Title: Conflict

Summary: Max fails at something and loses her cool. Alec takes the brunt of her anger.

Rating: T

Author's Note: Thanks for all the wonderful feedback! It means so much to me, and it keeps me writing.

Conflict

"Why do you always have to screw everything up?!"

Max stalked away from him, knowing that if she didn't remove herself from his presence at that moment, she was liable to lose her cool completely. And although she threatened him at least three times a day with a sound ass-kicking, she still hated losing control. It made her feel closer to the animal that Manticore had created her to be.

"Max, this was not my fault." Alec's tone was calm, though there was something deeper there, a hint of anger that her hypersensitive hearing didn't miss. That small thread of emotion in his tone only incensed her further. He had no reason to be irritated.

"You miscalculated, Alec! You were sloppy and lazy and didn't bother to check your facts. And now the heist is completely useless, meaning we spent a month preparing for nothing!" The anger swept through her form, causing her face to flush and her hands to shake. She felt as if she was teetering over a dangerous ledge, but she didn't know how to pull herself away.

"What the hell, Max? I spent the last three weeks finding those sources. I pulled out every contact I had! How could I have known that the security information and the blueprints were out of date?" His voice was still low, but genetically enhanced hearing was no longer necessary to recognize the indignant anger that lurked in his tone.

On some level, Max realized that his argument held merit. But she was too incensed and frustrated by their failure to hear his logic. She and Logan had been so close to finding a cure, but they wouldn't be able to without the money from this heist. The scientist and tools they needed were costly, and there wouldn't be an opportunity to get cash like this again for months, if at all. So Max had snapped. And of course, she chose the same person she always chose to take out her disappointment on.

"I depended on you. I trusted you to come through for us. But of course you didn't. No, like always, you work only hard enough to get the job half done, and then left it to others to bail your ass out!" She stalked closer to him and, unable to restrain herself, planted a sharp left hook to his cheek. He staggered back, a look of disbelief passing over his features. Before he could say a word, she threw herself at him, grabbing his shoulder and knocking him firmly on the ground.

"Max, you know you don't want to--" His voice held a clear warning, his eyes brightening as he too, was overcome with anger, but she didn't let him finish. Instead, she planted a swift blow to his stomach while she straddled him on the ground. He grunted, but his face stayed in focus as he lithely flipped them over so that she was flat on her back, him towering over her. He locked her hands above her head, restraining them with his own. Even though he was clearly pissed, he still wasn't trying to hurt her, but rather restrain her until she regained control.

Which wasn't going to happen, because the next second she wrestled her hands free and shoved him off of her, moving to a standing position. Her hands formed taut fists as she bounced in a slight crouch, and he swiftly moved into the same position. Though an unwilling participant in their match, he obviously wasn't going to allow her to get another shot at him.

She lunged and he countered, blocking her jab and grabbing her arm, twisting it behind her back. He held her there for as long as he could manage, and issued one last warning. "Keep going, Max, and I won't hold back on you."

"Please," She said, yanking out of his grip and hitting him sharply in the chest. "Don't."

His face narrowed and became blank as he fought off her advances. She moved in on him and he lunged, catching her in the stomach with his fist. She barely paused before she got in another shot to his cheek, causing him to stagger slightly. "Jesus, Max. Not the face." His voice was rough, though it held a hint of his cocky demeanor.

She laughed, but it came out more like a cackle. She moved to apply a swift kick to his gut, but he caught her leg and pulled her off balance. She tumbled to the ground, and he went with her, pinning her for the second time. Even through her angry fog, Max could tell that the close proximity was having an affect on him; her body was flush against his in an almost intimate arrangement.

His pupils contracted slightly as he tried to regain his focus, but it was too late; she'd seen his distracted gaze and used it to her advantage. She flipped them over just as he'd done when she first attacked him. He remained still, staring up at her, and she felt unexpected desire pool at the bottom of her stomach. Something must have shown on her face, because the corners on his full, perfect lips tipped upward in an arrogant smirk. Before she could generate any anger or embarrassment that he'd read her so well, he moved quickly, yanking her up and pinning her to the wall with his body.

"Now… will you please stop hitting me?" He hissed.

"Fine." She said shortly, her head still spinning slightly. His grip loosened after a moment and she took the opportunity to grab his shoulders and heave him against the opposite wall. A surprised look passed over his face, but it was nothing compared to the shock he experienced next when Max crashed her lips down onto his.

He tensed at the sudden, completely unanticipated move, but she persisted fervently. Unable to resist, he returned her assault and a wealth of different emotions crashed through her system. Their mouths met and dueled for dominance, much in the way their bodies had fought just a few seconds earlier. His tongue demanded entrance into her mouth and then fought viciously with hers once allowed the access. Her hands still gripped his shoulders painfully, while his had moved to her hair, clutching the dark, silky strands tightly.

He dipped his hands under her shirt and then raked his nails lightly over the sensitive area of her back. She shivered, and her moan was lost into his ever-demanding mouth. Encouraged, Alec was in the process of grabbing the hem of her blouse and removing it when a loud, shrill beeping filled the room.

