A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed my last chapter :) it means a lot to me. I also wanted to mention a few things I forgot to add in the last chapter due to wanting to post the chapter asap. I added a few things in honor of some of the readers. The part of Alec taking a bath and experiencing the "whole nine yards" Of being a woman was dedicated to Freehumour (From Jra unlimited she pointed out that Alec was adapting a little too well. I think I remedied that. lol. The Caller ID (roller boy) was dedicated to Turquoise Girl because of a cute review she left me I figured I'd slip it in. There have been a few other requests that I'm hoping people will catch on to. I hope you're all pleased with the next Chapter :) Enjoy! Sorry for the delay hasn't been cooperating with me lately
Chapter 8
She could feel his fingers in her hair. They slowly lingered their way down to her chin and cupped her face. Softly he claimed her mouth with his. Ever slowly kissing the corner of her mouth he brushed his soft lips on hers seeking entrance.
She gave herself to him and parted her mouth to let him take her lips between his. His tongue slid along her teeth and found hers with delicious passion. It was the most sublime, mind blowing searing kiss she ever received.
Max stirred from her deep sleep, nuzzled deeper in the warm blanket and sighed contently. MMMmmm, she moaned in her lethargic state and smiled to herself.
She languidly stretched her muscles like a cat and purred. Waking up slowly, her mind numbly went back to the dream and the wonderful kiss, subconsciously replaying the euphoric sensation in her mind. She slowly looked next to her, noticed the bed space beside her was empty and took note of the light blanket covering her. Closing her eyes again she felt the scorching touch on her lips and smiled.
Lazily she removed the blanket and sat on the side of the bed. Instantly she felt a strange tightness accompany the euphoric tingling sensation between her legs and looked down, "oh god not again…"
In disbelief she looked at the bulge. Her mind tried to understand what was happening and she slowly connected the dots. Her scent was heavily laden in the air surrounding her, the relaxing sensation of waking up in his bed didn't help and last the aphrodisiacal dream her subconscious simply wouldn't let her forget this morning. Soo good, she thought again.
Touching her lips she froze, she had been dreaming of Alec! Kissing her! What the…?
That wasn't the worst of it she had actually replayed it in her mind, several times. Apparently enough to get aroused, she was slowly getting uncomfortable as it pushed against her pants, making her groan with the need to feel release. Alec? she thought incredulously. No that's impossible it had to be Logan.
Her gaze was still locked on the crotch of her pants and she sighed. She wasn't going to let it win. "Okay, listen up soldier you and I are going to have to lay some ground rules. I'm in control here not you."
How was she supposed to deal with this? And why the hell was she dreaming of Alec of all people? But it was so good. Okay Max stop right there! It was just a dream.
Looking in consternation she blew air out her mouth. It's not like it would actually listen to her and bow into submission, but that would be a neat trick.
Laughing to herself she passed her hand over her face to make it impassive again. "Soldier I order you to desist."
Nothing, after a few moments she tried again, "so…I can't really call you soldier but you and me we've got some issues. Got it Buster?" Yeah Buster I like that! She smiled in approval. It was always popping up at the most inopportune times.
"So first rule, no more of this popping shit in the morning it's disturbing. Second, I'm here now not Alec so the ladies they're a no go got it? She was almost expecting a 'Yes Ma'am!' in answer but it never came. That's it I've lost it.
She passed her hand through his short hair in frustration. It wasn't working. She was still completely hard and there was no indication that it was going away any time soon. "What am I going to do with you? If you think I'm even going to touch you you've got another thing coming."
She had begun to pace the room and tried to walk it off. Her mind drifted again to the passionate kiss and she stopped pacing the soft carpet. "ARGH!! I need a cold shower!" She rushed to the washroom and caught her reflection in the mirror. Suddenly she seemed mesmerized by his face. Okay stop staring, cold shower now! Tearing off her clothes without wasting a second she jumped underneath the needle piercing coldness of the water practically sighing with sheer relief.
After leaving his apartment Alec had walked home in the darkness. The cold air barely registered with his higher than normal body temperature. Making it back to Max's room he undressed and slid under her blankets trying to find sleep. With the hellish day he had just gone through he dozed off quickly. Managing to get a few hours rest he woke feeling extremely restless.
Sitting up in bed, his hands brushed the sheets, and his mind registered how damp they felt. He felt extremely uncomfortable and there was a sheen of sweat covering his skin.
Slowly getting out of bed he headed towards the washroom and looked at himself in the mirror. Her face was slightly flushed. He touched her cheeks and panicked, it felt like her skin was on fire.
Turning the tap on, he immersed his hands in cold water, and splashed some on his face. He tried to understand what was wrong. Maybe he was ill? He didn't feel sick, he just felt restless like his entire body was crawling with ants. Looking around the apartment he tried to find Cindy to ask her if it was normal but she was already gone. Putting the feeling in the back of his mind he managed to get dressed for work and left feeling slightly worried. They never got sick. What was going on?
