe learning a little martial arts was possible for him, too. Things had went well… until he had heard the metallic click of his front door closing – only a mere second after a yelping "Oww" had escaped his lips at Bling's demonstration of a particular mean technique involving pressure on his neck and his jaw. Max… From all possible moments she had to choose that very instant for one of her normally very welcome out of the blue visits. Still feeling very much like his head would snap of any moment, Logan damned his inability to just jump up from the floor, so she wouldn't see him in this oddly embarrassing position flat on his stomach.

An instant later Max had appeared in the doorframe of the exercise room, making Logan wish he just could blend in with the workout mat. Bling on his part hadn't been shaken in the least by Max sudden appearance. He had just given Logan a gentle clap on the back – a subtle "Get over your issues, man" – and, standing with a grace that always was surprising to see with someone as bulky, had greeted their visitor with a gentle "Hey, Max".

Max. He needed to call her, make sure that she still wanted to indulge in a Cale Culinary Miracle tonight. Logan dropped his hands down to unlock the brakes of the chair with a resolute snap… but then hesitated, Max's inexplicable anger still fresh in his mind. Fingers fumbling with the cool metal of the wheel rims, Logan suddenly question the wisdom of bothering Max with his superficial dinner plans right now when her peace of mind seemingly was threatened by some unknown… thing. What if calling her only boosted her agitation?

But then, for once it wasn't him who had run her off, Logan reasoned. Why should she be mad with him who after all had barely uttered ten words throughout the whole episode? Of course, seen from a purely logical perspective, Max had no motive to be mad with Bling either… Even more reasons to make himself visible on her pager, Logan told himself as he finally moved over to the office area with determination. He needed to make sure things could go back to the normal state of comfort and ease between Max and Bling…. needed to make sure she was well and hadn't gotten into some kind of trouble in her worked up state…

Taking the phone from its station, Logan decisively punched in the number that in the last months had gotten as familiar to him as the face of the stunning bike messenger to which it belonged.

………..To be continued……….