Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or any characters featured in either of the seasons.

Fashion Stunt

The drive to a hotel was silent and tense. Their spur of the moment trip hadn't turned out how they had planned, instead it had turned into a nightmare, and she felt like she was responsible. 'I shouldn't have pushed to meet them,' she thought to herself as they pulled into a hotel parking lot. "I'll go get a room for us," she whispered getting out of the car and walking inside. Alec didn't acknowledge that she had spoken or move. He sat in the drivers seat and thought about everything that had just happened. A lifetime of resentment had exploded tonight, things that had been needed to be said for years, but had laid dormant in the shadows. Rubbing his face he tried to slow down his heart rate. It felt like it was pounding miles a minute.

When Max came back to the car, she found hunched over and rubbing his face. "Hey," she greeted lightly, and this time he turned and faced her. He held the face of a broken little boy who was lost. "I got us a room. All they had was a single king," she offered when he didn't say anything, just stared. "Come-on lets get some rest."

Once in their room Max sat on the bed and stared at Alec as he pulled out clothes from his duffle, "Are you ok?" He seemed surprised that she asked him something.

"I'm sorry about tonight, I thought I could see them and not explode, but…" Max stood up and walked up to him and hugged him. He was shocked again, but hugged her back and felt at peace for the first time in hours. "I'm sorry," he repeated into her hair as he hugged her and leaned down and kissed her lightly on the head.

"I'm sorry I pushed this onto you going," she said letting go him. "I promise I won't have a melt down at my brothers." She added lightly, hoping to lighten the mood. In a way it did, because Alec smiled, a small smile, which caused Max to smile. It was contagious.

"Thanks Maxie," Alec whispered pulling her small form into another hug. "Ouch!" Max had snuck her hand up and slapped his head, lightly. "You're evil you know that? Pure, pure evil," he shook his head and through her on the bed, causing her to squeal in surprise.

"Talk about evil!"

"No this would be evil!" Jumping on the bed, he landed on her and began wrestling and eventually tickling her. Max was laughing so hard she couldn't breath and it didn't help he had now straddled her waist and held her down while tickling.

"Stop!" She gasped repeatedly in between fits of giggles and attempts for air.

"Say uncle!"

"Uncle!" She screamed trying to wiggle away. Smirking at his victory Alec stopped tickling her and leaned on his hands above at Max and stared at her with a goofy grin. These moments that they had where they were friends were fun and interesting.

When Max finally could breath she glared at Alec with the harshest glare she could muster, but only received a goofy grin in return. Giving up on glaring she tried to get comfortable on the big bed while he remained on her waist. "You way a ton," she groaned as she continued in the quest to get comfortable.

Pulling a pitiful and pained look, Alec started pinching at his toned stomach, "I'm fat! Oh my god!" He screamed in a shrilly voice that sent Max into peals of laughter as he pretended to be horrified.

"You are an idiot you do know that right?" She asked smiling.

"Of course!" Alec quipped returning to his goofy grin, "and do you realize that if there were cameras in this room right now we'd be live on YouTube?" Max just raised an eyebrow, "I have no idea what the point of saying that was," Alec shrugged his shoulders and rolled off her on to the bed next to her.

"What happened tonight Alec?" Max asked breaking the silence. She felt the bed shift and saw Alec sit on the edge of the bed with his back facing her. "Never mind I shouldn't have asked," she tried to mend, sitting up and getting off the couch.

"When my parents put Ben in the asylum I lost all respect for them and any ounce of love I might've held for them." Alec said suddenly, turning to him Max watched as emotions played off his face, "we were always close and suddenly we were ripped apart. They just wrote him off as non-existent the moment he entered the ward, and I couldn't understand it." Max sat next to him and watched him, "My 18th birthday I left the house, I had packed everything in advance and the moment it was mid-night I walked out the door and never looked back. When I started to get on my feet I would send money to Ben and call him all the time, still do."

"Is that who you call all the time?" Max asked softly thinking all the times she had walked in on Alec talking on the phone or seen him on the phone.

"Yeah," he said smiling a little. She noticed that about him? "When I have enough money and my contracts up with Manticore, I'm getting him out of the shit hole he's in and find a place he likes."

"Question: Religious tattoo?" Looking at Max Alec seemed confused. Seeing he wasn't understanding what she meant she lifted his shirt up and ran her fingers over his bare skin where the tattoo was inked. Now being able to see it better, she saw that it was beautiful and simple.