Walking to work he kept staring at people on the way. Gradually he felt like everything was distorting. He kept getting pulled in by all the colorful scents around him. Needless to say it took him longer than usual to get to Jam Pony. When he finally got there the same wave of distraction hit him and he had to focus extremely hard just to make it to Max's locker. It took him a few seconds to crack her combination through the fog that was his mind and opened it. Putting his bag in he took out her gloves and slid them on; it was getting harder and harder to concentrate on the little things.
Cindy touched his shoulder. Turning around he faced her deep brown eyes and smiled. He never really noticed how beautiful she looked. There he was being pulled in again and had to stop himself.
"You okay Max?" she asked in concern.
"Yeah…yeah I'm just feeling a little under the weather. It'll pass thanks to wonderful genes." He tried to smile but somehow didn't really believe his own words, something just felt wrong.
"You look a little flushed," Cindy reached to touch Max's forehead and noticed her best friend close her eyes with a look of bliss. She rubbed herself against her hand and O.C. quickly pulled it back from the strange reaction she received. "Oookay," she said slowly. "You burning up maybe you should go home."
"I don't feel sick. I'll be fine," he said it more to convince himself than her. The simple contact of her skin had been extremely exquisite.
Max chose that moment to enter the building and Alec's vision quickly closed in on his own body and instinctively he forgot everything around him.
Closing the distance between herself and her two friends, Max gave them a small smile and frowned seeing the look on her face. "What did I do?"
O.C. laughed at Alec's comment the poor boy was getting paranoid now always wondering what he did wrong. Max wouldn't stop staring at him and suddenly Alec blushed. He dropped his bag on the floor and headed towards the men's room.
Cindy turned to look at Max who was still watching Alec's direction. "What's wrong?"
Alec had to shake himself out of it. "Nothing…" he said distantly.
"Is it hot in here?" Max asked suddenly and O.C. shook her head. "Nah it's actually cold in here. You sure you gonna be ok?" she was starting to feel concern.
"Yeah I think I need some air."
Cindy watched her friend walk towards Normal. "What do you have for me?" Max looked up at Normal and stopped talking. Visibly shaking her head she grabbed a few packages and headed out the door.
"Something funky going on here," O.C. mumbled to herself feeling a sense of familiarity in the back of her mind.
Max was in the washroom trying to hide her embarrassment. She had taken one look at her body and Alec's body had reacted out of its own will. She looked down at herself and groaned. "Not now Buster…" she whined. "What did we talk about this morning?" she whispered furiously. "I mean this is me we're talking about, that is totally off limits got it?"
"Ugh Alec is that you?" she heard Sketchy's voice through the stall and froze. Not now.
"Yeah you got me," she bit her lip hoping he would just leave.
"Dude who you talking to?" Sketch asked in confusion.
She looked around the small stall and tried to come up with an answer. "We'll finish this later," she said and blushed. After a few moments of waiting and feeling comfortable enough she came out of the stall. Pulling Alec's cell phone out of her pocket she waived it in the air, "important call." She smiled and Sketch just raised his eyebrow with an "oh."
"Gotta go," she said quickly and left the washroom in a hurry.
Alec was nowhere to be seen and she sighed in relief. He would probably laugh himself stupid if he knew the hard time she was having controlling Buster. "Argh," she growled and Cindy frowned at her. "y'okay?"
"yeah… technical difficulties."
O.C. grinned and turned around to her locker, "seems to be the theme of the day."
"What do you mean?" Max was confused.
"Well Max isn't feeling so good I think she sick," O.C. said with concern approaching her and lowered her voice. "That's not normal is it? I mean you guys never get sick."
Max didn't really know what she meant. If anything Alec in her body had looked better than ever. "She looked fine to me…a little too fine," she added under her voice and froze. What am I saying?
O.C. had her hands on her hips. "This isn't the time to make jokes."
I need to get out of here. She walked up to Normal and grabbed her workload and left without looking back.
O.C. watched Alec leave, a frown adorning her face, "something definitely freaky going on here."
Throughout his day Alec had to stop several times to recompose himself. More and more he kept leering at women and kept getting strangely fascinated with men. What the hell is going on? It took every effort to hold back but he did. It was just exhausting fighting his urges and weird tendencies.
At one point while making a delivery he even approached a man to smell him and froze in his steps wanting to slap himself silly. What the fuck am I doing? The day was excruciatingly long but he managed to go through it without incident.
After that he rushed back to Jam Pony. Filled with complete anxiety, he grabbed his jacket and attempted to leave without a word. Something was very very wrong. He just couldn't put his finger on it. He wanted to go home and take a shower. He felt dirty and he was growing hotter by the minute. He kept having to wipe his forehead and just wanted to tear off his clothes. Those imaginary ants had completely taken over his body. On his way out the door O.C. stopped him, "you coming to Crash?"
