Chapter Text
Chapter 1
“Best turn yo’ skinny ass right back ‘round, fool." OC huffed out, exasperated by Logan's arrogance at barging in on the private party being held at Crash. "Sugar don't want nothin’ more to do wit’cha. Thought she made that clear last time she saw you." Her memory from that particular day was still vivid in her mind.
Alec had brought her in to spend some time with Max, and when they arrived at HQ to pick her up, they were just in time to see Logan grab her arm and yank her back around to face him, annoyed that she’d ignored him and kept walking away. With a low growl, Alec materialized out of thin air beside them, easily dislodging Logan’s grip and shoving him up against the entrance wall, holding him there by his neck with his feet dangling several inches off the ground. Appearing dazed for a moment, Max finally started tearing into him six ways from Sunday, completely pissed off, while Alec punctuated her comments with several punches and harsh words of his own.
But then Logan spit out a particularly crass remark about her brother Seth and the situation deteriorated rapidly. Max bypassed angry and livid, and began shaking with full-on rage, “You self-righteous, ignorant little prick! If you won’t get out of my life voluntarily, I’ll bloody well make you!” She only managed to take one step toward him, with both fists clenched and poised to strike, before Alec growled again in warning and blocked her with his body, lighting into Logan with a hail of blows to the head and chest.
Stopping only reluctantly, he leaned in close and stared Logan down, his voice full of menace as he ground out, “Take the hint and leave her the fuck alone. ‘Cause if I ever catch you stalking her or see you grab her like that again, you will regret it.” Tossing the barely conscious man aside with a disgusted snort, he quickly slung an arm around Max’s waist as she tried again to get past him and cradled her back against his chest, pulling her away from Logan and murmuring soothingly in her ear as they left him sprawled on the ground, bloody and shaken.
Logan stood his ground like a bulldog, still convinced he could make Max forgive him for his involvement in Seth's death. "Alec was behind that. Max didn't mean any of the stuff she said. Besides, she's been mad at me before, but she always forgets about it eventually." Especially when I distract her with other things, like the cure.
A goofy grin crossed his face and his eyes glazed over for a moment as he thought about the passionate reunion he had methodically planned out for the evening. Candlelight and soft music to set the mood, a gourmet dinner with that pre-pulse merlot I’ve been saving, the exquisite diamond solitaire engagement ring I bought her… Oh, she’ll definitely forget about everything else but me. And then we can try out my new silk sheets.
Turning back to Cindy, he declared dismissively, "We love each other and that’s all that matters. Especially now that I’ve got the virus cured and we can finally be together like we were meant to be. That was the only thing standing in our way before."
"Yeah, you keep tellin’ yo’self that. But it won’t make one bit o’ difference.” OC took a long swig of the beer she’d just received from the bartender and shook her head in disgust at his obstinacy, pointing at the couple across the room. “Open yo' eyes an’ look at her. OC's known her boo a lot longer than you an' she ain't never seen her this happy. An' it's all ‘cause of him."
***** 9 months ago (A few days after the Jam Pony Incident) *****
It all started innocently enough…
Alec strode into HQ at around 8:00 that night with an air of barely suppressed anticipation, glancing around the still crowded main floor for Max. Finally spotting her hunched over a mountain of paper at a large table in the far corner with a couple of other transgenics, he started weaving his way toward her, slowing down and groaning quietly when he noticed Logan staring longingly at her as he sat nearby at one of their computers. His good mood dissolving into thin air.
Great. Just what we need to be dealing with right now. Mr. Mopey Pants, who apparently has no problem whatsoever going after another guy’s girl, if the last few days are anything to go by. He’s so bloody infatuated with her that he can’t see he’d be better off moving on. Nope. Instead he has to whine to her about how he can’t leave because it’s too dangerous out there for him now. And go on and on about how he needs to be here, so he can keep gathering information from his contacts and putting out Eyes Only broadcasts to support us. As if he couldn’t do that from anywhere else.
Why did Josh’s transfusion have to give him resistance to the toxins around here anyway? We could have been rid of him already. Instead we’re gonna be stuck having him around here indefinitely.