"Ben was always the religious one of us. Our parents were raised catholic and tried to instill it in us. I never gave it much thought, but something clicked for Ben. Gave him answers and peace of mind." Alec said watching her as she studied the tattoo. Letting his shirt fall back into place Max just her head on Alec's shoulder and slinked her arm through his. "I don't know why I'm dumping all this onto you, we barely know each other yet you know about my skeletons."

"It's ok," she said simply. "What did your da-Deck mean about someone named Rachel?" The way Alec tensed Max saw that this was a very touchy subject, "forget I asked, I shouldn't have asked." Standing up she escaped to the bathroom.

When the bathroom door was closed Alec stood up and stripped off his shirt and intended to get ready for bed. Walking over to his duffle on top of the dresser he stared at his reflection. Deck split his lip and it was a little swollen, Renfro will love that. Staring at his tattoo for his brother he absentmindedly touched it. He missed his brother a lot; even if they did talk a lot it wasn't the same. Looking further down his torso he stared at his second tattoo, the one that had a scar running through it. Tracing the script he felt flashes of that day go off in his mind like a bomb, one after another. Swallowing hard he traced the scar, its smooth but uneven ridges, sometimes he swore he felt pain there. He had gone to a doctor about it and said what he was likely experiencing was phantom pains. Whatever it was, it was pain to him. 'Need to stop dwelling on the past, there's been enough of that already.' He scolded him self as he stopped touching the scar and tattoo all together.

When Max retreated from the bathroom, Alec was sitting on the small balcony on the phone. Not wanting to disturb him, she went about her routine to finish getting ready for bed. 'Probably talking to Ben, at least you know he doesn't have a girlfriend on the side.' Where that last thought came from Max didn't know. Deciding she needed to talk to someone she grabbed her cell and dialed Cindy.

"What happened Boo," Cindy's voice came through the receiver with a tone of 'knowing' something went wrong.

"Are you psychic?" Max joked feeling relaxed hearing her best friend's voice.

"Yes Boo, I am the All Knowing Original Cindy!" Cindy joked. Laughing lightly, Max began to retell the day's events to Cindy, including her recent thoughts.

"Damn Boo, you know how to pick the hot and tortured don't ya? Sounds like you walked into a family feud turned to a war!" Cindy exclaimed. "Well I personally think you like the boy more than you wanna admit, and that he really needs a friend right now, someone who can relate to him and not judge him."

"And let me guess, I'm the prime example for that?"

"Boo you have had your fair share of downs, hot boy could use someone like that especially in the fashion business where you aren't a person you're a thing, a product. I know that way's heavy on you, imagine how it ways on him after you've learned what kind of child hood he has had. You didn't have a dandy life either," Cindy had a point. Nodding in agreement Max sighed, "look Boo, I'd love to chat all night, but O.C. is exhausted from working. Not all of us can lay around on a beach and travel on whim!" O.C. joked.

"Alright Cindy, see ya soon!" As they hung up, Alec walked in from the balcony, seemingly calmed down a bit from before. "Hey," she greeted pulling the covers on the bed back and realizing for the first time they were going to be sharing a bed.

"Hey," Alec responded setting his phone down. He had just got off the phone with Ben, and felt more calmed down. "Tired?"

"Yeah, kinda. You?"

"Yeah…" when had they reverted to awkward conversation? 'The moment you had a total meltdown in front of her with your parents, that's when.' A voice in the back of his mind sneered. "So what side are you?" He asked pointing to the bed, Max looked down at the bed.

"Uh left?"

"Cool…" They both climbed into the large comfortable bed and got comfortable, but neither could sleep. With their backs facing each other, both of them wondered if the other was awake or sleeping, wanting to talk, but not knowing what to talk about. Letting out a low sigh Alec turned to face the middle of the bed and Max's back. The way her hair was laying around her head he could see her Manticore bar-code tattoo. "Max," he whispered incase she wasn't asleep he wouldn't wake her. His answer was her turning to face him, wide-awake.

"Yeah?" She asked in a similar volume of voice.

"I…" shit he didn't know what to say, "I'm sorry." His apology seemed to surprise Max by her facial expression changing.

"For what?"

"For what happened tonight…I shouldn't have lost my cool," Alec explained rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling. He felt the bed shift and saw Max sit up in the bed and stare down at him.

"You didn't do anything wrong, I would prolly lose my cool if someone insinuated that Sam or Krit was dead or non-existent." Max looked at Alec's face as he stared at the ceiling and watched, as his thoughts seemed to pass over his face. "What are you thinking about?" Alec turned his head to stare at her.

"This," he grabbed her neck and pulled her down and kissed her.