He thought about his cold shower for a minute but then looking at O.C. he felt strangely mesmerized by her lips, her dark toned skin and her deep eyes. "Maybe a cold drink is what I need," he grinned for a second but his expression turned into a frown. He had never been attracted to O.C. before.
It took Cindy a while to get Max to Crash because she had to get her attention every few minutes but they managed to finally make it. Max was flirting like crazy, giving cat calls and leering at men and women alike. She even pointed a few out that Cindy had stopped to admire herself. "I never knew you had it in you Max," she giggled and Max blushed. "Yeah," he said under her breath feeling mortified.
Alec figured once he got to Crash and stopped moving everything would stop looking so surreal. He would be able to relax the mad beating of his heart and the restlessness in his body; was he ever wrong.
The minute he sat there the entire room overwhelmed him drowning his vision and he was mesmerized, enthralled by everyone. He watched everything as if in slow motion his body reacting more and more. There were just too many people and he couldn't focus on just one. His eyes glanced everywhere and he even caught himself sniffing the air a few times. He stopped and drank his beer in one gulp. He did that three times until Cindy put her hand out to stop him from pouring another glass.
"Thirsty?" Alec looked up at O.C. and took a deep breath. She was getting more and more attractive if that made any sense. Looking back to his beer he frowned. Beer should not be distorting his perception. He was squirming on his seat and O.C. tsked her tongue for the third time.
"Got ants in your pants suga? You need to get it on or what?" it wasn't an invitation but a statement.
Suddenly the room screeched to a halt and Alec stopped breathing at her question. Finally he managed a croak, "oh no…"
"What's wrong? You starting to look worse you want to go home?" Immediately Alec's eyes glanced over to the door. It had opened to admit Max in his body.
"No no no no," he kept repeating, "This is bad… so very very bad. Cindy I think I'm in heat!" he tried to tell O.C. quietly but the panic came through and his voice rose with the word heat and a few men turned around to look at him.
"Wha?" Cindy's glass was forgotten halfway to her mouth. "Oh my god," she managed stunned. No wonder something had seemed familiar.
Alec was looking over to his body. It was slowly making its way through the room. The heat had started slowly progressing into full blown sexual need. "Quick!" He turned to O.C. "you have to get me away from Alec!"
He knew exactly what an Alpha male did once he caught the scent of a female in heat and Max would be powerless to control her urges. That morning she probably had caught the scent but it was too weak to make her react. Now that he had reached its peak she would be dangerous. "He'll tear up the place just to get to me. Trust me!"
He was amazed at how long he had been able to control himself but the longer he stayed there, the less resistance he was having. He was slowly losing the battle with her body. What do I do? Females in heat were only attracted to males but seeing as he was a man in a woman's body he felt attracted to both. No wonder he felt like he was losing his grip with reality. He literally wanted to jump every single person he came in contact with. And here I thought being Alpha male was hard. Okay refrain from using that word.
Now that he knew exactly what the problem was it seemed like every inhibition and restraint he had evaporated and he was full blown sex crazed.
O.C. was looking from Max to Alec back to Max and was trying to calculate the best way to get out of the place without them causing a scene. "You gonna be okay on your own while I distract him?" Max was leering at a man behind her and was purring. Cindy reached over to slap her face, "hey! Focus here."
He touched his sore cheek. "Thank but no I don't think so…"
Then he started leering at Cindy who saw the change in Max's facial expression, Backing up she put her hands out, "whoa off limits suga. You so not okay to do this on your own."
Alec was starting to panic. Never in his entire life did the idea of wanting to have sex scare him so much. It wasn't the actual idea of sex it was the fact that he couldn't control her body and felt himself pulled in by everyone around him. "Help me," he pleaded desperately with Cindy with round eyes.
Sketch sauntered over to the table and Cindy grabbed his arm quickly. "You need to go over there and keep Alec busy!"
Sketch slowly started to open his mouth but was distracted by Max who had gotten up off her chair. She approached him slowly with hands reaching for his shirt.
"Don't waste time fool!" Cindy snapped him out of his fantasy and he looked back to her. Max had grabbed his collar and was reaching in for his neck. She was purring and Sketch was smiling like an idiot. Cindy had to literally tear her off Sketch and dragged her away. "Go!" she ordered again and Sketch did as she said.
Cindy had to keep slapping Max's hands away as she went the long way around the bar avoiding Alec. Out of the blue he lifted his head and looked straight in Max's direction. "Oh no… I think he onto you," Cindy warned.
Max spotted Cindy and Alec as she walked into Crash. She was so afraid to get a repeat from that morning she was taking her time debating whether she should go sit with them or not. Strangely upon seeing them she could see a bit of excitement at the table and frowned.