It’s his own damn fault the Sector Police and White are after him. Should have let us handle everything at Jam Pony the other day. He could have just called my cell and given us updates on the situation outside, instead of barging in and getting caught on tape trying to help us. Idiot had no business being in there. Or here for that matter. He’s only going to end up getting in our way, trying to shove his idealistic opinions down our throats every time we need to do something he doesn’t agree with.
Max should’ve just told him the truth and made him leave with Sketch and OC this morning. Told him to go up to Canada, since he likes sending everyone else up there so much. But nooo. That would’ve been too easy. She’s convinced that the only way to get him to back off and give up on her, is to make him believe we’re seriously an item. Which is why she cornered me late last night and asked me to help her put on a damned dog-and-pony show for him. Even though it’s going to really complicate things for us.
I guess it’s partly my own fault for agreeing to go along with it initially. But he’s gonna drive us all crazy if he stays here, constantly distracting her and everyone else from the real work that needs to be done. I don’t think it’s even crossed his mind yet, that most of the people he’s usually so concerned about saving, are standing on the other side of that fence right now, wishing us dead. So he can just forget it if he thinks we’re going to be running missions for him. ‘Cause it ain’t gonna happen. Not anymore.
We’re gonna have enough problems of our own just trying to stay alive. Not to mention trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario – all out war, with what seems like damn near everybody right now. And in order for us to do that, for Max to be able to do that, he’s got to go. And since it really doesn’t look like he’s willing to do that without some heavy-duty persuasion, I guess I’d better make sure we give him some award-winning performances.
Picking up his pace and raising his voice a bit, to make sure Max heard him coming and hopefully didn’t give the game away by jumping out of her skin, he acknowledged the other man by name with a slight wave.
Without a hint of hesitation, he let his gaze obviously drift to linger fondly on Max, and made sure that Logan noticed as he smiled and drawled out, “Hey Maxie, miss me?” Walking right up behind her, he placed his hand on the middle of her back and moulded his body around her left side, his hand leisurely gliding over to rest possessively on her right hip, feeling the instant tensing of every muscle as she prepared to react.
Moving his lips right up against her ear, and looking for all the world as if he were simply nuzzling her and brushing an intimate kiss there, he whispered so only she would hear, “Take it easy. You asked me to do this, remember? So ease your posture a bit and lean into me or he’s never going to believe the lie you’re trying to sell him.” He let his fingers lightly stroke over the curve of her hip, trying to get her to relax.
He felt her exhale shakily on a murmur of acknowledgement and slowly do as he suggested, shifting her stance to accommodate the intimate press of his body against hers. Pulling his head back and smiling reassuringly at her as she turned slightly so she could see him, he raised his voice just enough to be overheard and asked, “So whatcha working on?”
She sighed softly as she fought to get with the program; trying to hide how flustered his close proximity was making her feel. “Well, Dalton found a goldmine yesterday over at the old city planning office we sent him to check out. He brought back a ton of official maps and blueprints for the streets, property lines, buildings, utility grids, sewer lines... Damn near everything we could possibly want to know about this sector. I guess they figured they wouldn’t need any of this stuff once the area went toxic.”
He looked at the organized chaos spread out around her, running the possibilities through his head and smiling. “This couldn’t have come at a better time. We’re gonna need most of this to get this place up and running properly, instead of having everything jury-rigged like it is right now.”
“I know.” She pointed determinedly at the detailed property/street map on top of the pile in front of her. “And actually, I think I’ve already found us a good location for sneaking in supplies.” Seeing that she’d peaked his interest, she pinpointed one spot in particular. “This building is abandoned and it’s within a mile of the south end of our perimeter. About a block this side of Pervy Pete’s.”
Alec nodded thoughtfully, with a bit of a smirk at the nickname, remembering their frequent deliveries to the creepy looking guy – who had more than a bit of a porn fetish if the sources of his constant packages were anything to go by. “Pretty non-descript area, with enough trucks running through it that a few more likely wouldn’t draw any undue attention. So it’d be a decent location.” He agreed. “But what’s so special about this place?”
“Well, I ended up ducking inside it a while back, trying to avoid some trouble with the Russians and a couple of overzealous sector cops. Apparently it used to be some big truck washing company or something, ‘cause there were a ton of over-sized drainage hatches in the floor. And while we were sorting through all these today,” she indicated the heaped stacks in front of her, “I remembered that. So I figured I’d do a bit of digging.”
