Disclaimer: Sorry, I forgot to put this on the previous post. I do not own them.
A/N Thank you so much for the reviews : ) They make me very happy and more pleasant to live with! Thanks and lots of hugs to Dani and Kat for the beta (but you can blame me for the bad taste, they've got nothing to do with it!).
This is going to be a (hopefully) fun M/L (with a tiny bit of drama because I can't help it) ; ) Nothing intellectually stimulating here, much to the shame of my professor who try, and obviously with no success, to make me literary smart.
"Love letters"
Chapter 2
Max continued to look at the scenery of flat green fields through the rectangular frame of the Aztec's window. It helped if her sight landed somewhere other than Logan. That way, thoughts of them pulling up the road, behind those trees, or in plan view, and making sweet monkey love were not pervasively present. She blew out a breath, wiping sweat off her forehead using the back of her hand.
"Max."
"What?" Alarmed, she looked at Logan with widened brown eyes, breathing deeply. Logan wouldn't know that he was frozen in mid-movement, about to take his shirt off, would he? No, she was safe. Their interlude behind the tree, beside her imaginary stream, would remain just that. Imaginary.
"Do you mind?" He pointed a finger to her left foot. It was tapping on the floor mat vigorously, the sole of her boot threatening to make a permanent imprint.
"Sorry." She muttered, putting a hand over her knee to stop its movement.
"Your breathing sounds a little labored, are you sure you're okay?" Catching Max's enthusiastic nod from his peripheral vision, Logan continued, "Do you want me to lower the windows? Bessie has been shot at so many times, I think there's something wrong with the heater. It's all fogged up in here." Logan thought it weird that this was the second time that this had happened, the first being a few nights ago when Max had unknowingly stole the chip for the exoskeleton.
The cool air settled Max's nerves and, thankfully, her overactive imagination. Much better. She met Logan's eyes in the rear view mirror. He gave her a smile, the one that made her feel like candle wax being melted under his hot gaze.
Different shades of red played across the horizon. Looking at the descending sun, Max felt a sense of serenity. This time of day was a signal of the night to come, a harbor away from the heat of the sun. Or in Manticore's case, a break from tactical training and physical combat, a threshold between impassive soldiers and curious children. Max and Jhondie always found themselves perched on a tree for a rendezvous with the sunset, making them wonder if they shared eagle DNA as well.
Logan noticed Max blink away tears, her gaze focused on the vast sky. "What are you thinking about, Max?"
"Jhondie has a name for every shade of colour." Max shifted on her seat, half-facing Logan. "The rainbow didn't have seven, it had twenty eight."
Logan wrinkled his brow. Here he was, thinking that some profound thoughts were bothering Max, and she was talking to him about colours? "Oh."
Max laughed at the puzzled expression on Logan's face.
"Hey!" Logan exclaimed, slightly offended
Max stopped laughing and, in a more confiding tone, added, "I used to make up lives for them, you know? Like, Jhondie is a fashion photographer or an architect." Max wasn't sure why she was sharing this with Logan, but the wariness she expected as a result of divulging such private information was absent. "It makes things easier to deal with. Makes me feel like I'm not so alone."
Logan reached for her, "You're not."
Max looked down at his hand covering hers like a cocoon protecting what would become a beautiful butterfly. "I know." Max furrowed her brow when Logan rested his hand back on the steering wheel, wondering why she thought he would leave it joined with hers. She was unable to deny that she wanted him to. "Anyway, when Zack told me that Jhondie worked in a bar and that Zane had a dog, it comforted me. They actually have the semi-normal lives I wished for them."
Logan nodded. "What about you, Max? What kind of a life did you wish for yourself?"
Max looked down, "I've always...," she paused, making sure that Logan was paying close attention. He was. Her tone grew more serious, "I've always thought of myself as a humanitarian. I've always wanted to do legwork for Eyes Only. And meeting you has made all my dreams come true."
Logan smirked, "Very funny, Max."
Max broke out in a loud laugh. "You're too easy, Logan."
He pushed the break button, halting the car. Not even Max's quick reflexes anticipated the sudden impact she felt as she slammed against the seatbelt. Logan was asking for it. "What the hell?" She snapped angrily.
Logan shrugged innocently, a halo above his head. Or was it greenhouse gas from the products he used to keep his hair spiky? "Thought maybe you'd like some dinner."
Max looked around, slightly annoyed. "Logan, I hate to injure your male ego, but there's nothing around here but unprocessed wheat. I don't know about you, but I kinda like getting my fiber from the Kelloggs Box."
"Well, it may not be a Cale culinary miracle, but I made us some sandwiches earlier. They're in the basket, in the back." Logan pointed to the basket's location, "Do you mind getting it, and my wheelchair too?" Seeing Max's puzzled look, he added, "Nothing like a picnic under the sunset."