They got up and headed in the other direction almost like they were avoiding her. She caught a slight scent to the air and Alec's body tensed up and she felt a desperate need to get to her body. Her pulse started racing and everyone around her disappeared. The only thing she could focus on was her small form as Cindy dragged it up the steps to the door.
Sketch walked up to Alec and tapped him on the shoulder. "What's going on buddy?" Eerily Alec slowly turned his head to look at Sketch. His pupils completely dilated and he growled at him. "Ookay," he said dumbly and removed his hand from Alec's shoulder.
"Dude, she came on to me. I had nothing to do with it," Sketch explained seeing his friend's strange reaction. He couldn't figure out why Alec was still growling at him. "Take it easy."
Max was trying so hard to control Alec's body but it was a losing battle. Against her will she wanted to tear Sketch apart for even looking at her body. "Mine," she heard Alec's deep voice say that one word and Sketch backed up with his palms out in a gesture of peace.
"Whatever you say man." Still backing up Sketch edged his way out of Alec's sight and dropped his hands when Alec quickly turned around and left the bar.
Cindy tried to go as fast as she could while dragging Max back to their place. Once she got there, she practically had to throw her in her bedroom and closed the door behind her. The girl just wouldn't stop touching her.
Alec couldn't stop the trembling he felt throughout her entire body. He was so hot he couldn't take it anymore. Tearing off her clothes he ended up in her underwear and her tank top. Her body was completely taken over by need. The desire to feel human contact, the need to release sexual tension overpowered everything else.
"Cindy… please." he whined pathetically but she never answered him. He had to control himself. What the hell was he thinking? He couldn't possibly get it on with another woman and the last thing he wanted was to be with a man. I need to get out of this body.
A sudden thought came to him and he sat by the door, speaking through it, "Cindy you have to call Joshua!"
If Max even made it there it would be over. He didn't even want to think of what could happen if that was the case. The mental pictures alone made him want to crawl under the bed and never come back out.
"He's the only one who can stop Alec." Well he was the only one strong enough to stop his body. He thanked himself for giving Josh a cell phone in case of emergencies. This definitely qualified as a dire situation.
Cindy heard Max's desperate plea and did as she asked. When Joshua picked up she didn't waste a second. "Doggy Dog its Original Cindy you have to get here quick Max in heat and Alec on his way!"
Joshua didn't even wait for goodbyes he hung up grabbed his helmet and was on his way to the nearest sewer entrance at a dead run. He had seen first hand what heat did to X5's and he didn't want that to happen to his two best friends. Not unless they truly wanted it but he highly doubted that.
Max had left the bar slowly following the slight scent of pheromones. She wasn't really aware what his body was doing, she was just going with it. It led her back to her apartment and when she got to the door she smiled in triumph. Alec was there on the other side of the door and her body tingled with need. Her basic instincts had completely taken over and she was doing everything out of impulse.
She opened the door but was rudely stopped when two big arms encircled her body and pinned her arms to her side. Joshua!
The smell of pheromones was so overpowering she growled with rage from being held back from her ultimate goal. "JOSHUA GET OFF ME!" she snarled with fury and tried to fight the rib cracking hold he had on her. "Medium fella need to stop," Joshua's voice came through her animalistic need.
Still holding him Joshua was slowly dragging Alec out of the small apartment back down the building. Being outside like this was dangerous for him and he had to be careful not to let anyone see him. Having a crazed X5 in his arms drew too much attention as it was.
"Alec stop!" his voice roared in her ears and Max who was away from the building and the smell of pheromones stopped fighting him. "What's going on with me?" she asked now that her mind was clearing a bit. She looked up at Joshua in confusion.
"We need to go to Alec's home. Answer question later." Nodding her head she followed the seven foot giant back to Alec's apartment.
When she walked in the apartment she took off her jacket and boots and asked her question again "what's going on?"
Joshua looked around the apartment in awe. He had never been in Alec's place and found it suited him. The different colors caught his attention and he was transfixed with the artistic feel of the place. Turning to face a head of blond hair he smiled sadly. "little fella in heat."
Max's eyes grew as wide as they would go and she stammered an "O..oh." When the thought of what had almost happened filled her, she cringed. Thankful she gave Joshua a hug, "thank you."
Knowing exactly what Alec must be feeling her thoughts turned to him. He must be so scared.
Feeling helpless against her body's heat was scary enough as it was but for Alec to go through it would be devastatingly frightening for him. She had never experienced heat in proximity to another X5 before. She thought it was hard to control her heat. After seeing her reaction to her own body in heat she understood that both of them were helpless to their primordial side.
"Joshua knows Alec didn't mean it." He smiled as he looked at his X5 friend who looked slightly uncomfortable, "happens."
"Yeah," Max retorted dubiously. She calculated the last time she was in heat and came up a few weeks short. Why did it have to happen now?