She pushed the map aside to expose some blueprints. Tracing the plumbing diagrams for the main floor, she continued, “You can see the hatches right here. And according to this, they tie directly in to the sewer main running under the building. We’ll have to send someone over there to verify access, but if it’s true, we should be able to bring supply trucks in there and then offload everything discreetly for transport through the sewer.”
“And nobody will ever know the difference. It’s a perfect solution, even if I’m not particularly fond of traipsing around down there.” A large, genuine grin lit up his face, the full wattage directed straight at her. His mouth scant inches from her own and his eyes gleaming as he resumed stroking her hip for effect, feeling Logan’s irate stare trying to burn a hole through him.
More than a little discomfited now, especially since there was nothing left to distract herself or him with, she slowly straightened with a groan, stiffly rolling her shoulders and arching her back in an attempt to regain some personal space.
Eyeing her thoughtfully and figuring he’d gotten too close for her comfort level, he took a step back. “Let me guess. You’ve been poring over these all day without a break, haven’t you?”
At her slightly easier nod and grateful smile directed over her shoulder, he continued, “No wonder you’re so stiff and sore. 12 hours is way too long to stay hunched over like that, even for us. Here.” Careful to keep at least a couple of inches of space between their bodies, he slid his hands up the middle of her back and started massaging her, gently digging his fingers into the muscles running along the length of her spine.
She sucked in a breath, stiffening as she figured she’d let her guard down too soon. Here it comes. He’s going to try to cop a feel or something, isn’t he? But when a few minutes passed with no such attempt being made on his part, and his hands instead stayed trained on the center of her back, she allowed herself to relax a little. Leaning forward slightly again, she braced her hands on the table and dropped her chin to her chest to give him better access.
She soon found herself instinctively arching up into his touch, the deep-seated tension she habitually carried in her body gradually melting away until it felt like she could quite easily become a boneless puddle on the floor. She was a bit stunned by her own reaction, but then quickly shook it off. I’m just putting on a show for Logan, that’s all. There’s no need to read anything deeper into this. Although I have to admit, Alec is really good with his hands. I can’t remember the last time I felt this loose. It’s incredible.
Alec was surprised, and not quite sure if she was acting or not, when he unexpectedly drew a low moan of pleasure from her lips, the sensual sound churning through his body and settling low in his hips. Suddenly aware of the extremely attentive audience they’d garnered, particularly with that sound, he forced himself to remember why he’d come here in the first place. Slowly easing off, he let his hands slide down her back and then slipped around her to lean against the table beside her.
Clearing his throat, he murmured huskily, “By the way, I ran into Jet and Rick outside earlier. Told me they got OC and Sketchy settled back in their apartments okay. They even hung around and did some surveillance to make sure their places were clean.”
“Hmmm?” She slowly lifted her head and blinked at him, her face looking a bit flushed as she pushed herself up completely and focused on his words with some effort. “Oh. That’s a relief.”
He nodded, “Yeah. And since they were already out there anyway, I also got them to pick up the rest of our things for us.”
She smiled at that for a moment, relieved that she’d have something else to change into other than the emergency clothes they’d stored in TC a few weeks ago. Then she shook her head ruefully, “Not that we really have anywhere to put any of it right now.”
“Actually, I managed to come up with a solution to that little problem today.” Seeing the obvious questions swirling in her eyes, and figuring it was best if they took this conversation away from all the curious eyes and ears around them, he pushed off from the table and moved past her. “It’s been a really long day.” Taking her hand, he gestured with his head toward the old couch set up against the back wall. “Come on. Let’s grab the rest of our stuff and I’ll tell you about it on the way.”
Realizing what he was up to, she allowed him to steer her away without protest. Although she was surprised when he bent over and picked both their backpacks off the floor, ignoring her outstretched hand and slinging them effortlessly over his left shoulder.
When he had her outside and she tried to pull free, he resisted and murmured, “You do realize we’re going to have to keep this act up in front of everyone, right?”
When she just looked at him out of the corner of her eye, obviously confused and a little annoyed, he sighed and continued softly. “I think Logan would realize pretty quickly that something’s amiss, if he heard our people going on about how we only act like we’re together around him. Not that they’d mean to gossip about us, but it would eventually get back to him and you know it.”