Max made an 'o' with her lips. She got out of the car, then smiled.
Max lead Logan to a clearing under a maple tree. Instructing Max to take the blanket from the basket, Logan helped her unfold and spread it over the ground. He then transferred himself on the blanket as Max, on her knees, took out the plastic containers, which she peered into with a devilish grin of a cat about to pounce on a mouse.
Logan had made turkey sandwiches with cheese. He had also brought celery and carrot sticks, some ranch dressing and two bottles of water. He had thought of champagne and pate with crackers and shrimp, but decided to reserve those for a later, perhaps more fruitful, seduction. Did he really think seduction? No, he meant...yeah, that was exactly what he meant!
"Looks good, Logan" Max teased, nudging Logan's arm with her shoulder.
"Thanks."
She took a big bite of her sandwich, wishing it was Logan's delectable shoulder. 'But we all can't get what we wish for, can we?' Max thought to herself wryly. Otherwise, she and Logan would be getting busy right now. Bloody hell, she couldn't blame the heat for these thoughts anymore.
Logan looked at Max as she finished her first sandwich and started on another one. He glanced at his watch. It was 6:30 p.m. This was probably the best time to tell Max about the informant. Logan sighed, knowing that there was no other way to do this without looking like an insensitive jerk.
Noticing Logan's outstretched leg, Max thought of how nice it would be to fall asleep on his lap, his fingers brushing the hair out of her face in soothing strokes. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, her soft curls cascading down her left shoulder. She was sure that if it had been another lifetime, a time like this would have called for a sweet kiss. The romantic atmosphere was not lost, not even to a transgenic like herself.
Logan reached out to touch Max's hair, but retrieved his hand before doing so. "Max?"
Max opened her eyes, a ready smile on her lips. "Yeah?"
"I need to tell you something important about this vacation."
Logan looked nervous. Max leaned in closer, aware that Logan's gaze diverted to her lips before being consciously pulled back up to her eyes. "What is it?"
Logan felt himself being pulled in a trance by Max's hypnotic eyes. He forgot what he wanted to tell her. Right, the informant. "You know the informant I was telling you about?"
Max nodded, smiling, her eyes on Logan's soft lips.
"Well, we're staying at his place. In exchange, he asked me to do some Eyes Only work for him. I sort of agreed to help him out."
It took Max a few seconds to process Logan's words. "You what?" she shouted with narrowed eyes, as the words finally sunk in.
Logan couldn't help but cringe. "I'm sorry, Max."
"You always do this! I make an effort to be here for you, Logan. Is it too much to ask that you do the same?" She stood up, "I guess this isn't as important to you...," she would have said 'as it is to me' but refrained. "I should have known!" Slinging her napkin in Logan's direction, Max heard him say "Ow!"
She didn't care, stomping her way back to the car and fuming over Logan's obvious disregard for her. She was only a tool for Eyes Only. This was nothing new. So why was she upset? Because maybe for once she let herself believe that this trip was different, that it was their alone time. But, as usual, it wasn't. She was crazy, naïve and stupid to think otherwise. She took a deep breath, but it did nothing to tend her female ego, or her heart. Using her enhanced vision, Max checked on Logan. He was rolling back to the Aztec, his shirt covered with the salad dressing that Max had 'accidentally' dumped on him.
Logan transferred himself on to the driver's seat, trying not to mind the sticky fabric that clung to his chest. Max didn't utter a word, her arms crossed in front of her chest, ignoring him. Now, getting his wheelchair to the back was usually not a problem, but their luggage made it difficult to maneuver the chair from where he sat. He didn't want to ask for Max's help.
He didn't need to, Max was out the door and none too gently shoving the wheelchair back to its previous location.
"Thanks, Max." He smiled tentatively. It was nice to be reminded that despite her anger, Max still got his back.
"Shut up!" She glared at him.
They continued their journey in silence until they reached their cabin, which had a lantern hanging on the porch, flies dancing around it. Logan pulled that car to a stop in the gravel driveway where a woman in her early thirties waited, a baby perched on her hip. With a wide smile, she approached the Aztec.
"Hi, you must be Logan Cale." She extended her arm to shake his hand. "I'm Helene. It's so good to finally meet you."
Logan smiled, immediately liking the woman because of her easy manner. "You too."
Helene received an obviously fake smile from Max and turned back to Logan, "My husband didn't tell me that you'd be bringing your wife."
Logan laughed nervously.
Max snickered, "I'm not his wife."
Puzzled, Helene looked from Max to Logan, then back to Max. The young woman was royally pissed, the result of an idiotic deed only a significant other could do. She knew that expression too well, her husband received one every time he pissed the holy hell out of her. 'Oh, you will be soon', she thought.
**********
A/N I apologize for the infrequent updates. Please be patient with me. I'm done university in three weeks. Yay me! So starting then, I should be able to update more often.