"Joshua stay with Alec until little fella better," he informed her and she sighed a thank you.
Grabbing Alec's cell phone she ran her hands over it with hesitation. "There's something I need to do big fella. I'll be right back." Heading towards his bedroom, she closed the door behind her, and began dialing a familiar number.
"Cindy," she said in greeting, "can I talk to Max please?"
Alec was losing his mind, he had felt his body close but thankfully Joshua had intervened. Now that they were both gone and Cindy was no longer talking to him he started to feel apprehensive. Being at Manticore he had seen his share of X5 in heat but never in his wildest dream would have thought he would experience it himself.
Dubbing it scary was an understatement. He felt like he couldn't breathe that if he didn't get release soon he was going to explode. Rolling into a little ball he stayed in the corner of her room and tried to think of something else. He tried to ignore the simple fact that if he truly wanted to he could just bypass Cindy. Leave in search of what he truly needed. It wasn't working he couldn't even control her body let alone his thoughts.
Cindy's voice came through the door, "Max you need to take this." Opening the door slowly, she saw her friend in the corner of the room, and sighed sadly. She shook her head at what Manticore had done to her boo and set the phone on the ground.
Closing the door she tried to put as much distance from her friend in hopes that would help fight her urges. It was so strange. Max had never reacted that way towards her before but then again when it came to Max believing the unbelievable was an every day thing.
Alec picked up the phone and set it to his ear. "Max?" he heard his voice ask on the other side and closed his eyes. "Alec…" he managed with a deep breath.
Max didn't really know what to say to make him feel better but she could hear by his erratic breathing how panicked he truly was.
"I'm sorry. I know this must be scary for you but I'm here ok?" she said softly hoping that would be enough for him. "You're not alone," she added tenderly.
"Thanks," he answered softly. He didn't really know how he should react to the fact she cared enough to call him. He felt a wave of need course through him and inhaled sharply. "I can't do this. I can't control this," her voice trembled as he spoke.
"Just focus on my voice ok? It's going to be over soon and then you'll be able to make jokes about it." She tried to appease his anxiousness, "you can fight this."
"How the hell do you deal with this?" he asked frantically.
"Just breathe and try to relax," she ordered him calmly. She hoped the serenity in his soft voice would soothe him.
"Max I need you," he said it before he could stop.
"That's the heat talking just… Listen I know this might not have been what you had in mind when you said we needed to talk but I was hoping this would help you keep your mind off things."
The desperate need to be with someone was still coursing through his veins but the sound of the voice on the other end made it bearable. "I…I'm sorry," he finally managed through a shaky breath.
"For?" she asked with uncertainty.
"For giving you such a hard time," he explained his apology.
"Me too," Max said in a low voice afraid to ruin the moment. Alec being serious having a heart to heart talk with her was an extremely rare occurrence and she wanted to make the best of it.
"Guess this is what the guy meant when he said we had to learn to appreciate each other huh?" Alec tried to laugh but it turned into a whimper. "Do you think we're on the right track?" he questioned softly his voice quivering a bit.
"I guess…" there was a pause. "I never thought I'd say this but you made me see a side of myself I didn't care to look at."
Alec was slightly surprised, "like?"
"Well like how much I try to control everything. You're right I do that." She smiled and he heard it through the phone which in turn made him smile. "I always felt like if I didn't have control of everything that it was going to fall apart around me. Like when I set everyone free from Manticore. I was so mad at them for what they did to me. I knew it was what I wanted but I never stopped to think if it was what everyone else wanted. Now everyone is free and its chaos and it's my fault. Now no matter how much I try to control it, it keeps falling apart."
"Don't beat yourself up over it Maxie…you did good." He had already told her how much he loved being out but never said it seriously enough for his gratitude to come across like it did now.
"Then there's Logan and his Eyes Only agenda…" Alec rolled his eyes at that but didn't say anything he just let her talk. "I guess I do it because it gives me purpose, some kind of direction. I used to think it made me feel alive but I do it for all the wrong reasons. You'll think I'm crazy but I keep thinking that having a normal life is going to solve everything. That if I run fast and far enough from who I am I'll be able to survive what Manticore did to me; us," she added the last word as an afterthought.
Sighing sadly he shook his head. "Max… you are alive. I've never met anyone who had so much purpose before. You're passionate about what you believe in. Me I never believed in anything until you came along. My only thoughts were survival and taking care of myself. You take care of everyone. Look at how many times you saved my ass," he chuckled slightly and gripped the phone with desperation.
"Don't run from who you are you'll be running the rest of your life and that's no way to live. You would have never been able to do half the things you did if it wasn't for who they made you. Be proud and don't let anyone make you normal. Normal is boring. Sure they may call us freaks but we're better, like Joshua says we're special."
He paused then added "you know I'm really starting to sound like a woman, being in your body this long is really starting to take a toll on my masculinity." She could only giggle because it was true she was seeing a softer side of Alec she never thought she'd see.