She bit her bottom lip as she thought about it and then reluctantly nodded in acknowledgement, allowing him to pull her closer when she realized that there were indeed curious eyes still watching them. She matched his stride and continued on without further comment, staring bleakly at the ground as she began to comprehend exactly what she’d signed herself up for.
Smiling down at her, he quietly threw out some bait in an attempt to perk her up, “I really did manage to find a great place for you to stay by the way. As long as you don’t mind having a roommate.”
She looked up as he caught her full attention again. “Someone’s actually willing to share their place with me? From what you've said before, and how everyone's been skirting the issue for the last few days, I was starting to get the impression no one really wants me around."
“That’s a bit harsh." He looked away, unpleasant memories flashing through his brain for a moment before he shook them off and met her gaze once more. "You’ve got to remember that we were all brainwashed to think of you and your unit as traitors. Once everyone gets to know you better, they'll get over it.” He shrugged. "Besides, a lot of them have been here pretty much since Manticore went down. So they're already settled in."
“Whatever.” She allowed herself to get excited now and gripped his hand a bit tighter, impatient to regain at least an illusion of privacy again. “So where is it?”
“Just over here. Apparently, our series laid claim to this place early on and spent quite a bit of time fixing it up. Also arranged to uh… ‘borrow’ some power from our outlying neighbours with a few extremely creative hook-ups. I had to call in a few favours from some of my old unit members to get them to shuffle around a bit, but I finally managed to work something out.” He led her into a 14-storey building just over a block down the street from HQ, and then up three flights of stairs, opening the last door at the end of the hall for her with a flourish and flipping the light switches just inside. “After you, milady.”
Max rolled her eyes a bit at his goofiness, but eagerly brushed past him and entered the apartment as Alec shut the door behind them, dropping their bags down on the island before moving into the living room. The sets of strategically placed, fluorescent pot lights gradually illuminated the apartment to full advantage. Scanning the space quickly, she noticed slightly rusty plumbing hook-ups sticking out of the wall in the shallow alcove/closet area just to the left of the door. At some point there must have been a washer and dryer set up there, even though its only occupants now were an old bookcase, overhead storage shelf and a couple of battered duffle bags.
Turning to her right, she eyed the rest of the bright, open floor plan appreciatively, no walls enclosing the kitchen, just a long black granite eating bar/island separating it from the living area. From the look and feel of the place, and the style of the fixtures and curtains that remained, it must have been a pretty posh apartment back in the day. A bit rundown now for sure, but nice and clean just the same. Whoever was living here had obviously made a real effort to restore it to its former glory.
She grinned as she met Alec’s expectant gaze over the counter, impressed by his find. “This is incredible. Way better than most of the places I’ve lived before.” Entering the long galley-style kitchen and trailing her fingertips along the cool stone, she walked past the apartment-sized fridge, sink and stove interspersed among the cabinets along the outer wall. An opaque glass sliding door, most likely leading to the bathroom, stood closed at the end of the kitchen.
Sliding it aside a bit and peeking her head in the doorway, she quickly confirmed her suspicion, and then did a rapid double take, moaning happily. “An over-sized spa shower and separate jetted soaker tub? I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.” Staring at the tub longingly for a minute longer, she finally pulled herself away to look over at Alec again, trying not to get her hopes up. “But those jets can’t possibly still work, can they? And the building probably doesn’t have hot running water either, does it?” Her tone of voice made her questions sound more like statements.
When he nodded with a grin, and said, “I made sure to ask about both and they do,” she couldn’t contain the brilliant smile lighting up her entire face. “Oh my God!” A squeal of delight left her lips and she ran around the counter toward him, almost knocking him over as she threw herself against his side and spun him halfway around, squeezing him tight in her overwhelming excitement. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You’re amazing. This is so much better than I ever could have imagined.”
And before he had a chance to really get a handle on what was happening, or how incredible it felt to have her willingly embrace him, she’d brushed her lips against his cheek in a glancing kiss and was gone, practically dancing back toward where she’d been, eager to explore the only other room left in the apartment.