A/N Thank you so much for the reviews : ) They make me very happy and more pleasant to live with! Thanks and lots of hugs to Dani and Kat for the beta (but you can blame me for the bad taste, they've got nothing to do with it!).
This is going to be a (hopefully) fun M/L (with a tiny bit of drama because I can't help it) ; ) Nothing intellectually stimulating here, much to the shame of my professor who try, and obviously with no success, to make me literary smart.
"Love letters"
Chapter 2
Max continued to look at the scenery of flat green fields through the rectangular frame of the Aztec's window. It helped if her sight landed somewhere other than Logan. That way, thoughts of them pulling up the road, behind those trees, or in plan view, and making sweet monkey love were not pervasively present. She blew out a breath, wiping sweat off her forehead using the back of her hand.
"Max."
"What?" Alarmed, she looked at Logan with widened brown eyes, breathing deeply. Logan wouldn't know that he was frozen in mid-movement, about to take his shirt off, would he? No, she was safe. Their interlude behind the tree, beside her imaginary stream, would remain just that. Imaginary.
"Do you mind?" He pointed a finger to her left foot. It was tapping on the floor mat vigorously, the sole of her boot threatening to make a permanent imprint.
"Sorry." She muttered, putting a hand over her knee to stop its movement.
"Your breathing sounds a little labored, are you sure you're okay?" Catching Max's enthusiastic nod from his peripheral vision, Logan continued, "Do you want me to lower the windows? Bessie has been shot at so many times, I think there's something wrong with the heater. It's all fogged up in here." Logan thought it weird that this was the second time that this had happened, the first being a few nights ago when Max had unknowingly stole the chip for the exoskeleton.
The cool air settled Max's nerves and, thankfully, her overactive imagination. Much better. She met Logan's eyes in the rear view mirror. He gave her a smile, the one that made her feel like candle wax being melted under his hot gaze.
Different shades of red played across the horizon. Looking at the descending sun, Max felt a sense of serenity. This time of day was a signal of the night to come, a harbor away from the heat of the sun. Or in Manticore's case, a break from tactical training and physical combat, a threshold between impassive soldiers and curious children. Max and Jhondie always found themselves perched on a tree for a rendezvous with the sunset, making them wonder if they shared eagle DNA as well.
Logan noticed Max blink away tears, her gaze focused on the vast sky. "What are you thinking about, Max?"
"Jhondie has a name for every shade of colour." Max shifted on her seat, half-facing Logan. "The rainbow didn't have seven, it had twenty eight."
Logan wrinkled his brow. Here he was, thinking that some profound thoughts were bothering Max, and she was talking to him about colours? "Oh."
Max laughed at the puzzled expression on Logan's face.
"Hey!" Logan exclaimed, slightly offended
Max stopped laughing and, in a more confiding tone, added, "I used to make up lives for them, you know? Like, Jhondie is a fashion photographer or an architect." Max wasn't sure why she was sharing this with Logan, but the wariness she expected as a result of divulging such private information was absent. "It makes things easier to deal with. Makes me feel like I'm not so alone."
Logan reached for her, "You're not."
Max looked down at his hand covering hers like a cocoon protecting what would become a beautiful butterfly. "I know." Max furrowed her brow when Logan rested his hand back on the steering wheel, wondering why she thought he would leave it joined with hers. She was unable to deny that she wanted him to. "Anyway, when Zack told me that Jhondie worked in a bar and that Zane had a dog, it comforted me. They actually have the semi-normal lives I wished for them."
Logan nodded. "What about you, Max? What kind of a life did you wish for yourself?"
Max looked down, "I've always...," she paused, making sure that Logan was paying close attention. He was. Her tone grew more serious, "I've always thought of myself as a humanitarian. I've always wanted to do legwork for Eyes Only. And meeting you has made all my dreams come true."
Logan smirked, "Very funny, Max."
Max broke out in a loud laugh. "You're too easy, Logan."
He pushed the break button, halting the car. Not even Max's quick reflexes anticipated the sudden impact she felt as she slammed against the seatbelt. Logan was asking for it. "What the hell?" She snapped angrily.
Logan shrugged innocently, a halo above his head. Or was it greenhouse gas from the products he used to keep his hair spiky? "Thought maybe you'd like some dinner."
Max looked around, slightly annoyed. "Logan, I hate to injure your male ego, but there's nothing around here but unprocessed wheat. I don't know about you, but I kinda like getting my fiber from the Kelloggs Box."
"Well, it may not be a Cale culinary miracle, but I made us some sandwiches earlier. They're in the basket, in the back." Logan pointed to the basket's location, "Do you mind getting it, and my wheelchair too?" Seeing Max's puzzled look, he added, "Nothing like a picnic under the sunset."
Max made an 'o' with her lips. She got out of the car, then smiled.