"Okay drama queen, spill what's your big epiphany," she tried to turn the conversation around.
"I've been a selfish jerk," he said bluntly. "You were right if it doesn't affect me then I don't bother."
"That's not true," she argued. "How many times have you helped Sketch, O.C. and me?" she offered, "even Logan."
"Max…I'm not proud of some of the things I did. I even tried to change to be more like you." She smiled through the phone and shook her head. "Alec, trust me. You don't want to be like me… I'm a coward and I usually run away from everything if it gets too hard."
"You ran once but it was only self preservation. I just keep messing up everything. When I get back to my own body I'll change some things. That's for sure."
Curious she asked "like what?"
"Two words: Blowfish Tavern." At that she really laughed as the sudden image of him dancing reappeared in her mind and he joined in.
"Yeah… you'll never hear me say it again. Me and women I honestly never gave it much thought Max until I was on the other side but it's not that easy. Just don't repeat it, I have a reputation to keep you know."
"My lips are sealed," she promised.
"Don't talk about your lips…" he softly reprimanded her and groaned. She bit her lip with guilt, "sorry."
"I'm starting to have a hard time listening to the sound of my own voice as it is. How long does this usually last when you don't get…you know, sex?" he wondered out loud.
"You should be good in about two days maybe a little sooner it wasn't supposed to happen for another few weeks," she informed him feeling bad for him.
"Oh… see I didn't know that. Good thing Joshua was there this time. The last time I came across an X5 in heat I tore half the barracks and about four members of my unit just to get to her. The guard had to sedate me…" he trailed off with the sudden memory.
"Wow…lucky for us." Even though she tried not to think about it the thought of him fighting for the attention of a female made her hackles rise. I just feel overprotective.
"Well I'm going to give you a break. I'll call you later ok?" she stated more than asked.
"Not really going anywhere," he said with amusement, "I hope."
"Okay be good."
"Bye," he hung up the phone.
The night and most of the next day were the longest for both Max and Alec.
Max went to work but missed Alec more than she ever thought she would. He usually broke the monotony of work with his jokes and playful nature. She never took much notice how much he filled her life until he wasn't there to tease her every five minutes.
If anything she felt depressed and couldn't wait to talk to him face to face instead of on the phone. They had called each other every other hour so she could keep him company and try to lift his spirits. She only knew too well how lonely and out of control heat made her. Joshua kept her company.
"Little fella okay?" he would ask every time she got off the phone with him.
"Yeah, Max is okay. She says she misses us." That had shocked her, to hear such a vulnerable side of him had been surprising but she figured it was because he felt so lonely and scared.
Joshua looked over to his blond headed friend and smiled, "Alec misses Max too."
She smiled genuinely and nodded her head, "yeah I do big fella."
"I told Max, you two would be ok." He was sitting on the couch watching Alec's boob tube and she frowned "when?"
Sitting beside Joshua she examined his face. He was always so sweet even though he had a very overbearing presence, she always marveled at that. He was her gentle giant.
"Max was very sad about women liking Alec. Max say too much and too little," he repeated the words he had heard that night and watched as Alec watched him.
"Too little?" she sighed remembering the argument clearly. They had both said too many things.
"Max always blames Alec because little fella scared." She blinked at his statement and frowned, "what is she scared of?"
"Little fella has too many feelings," he said bluntly and his canine teeth protruded from his large mouth as he smiled. "Max like Alec. Like Joshua like Annie." It was a sad reminder for Joshua but he wore a brave face.
"No big fella it's not like that," she said sadly avoiding his innocent blue eyes. "Max has Logan."
Joshua shook his head vehemently. "Logan different from Max. Logan never understand little fella like you do. Logan only tries to outsmart Max, tries to take Manticore away. Logan make Max not see."
She often wondered what Joshua and Alec talked about but she had never in her wildest dreams thought they would be so close as to discuss things so deep. Joshua continued "that's why Max needs Alec. You never outsmart Max because Alec Manticore too, special."
His words were so close to what Alec said to her on the phone she stopped in wonder, listening to each and every word carefully. Was everyone of the same mind when it came to Logan? What she really that naïve that she couldn't see what was right in front of her? Was she that different when Logan was around? It was true she tried to act normal with him but she did it because she wanted to. Do I really or do I feel I have to?
Joshua went back to watching TV and she was left with a whirlwind of thoughts.
Alec never thought he'd survive the constant burning sensation coursing through his veins. The need for sexual release was sheer torture, something he never encountered until now. When he finally started coming down and his thoughts stopped revolving around his desire to be with someone, he stepped out of the room.
Cindy had set herself up in front of the door keeping constant vigil on her best friend making sure she wasn't leaving in search of what she so desperately needed. Max had begged her to stay and keep an eye on her and she couldn't refuse her boo. Finally the door opened and she brightened almost instantly. It was over.