He was left staring after her with his mouth hanging open, bereft and completely gobsmacked; sure that he must have imagined what just happened. A small part of him briefly wondering if she was really Max for that matter. He collapsed back onto the stool behind him, desperately trying to gather his scattered wits.
She kissed me. She actually kissed me! I knew she was gonna be pretty happy about the tub. But this??? I don’t think I’ve ever heard her make a sound like that before. And she actually thanked me and hugged me too. Seriously hugged me!
But that kiss tops it all... His fingers crept up to stroke the still tingling spot on his left cheek. Never in a million years did I expect this big of a reaction from her. Hell must have frozen over. Or maybe the world’s come to an end? But he still felt his lips curling up into a completely unguarded, heartfelt smile, feeling lighter and happier than he could ever remember being.
Floating along on Cloud 9 and blissfully unaware of the can of worms she’d unwittingly unleashed on the man behind her, Max stepped directly through the open double sliding doors, midway down the wall from the bathroom, and found the lone bedroom. A queen-sized bed, adorned by tall windows on either side, stood against the wall directly in front of her, with a pair of closets lining the wall on the left and a long double dresser and mirror on the wall backing onto the bathroom. Mind still spinning at the thought of the long, hot, relaxing bath she was going to be able to take tonight, she wondered absently whether her new roommate would mind letting her use one of the closets and maybe a drawer or two.
Alec rapidly snapped back to alertness when he saw her start to turn around. Not wanting to look like a complete idiot – what with the goofy grin he knew he must be sporting – he forced it from his face and tried to appear completely unaffected by her actions, sprawling back against the bar for effect.
Of course, the jig'd be up if she knew I had to practically sell my soul to get this particular apartment. Tubs like that are a hot commodity for quite a few of our women and there’s only two of them that still work in this building. But it was definitely worth the effort to get. Especially if it helps her accept the rest of the deal without killing me. ‘Cause from her reaction so far, I don’t think she’s caught on yet.
Coming back out into the main room, Max took a moment to glance over at the floor to ceiling windows filling the wall to her right and smiled with anticipation when she saw the one closest to her, which opened out on to a fire escape, highlighted by the sunset still illuminating the sky. It may not be the Needle, but this building is tall enough, I should be able to get a decent view from the roof.
With a raised eyebrow, she eyed the rather large TV and DVD player in front of her on the room’s only other wall. Looks like my new roommate is just as addicted to the boob tube as Alec is. Finally noticing the blankets and pillows piled on the slightly worn black woollen fabric covering the sofa bed in front of her, she rested her hand on the back of it and looked over at Alec, now perched casually on one of the wooden stools and leaning back against the bar on his elbows. "I take it this is mine?"
"No. Actually it's mine." A sheepish grin turned up his lips as he braced himself for her possibly explosive reaction. "I figured you'd appreciate having the privacy of your own room."
"Yours…” Surprised and slightly alarmed chocolate eyes locked on green. "You're my roommate?"
"Sorry, but it’s the best I could do. Unfortunately, nobody else is really comfortable with the idea of sharing living quarters with you. At least not yet. And it's not like either of us can afford to be that picky right now since we’re the stragglers to this party."
A wicked grin lit up his face as he arched his eyebrows at her. "Besides, since you said you’re really serious about pushing Logan away this time, I can't think of a better way of doing it than by moving in with your 'boyfriend'. And at least this way, we’ll have one place where neither one of us has to worry about putting on a lovey-dovey act."
She slowly closed her mouth around the outraged protest she’d been about to utter, dismayed to realize that his arguments made perfect sense. This was the only sensible solution. But how am I supposed to deal with this? With him???
~~~~~ Four Months Later…
Alec felt like his ass was dragging behind him by the time he finally got home that afternoon, barely dredging up the energy to nudge the door shut behind him. Dropping his cell phone into the charging unit on the counter and sparing a quick glance around to make sure Max wasn't there, he started stripping off his clothes, tossing them haphazardly toward the huge mound threatening to collapse in the corner.
Okay. MUSTremember to talk to her about that when she gets home tonight ‘cause I’m almost out of clean clothes and she probably is too. One of us is gonna have to take those over to the communal laundry tomorrow and wash them whether we feel up to it or not. I guess it really should be my turn this time since she’s done it a couple times in a row. But I get the impression she actually prefers doing it, compared to the thought of me touching her underwear, that is.