Disoriented, they both pulled away slightly, breathing heavily, their eyes locked. Then she understood. Her pager.

When that realization hit, reality crashed through her as well. She gasped and her eyes filled with hot, guilty tears. Stumbling away from Alec, she grabbed the small device and studied the readout. Logan. She waited silently for the beeping to pass, but regretted its absence when the sound finally died out. Thick, heavy silence followed in its wake, neither of them making so much as a sound.

Is he breathing, She thought hazily, am I?

She stared at him a moment longer, her unease obvious, and then turned towards the door.

"Max," Alec quickly cut off her departure by stepping in front of her.

"Don't." She said, her gaze skittering away from his.

"Max, don't let this— whatever this was bother you. You were obviously upset and I was here, like always. You needed an outlet and--" She listened as he tried to explain away their kiss and wondered why he was bothering. She knew he probably didn't regret it, but then she'd been the one to initiate the scorching interlude in the first place, so he really shouldered little responsibility in this situation. The thought sent waves of pain crashing through her, but also a small, potentially dangerous thought: Do I regret it?

"I…" She finally met his gaze, and felt as if she'd been punched in the gut… again. Desire still laced itself throughout the brilliant green and gold flecks, but the emerald pools also held concern and another gentle emotion that she was too afraid to place. She stared at him a moment longer and then launched herself at him again. Only this time it was a torrent of tears, not fists that she released upon him. He instinctively tensed as her arms wrapped around his torso, but a second later relaxed and returned her embrace. It clearly wasn't sexual; she was in desperate need of some comfort, and he, like always, simply couldn't refuse her.

He held her gently, stroking her hair and back in a calm, soothing manner, all the while keeping certain parts of himself from coming into contact with her. He seemed to know that heat or desire weren't what she needed, and kept their embrace strictly on a friend basis. Finally, she pulled away, her eyes avoiding his yet again. A deep flush crept up her cheeks as she carelessly wiped away the tear tracks, feeling acutely ashamed of her weak behavior.

"I can't do this anymore," She whispered quietly, her voice filled with sorrow. He waited, and she took a minute to collect herself before continuing. "It's like, the second I start to hope that Logan and I can be together again, everything crashes down around us. I'm so scared to even be around him anymore, after all of the close calls we've had." She closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. "God, it's so lonely."

She knew Alec didn't have much experience in the way of comforting women – especially her – but just having him near her seemed to ease the ache in her chest a tiny bit. And as much as she welcomed the greatly-needed band aid over her heart, it also frightened her. Because it put their relationship into previously uncharted territory, and left her feeling just a little off-balance and out of sorts.

In that moment, she wanted desperately to return to normal. Normal in the way that Alec was always pining over the blonde-haired bimbos while she watched and scoffed. Normal in the way that she was forever trying as hard as she could to make things with Logan work, no matter how long it took. Normal in the way that the only contact she and Alec had was when they were arguing and the only touching they did occurred when her hand landed swiftly on his head after he'd said something stupid.

She closed her eyes and willed herself to be strong. She wouldn't use his comfort as a crutch. She would stand on her own and support the burdens weighing heavily on her slender shoulders. She wouldn't let this infuriating, beautiful transgenic mean more than he already was to her. Mean everything. She just wouldn't.

"And now I just have one more thing to be awkward about when I'm around him." She finished in a clipped tone, shooting him a look. Her voice held her classic sarcastic edge, and she was finally regaining control of her emotions.

Alec shrugged, ready and accustomed to letting her sarcasm roll off his shoulders. "If he makes you that unhappy, why are you still with him?"

Max rolled her eyes, easing herself back into their old routine. Nonetheless, she did have to silently admit that she was glad to have his brutal honesty, rather than O.C's idealistic insistence that she and Logan would beat this "virus bitch." Not that she didn't love O.C for those assurances, but sometimes she wondered of her best friend really meant them, or if she knew that they were what Max needed to hear.

"Because I love him." She said plainly, although the words were slightly strained to her own ears.

"And I loved her." He replied, and she cast a quick, startled look at him. He was, of course, referring to Rachel, but she had never heard him do so before. "But I was like poison to her, Max. And her involvement with me killed her."

She shook her head and opened her mouth to say something, though admittedly she didn't know how to reply, when a brief memory flashed through her mind and froze the words on her lips.

Don't you see, 452? You're poison. You destroy everyone that you love.

"No." She whispered to herself. That bitch hadn't been right about her. She hadn't been right about anything. But… what if it was true?

"Max?" Alec actually sounded concerned.

She glanced at him, her expression still troubled. "I should go."

He looked surprised but nodded slowly. "Logan will want to know that we made it out ok."

"But we didn't. We don't have the product, we don't have the cash, and to top it off we went behind his back and--" She cut herself off quickly. "I should go." She said again.

He nodded in agreement and watched her walk out the door, thinking to himself that things just got a hell of a lot more complicated.