Max stepped out and upon seeing her, Cindy was so relieved she rushed to give her a hug. "You okay?" Max nodded and she sighed. "Good 'cuz Original Cindy in desperate need of some shut eye."
Max laughed "thanks for staying with me. I'm sorry if I was such a pain in the ass."
"Anything for my boo."
Alec watched O.C head for her bedroom and grabbed some clean clothes from Max's dresser. He headed to his apartment for a much needed shower. He still didn't like the idea of taking a bath.
The door to the apartment was unlocked and he simply walked in. Max was curled up on the couch watching TV. As he got closer he realized she was sleeping. Whatever happened to Manticore training?
Before Max had changed bodies with him he had never been able to sneak up on her until now. He never thought sleep would affect her so much. Trying to be as quiet as possible he headed towards the washroom and took his shower.
When he walked out he noticed she had moved from the couch. Walking around the apartment he noticed her sitting on his bed. Looking through the doorway he caught his green eyes staring at him and smiled, "hey."
"Hey yourself," she smiled and patted the bed for him to sit. "So how was hell?"
He smiled in genuine surprise at her invitation, "hot."
She returned his smile knowingly "so want to take that line back now?"
He sat in front of her in an Indian position. "Which one?" he asked giving it a thought.
"The 'I have a bigger sexual appetite than a normal person, it kinda sucks.' Line," she tried to mock him but really didn't have to try since she was already using his voice to do it.
"Nah… I won't take it back because you got to experience my side of it and it's not all it's cracked up to be either." He smirked, "losing control not so much fun but at least you know you're not alone and no matter what I'll understand you more than you ever think I will."
"Yeah I guess you have a point. I have to say I'm glad Buster stopped making unannounced visits," she said it and stopped with a pop of her mouth. Blushing furiously she passed her lips through her teeth.
Alec cocked his head in thought, who the hell is Buster?
"Who's Buster?" he finally asked curiously.
"Uhm forget it… it's not important." She looked everywhere in the room but ended back to the curious expression on her face.
"No… no… you can't say something like that and leave me hanging," he grinned enjoying seeing her squirm.
She could only huff and finally looked back. "Buster…" her eyes looked downward and he frowned. Alec's line of sight trailed down to the bed and he frowned again. "Okay… Call me a little slow on the uptake do you mind clearing things up a little?"
She could only scoff, "you're going to make me say it aren't you?"
He really had no idea what she was referring to.
"I couldn't very well keep calling him soldier so… we decided on Buster."
"We?" his eyebrows reached his hairline as a picture started forming in his head.
"Jeez, Alec" her hands pointed to his crotch, "BUSTER!"
He looked at her with a stunned expression and then clued in. "Oh for the love of… You named it?" he gave her a scandalous gaze and she blushed even more.
It was a moment and his shoulder started shaking. It was a soft sound but then he laughed louder, "Buster?" he asked again, amused with her choice of name.
She was embarrassed beyond belief. Upon seeing his reaction it slowly lessened and she cracked a laugh hitting his shoulder. "Argh! Yes! He just keeps popping up!" she defended her choice of name.
"Max… I have to admit. I'm not surprised, what with your obsession with naming things but uh… Don't you think you could have stuck with your usual second choice? Just this one time?" he grinned mischievously at her and pushed her back playfully.
"Shut up!" she huffed again and pushed him.
Before she knew what was happening he tackled her and started to tickle her. "I never thought you'd get that comfortable in there" he teased and she laughed. "You sure you're going to want to switch back? Buster might get lonely." This time he joined her laughter continuing the constant tickling.
"Stop it… I … can't… breathe," she pleaded with a laugh. Then she remembered she was stronger than him and tickled him back knowing exactly where to get the most out of it since it was her body she was attacking. It wasn't long before the roles had reversed and he was begging her to stop.
After a fit of laughter they both stopped, sprawled on the bed with their eyes directed at the ceiling. They were simply enjoying each other's company in silence. Finally Max spoke, "so I hate to bust on this little party but I just don't get it."
"Hmm?" he watched his face out of the corner of his eye.
"Well we're not at each other's throats anymore. I've learned a few things and so have you. So why aren't we switching back?" He turned his head to look at her.
"I don't know maybe we still have to learn something." He offered, stopped then added in an amused tone, "I have a confession to make. I named them," he pointed to one breast, "Bon" then he pointed to the other one "and Ita."
At the outrageous look he received from her he started laughing and she slapped him on the stomach. "Not funny!"
"Sure it is." He slapped her back and before she could hit him again he rolled over on his stomach watching his face lost in thought.
"What's the missing piece?" she mused out loud still watching the ceiling.
"There probably isn't one bet you wake up tomorrow in your own bed." He sighed wistfully, "I know I miss mine… by the way silk sheets?"