Max lead Logan to a clearing under a maple tree. Instructing Max to take the blanket from the basket, Logan helped her unfold and spread it over the ground. He then transferred himself on the blanket as Max, on her knees, took out the plastic containers, which she peered into with a devilish grin of a cat about to pounce on a mouse.
Logan had made turkey sandwiches with cheese. He had also brought celery and carrot sticks, some ranch dressing and two bottles of water. He had thought of champagne and pate with crackers and shrimp, but decided to reserve those for a later, perhaps more fruitful, seduction. Did he really think seduction? No, he meant...yeah, that was exactly what he meant!
"Looks good, Logan" Max teased, nudging Logan's arm with her shoulder.
"Thanks."
She took a big bite of her sandwich, wishing it was Logan's delectable shoulder. 'But we all can't get what we wish for, can we?' Max thought to herself wryly. Otherwise, she and Logan would be getting busy right now. Bloody hell, she couldn't blame the heat for these thoughts anymore.
Logan looked at Max as she finished her first sandwich and started on another one. He glanced at his watch. It was 6:30 p.m. This was probably the best time to tell Max about the informant. Logan sighed, knowing that there was no other way to do this without looking like an insensitive jerk.
Noticing Logan's outstretched leg, Max thought of how nice it would be to fall asleep on his lap, his fingers brushing the hair out of her face in soothing strokes. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, her soft curls cascading down her left shoulder. She was sure that if it had been another lifetime, a time like this would have called for a sweet kiss. The romantic atmosphere was not lost, not even to a transgenic like herself.
Logan reached out to touch Max's hair, but retrieved his hand before doing so. "Max?"
Max opened her eyes, a ready smile on her lips. "Yeah?"
"I need to tell you something important about this vacation."
Logan looked nervous. Max leaned in closer, aware that Logan's gaze diverted to her lips before being consciously pulled back up to her eyes. "What is it?"
Logan felt himself being pulled in a trance by Max's hypnotic eyes. He forgot what he wanted to tell her. Right, the informant. "You know the informant I was telling you about?"
Max nodded, smiling, her eyes on Logan's soft lips.
"Well, we're staying at his place. In exchange, he asked me to do some Eyes Only work for him. I sort of agreed to help him out."
It took Max a few seconds to process Logan's words. "You what?" she shouted with narrowed eyes, as the words finally sunk in.
Logan couldn't help but cringe. "I'm sorry, Max."
"You always do this! I make an effort to be here for you, Logan. Is it too much to ask that you do the same?" She stood up, "I guess this isn't as important to you...," she would have said 'as it is to me' but refrained. "I should have known!" Slinging her napkin in Logan's direction, Max heard him say "Ow!"
She didn't care, stomping her way back to the car and fuming over Logan's obvious disregard for her. She was only a tool for Eyes Only. This was nothing new. So why was she upset? Because maybe for once she let herself believe that this trip was different, that it was their alone time. But, as usual, it wasn't. She was crazy, naïve and stupid to think otherwise. She took a deep breath, but it did nothing to tend her female ego, or her heart. Using her enhanced vision, Max checked on Logan. He was rolling back to the Aztec, his shirt covered with the salad dressing that Max had 'accidentally' dumped on him.
Logan transferred himself on to the driver's seat, trying not to mind the sticky fabric that clung to his chest. Max didn't utter a word, her arms crossed in front of her chest, ignoring him. Now, getting his wheelchair to the back was usually not a problem, but their luggage made it difficult to maneuver the chair from where he sat. He didn't want to ask for Max's help.
He didn't need to, Max was out the door and none too gently shoving the wheelchair back to its previous location.
"Thanks, Max." He smiled tentatively. It was nice to be reminded that despite her anger, Max still got his back.
"Shut up!" She glared at him.
They continued their journey in silence until they reached their cabin, which had a lantern hanging on the porch, flies dancing around it. Logan pulled that car to a stop in the gravel driveway where a woman in her early thirties waited, a baby perched on her hip. With a wide smile, she approached the Aztec.
"Hi, you must be Logan Cale." She extended her arm to shake his hand. "I'm Helene. It's so good to finally meet you."
Logan smiled, immediately liking the woman because of her easy manner. "You too."
Helene received an obviously fake smile from Max and turned back to Logan, "My husband didn't tell me that you'd be bringing your wife."
Logan laughed nervously.
Max snickered, "I'm not his wife."
Puzzled, Helene looked from Max to Logan, then back to Max. The young woman was royally pissed, the result of an idiotic deed only a significant other could do. She knew that expression too well, her husband received one every time he pissed the holy hell out of her. 'Oh, you will be soon', she thought.
**********
A/N I apologize for the infrequent updates. Please be patient with me. I'm done university in three weeks. Yay me! So starting then, I should be able to update more often.