Hey guys, thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading. Mostly I'll be keeping the posts bite size and seeing if I can upload quickly so the story doesn't fizzle out between chapters but this one has a flash back to the episode borrowed time so it a little longer. This is the part where Max finds a temporary cure and Alec and Asha almost hook up. I pretty much copied two entire scenes straight from the series, sorry if that is really bad form, just seemed relevant.
Oh also I am not intentionally copying anyone else's fic, it just appears that way because I thought the story line up before I read theresl
This one is also slightly more angsty, sorry. Tell me what you think especially if you don't like it and tell me if any of the characters don't seem right. Love you guys!
Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, just ripping it off and passing it on as my own, yadda yadda. ;P
Chapter 2: I don't want to be your friend.
At crash, what now seems like a life time ago:
The barkeep poured him a scotch, neat. It burned as it went down but it was a friendly fire; the sensation a familiar one.
He was alone. Max had given him his 20G from fencing the film they had stolen and was probably 'getting busy' somewhere with Logan right now, her virus cured.
Good for them.
He was surprised at what a bitter taste it left in his mouth. Not because he wanted her for himself, no just lonely old Alec sitting at a bar with nothing but a scotch to keep him company. He laughed at his own melodrama and noticed Asha sitting at the opposite end of the bar. Oh, the wicked irony.
"Barkeep! Another scotch." He said pushing his empty glass towards the man.
"And a, uh, tequila shot for the pretty blonde."
"That's all right. I was just leaving." She said a little ruffled
"Come on." He cajoled giving her his best roguish smile. She gave in and came to stand next to him but declined the proffered shot.
"All right, but once you hear the good news about Max and Logan, you might be wanting that drink."
"What news?" She said the jealousy he knew would be there evident in her voice.
"Why don't you fortify yourself?" he replied laconically handing her the drink.
"Bottoms up."
Getting himself as close to trashed as possible seemed the only thing to do. He was actually feeling quite buzzy and he was impressed with how well Asha was keeping up with him. She raised her glass up in salute; her earlier reserve with him vanished.
"Logan and Max." He lifted his too.
"Max and Logan."
"Every happiness."
"Ha!" he snorted and downed the drink.
"Wonder what they're doing right now." She said her chin in her hands. He gave her a look.
"You know what I mean." She said a surprising amount of wistfulness in her voice. "Logan's so romantic--I bet he made her dinner. Wine...candles...I bet it's perfect." A perfect drag. Alec thought rolling his eyes
"Yeah, that sounds like them. I mean, why consummate two years of unbridled passion when we can have pasta?" he said emphasising the food type with ridicule.
"You're a pig. You don't know anything about love." She spat with mock indignation.
"Well, I know more than you think." He said looking at her, amused "Besides, you're a liar."
"How so?" She queried intrigued.
"Because you don't wish them all the happiness in the world; you want Logan for yourself. I mean, come on. You had it all dialed in when Max was back at Manticore, presumed dead. You and Logan, doing your hero thing, spending hours together in his fancy little apartment, all tuned up about the ways of the world. It was a good time for you, right?" Asha sighed looking forlorn.
"Yeah, he was thinking about Max every second of every day. He never believed she was dead. And when she came back, he was the happiest I'd ever seen him." Alec was surprised to hear of Logan's dedication; it was at one point admirable and yet completely futile considering the odds that what happened would happen.
"Yeah, until the virus thing." he said not without a hint of guilt.
"Even with the virus, they never gave up on each other." Asha sat back resolute "And no matter how I feel about it, I have to respect that. Because that, my friend, is true love."
" Yeah, right." Alec said shaking his head "Have they ever even once said 'I love you'? No. No. Max...Max would choke on the words. Logan...eh, he'd say it, in an email." He turned to mimicking Max unflatteringly "'He's not my boyfriend. We were never even like that. It was never the right time. No, Logan is a repressed WASP and Max is a" He paused for a second thinking of the right expression, the term that came to him reminded him of himself "...a broken toy. The two of them will never work out together." He stated emphatically
" And you are cynical."
" No. I'm someone who believes in going after what he wants, and damn the consequences."
And he did know what he wanted; he wanted to go home with someone tonight and not think about how much Max and Logan finally being together galled him. Asha's eyes were luminous with drink, staring at him and he knew she wanted exactly the same thing. He leaned forward lowering his voice intimately "When you've been dead a hundred years, little girl, you have only just begun to be dead. We're living on borrowed time. And if you don't put your heart out there on the line, then you're never really living at all. If I loved someone, I'd tell 'em. And if I wanted someone, then I would let her know, straight up." Except if telling her was pointless. A little part of him whispered. He ignored it, Instead he delivered the line flawlessly.
"Asha, I want you. Come home with me."
Logan ambushed him the moment he walked through HQ's door after dropping off Max.
"We need to talk… now." He said his voice and face set with gravity. Alec repressed a sigh. I know.
"Sure Logan, whatever." He replied nonchalantly. He cast a quick eye around the bustling command centre noticing with amusement Original Cindy chatting up some X5 hottie. Trust her to be working her charms in the middle of a war zone.
"So is this the kind of chat that is open for all ears to hear or should we go some place more private?" He said pointedly. Logan glanced sideways, for the first time noticing the curious glances tuned to their conversation.
"More private would be better." He replied.
"So shoot." Alec said when they where alone and away from prying eyes, ears, and whatever other transgenic senses he didn't know about. Logan breathed in and paused, collecting his thoughts.
"You and Max aren't together."
"Nope."
"You never were together,"
"Right again."
"So all this was designed to keep me away from Max, to protect her from hurting me."
"I think that would be killing you to be precise Logan, yes." Logan sighed and his face fell.
"It's too hard for her, me being around isn't it." Alec stayed silent for a moment, most of the time he felt slightly annoyed with the overly chivalrous martyr act Logan had going but he did like the man. He really didn't want to feel sorry for the guy, it made telling him the truth so much harder; he wasn't sure if Max would thank him for it or not.
"On top of everything else she has to deal with at the moment? I would say pretty much, yeah." It was Logan's turn to stay silent, his eyes glazed for an instant and he nodded his head slightly as if he had made up his mind.
"I'll go then, tomorrow." He said softly and strode away.
Alec watched him go and felt a little twist in his guts; somewhere, some part of him had a vested interest in this, and right now he really didn't like that part.