She smiled at that. "The cat in me, love the feeling don't you?" she asked and looked at her face. He was watching her with what could only be called fascination. "I never said I didn't like it. I just never thought that you of all people would take the time to indulge in such simple pleasures."
"Surprise," she smirked in turn. "Guess I'm not as unfeminine as you think."
"Trust me you're not unfeminine but you get your share of mood swings." He started playing with his fingernails the topic of conversation was steering a little too close to the heart for his comfort.
"It works, someone's got to kick your ass back in line every once in a while."
He looked over at the clock and sighed "it's getting late. I should go." He started to rise from the bed but she stopped him, "Stay…" That one word made his head spin.
She was actually asking him to stay. He had seriously stepped into another dimension if Max wanted him to keep her company of all people. "Okay," he finally managed through his shock, waiting for the inevitable smack and hiss when her mood changed and she realized that it was Alec looking at her through her eyes. It never came.
Turning back around he lay on his back and continued to stare at the ceiling with her. "So anything on your mind?" he asked gently.
There was a long heavy silence between them. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the peacefulness of the room and she finally spoke, breaking the silence.
"Back at Manticore I used to get seizures, we all did." She swallowed at the reminder.
"I was so scared they would take me away," she fidgeted with her hands and finally turned to lie on her stomach. She looked over to him and he turned to watch her. "I was so afraid to go to sleep but…" his voice trembled slightly.
Alec watched the shaky reflection in his green eyes. She bit her lip and sighed sadly, "Ben would hold me in his arms until I did." She smiled wistfully, "even though he needed sleep more than me. Just to make sure I would be okay."
The memory of her dead brother was bittersweet and she wanted Alec to know how much she had truly loved him. She didn't want Alec to remember him as the psychotic twin brother that caused him suffering through his actions. "I wanted you to know that," she said and stared him down.
He really didn't know what to say to that. He had so many mixed emotions when it came to his twin. He had endured so much because of him. It was hard to see anything but pain when he thought of Ben.
"Max…" he was about to admit the truth and she cut him off "don't say it."
She held her hand out and stopped him. "I just want you to feel something else but fear and pain. She touched his chest and swallowed, "I can feel it inside of you."
The simple thought of her dead brother had made his entire body twist with dread and she wanted to make it right. "He was the one that started calling me Maxie you know," she informed with a smile. Without knowing it he had adopted the same habit.
"I never told anyone but he was my favorite. I looked up to him because he was always so brave, sweet, generous and kind. He used to always make me feel special and so loved."
His deep voice trembled with the retelling, "he told the best stories because he didn't want us to be scared of what we didn't understand. Even though Zack was our C.O. it was Ben that took care of us in a way only he could. He was special in his own way."
She started to cry and wiped her stray tears, "I just wanted you to know that before they tortured you for what he did... He was a part of me. You should know him like I do, not what they tormented you with."
"I'll remember," he tried softly.
She stared at the wall and turned back to look at him. His eyes reflected the light with a twinkle of tears. His gold flecks were clearly visible now. "When I first saw you, I was so happy. I thought he was still alive. Then you started to speak and all I could think about was how much it hurt that he was gone. It was my fault. Every day I was reminded how horrible I was for doing what I did to him but eventually you made that go away too. Then I started to see you instead of him.
"Soon I realized that you helped me deal with it and I finally laid his memory to rest. Somehow I felt that since he couldn't be with me to protect me he sent you instead. He did have a sense of humor you know." She laughed and he grinned catching the drift that he was always a pain in her ass.
"I know he would have done it if he could, but he can't. So I'll do it for him." His eyes turned soft and sympathetic, "I'm sorry for what they did to you if I could take it away I would."
This entire conversation had come out of nowhere and he was starting to feel uncomfortable but relieved to hear her words. "Thanks Maxie…" he breathed softly.
She wiped her tears with a little embarrassment and tried to smile.
There was an uncomfortable silence and he turned his body to face her. His own face reflected back at him and he felt like he was looking into a mirror. It had been really hard to get used to at first but he wasn't as freaked out now.
"You should get some sleep," he didn't want to end their moment of rare friendship but he was starting to feel incredibly vulnerable and wanted to avoid that at all costs.
"Just stay until I fall asleep," she whispered and he couldn't refuse her no matter what she asked. "Sure Maxie…"
She cuddled closer to him and he finally opened his arms to hug her. His thoughts drifted to what she had just told him about Ben. How he used to hold her and suddenly the last thing he wanted was to replace him in her eyes. He wouldn't be able to stand it if she thought of him in a brotherly sense.
Almost as if she was reading his mind she spoke up, "I know what you're thinking. He was my brother… you're not. But you make me feel safe just the same."
Closing his eyes he was relieved by her admission. He held her tighter and they eventually fell asleep.
Alec was strangely at peace with himself and Max felt safer than she had in a very long time.