Yawning heavily, he scrubbed a hand over his lightly stubbled face and staggered toward the bathroom. Man, I wish I'd been given some shark DNA like Max and the other night units. I’d love to be able to function on little to no sleep for days at a time. It sure would’ve come in handy the past few months, what with the constant running around we've been doing.
Mind you, I wouldn’t want to give up sleeping in or lazing around in bed in the morning either, although it’s been months since I actually had a chance to properly do that. And she doessay that it sucks being stuck wide-awake while the rest of the world is sleeping. Gets too quiet and really lonely after a while. So maybe I’ll give that a pass after all.
He stepped into the spacious shower and moaned with pleasure at the hot water that greeted him upon turning on the tap. I'm gonna have to get Jim, Micky, and Sledge an extra perk or two on my next supply run to thank them. Again. ‘Cause I think quite a few of us would've gone nuts if they hadn't set this up for several of the larger living quarters when they first got here. Bless their ingenious little hearts for 'acquiring' all those heavy-duty solar panels and boilers, and creating a rainwater capture system to keep them all filled.
Those guys were a perfect fit to head up our tech/repair crew. Even managed to piece together some devices to counteract White’s thermal detection units, so we can go outside the gates without worrying quite so much.
Bracing his hands against the tiles, he leaned into the overhead spray and tilted his head back, letting the water rain down over his face and body. He sighed appreciatively as he received a bit of a second wind, the steamy heat relieving some of the stiffness that'd settled in his muscles, after working straight through the last 32 hours.
I wish I'd known at the start exactly how much work was gonna be involved in helping run TC. Maybe I wouldn't have thrown my hand in so quickly to do it. He thought about it for a second and then sighed. Oh, who am I kidding? I woulda ended up doing it anyway. I just can’t deny Max anything. A small smirk crossed his lips at the mental picture that suddenly popped into his head. Especially when she gets her back up and spits fire at me, just like a kitten would, threatening to tear me apart with her claws if I don’t give in.
He shook his head in bemusement. And wow. I really must be tired if I can seriously compare her to a helpless little kitten. I definitely need to get some sleep before I completely lose it.
Turning around, he groaned happily as the three body jets pulsed water against his back, then leant his head back to wet his hair. I guess the three of us are among the best choices for running this place though, if I do say so myself.
Mole was already well established as a point of control and had the trust and support of all the transhumans. It’s not like anyone would’ve kicked up a fuss about him handling our defences and weapons either, what with his extensive experience in combat ops overseas. And well, plus, he’s Mole. Nobody’s likely to argue with him, except for Max.
And out of all of us, she’s been out the longest and understands the ordinaries the best. She also has a couple trustworthy contacts in the Seattle PD, and an established position as spokesperson thanks to the incident at Jam Pony. So she was a shoe-in to take on communications and negotiations.
As for me, I’ve got the respect of the majority of the transgenics, thanks to my original alpha status and the additional specialized training I received for solo ops. Then there’s all the rescues I helped out on before we moved in here. I could probably command damn near every X-series here now if I absolutely had to. Hopefully it’ll never come to that though.
Reaching out to the shelf beside him, he snagged some two-in-one from one of the bottles there, rubbing it into a lather between his hands before attacking his hair. Then there’s my extensive experience in ‘procurement’ of course. He blew out a breath of laughter and grinned as he recalled the conversation they’d had when Max suggested – rather strongly – that he volunteer for that particular role.
She almost choked on it when she told me I should do it, that I was best suited for the job. But when I pretended to balk a bit, she damn near blew a gasket and got right up in my face about it. Kept on poking me in the chest as she backed me up against a table in the middle of command, and said she’d never seen anybody wheel and deal the way I could and what with all the back alley contacts I already had from my time at Jam Pony, I had to do it.
When I calmly agreed and then started laughing as I wrapped my arms around her, she damn near popped me one upside the head. I could see it smouldering in her eyes when she realized I’d been teasing her. She huffed out my name and ended up smacking me on the chest before leaning into my embrace for a minute, since everybody was watching us by that point.
But she was right, ‘cause as it turns out, I was able to talk most of those guys into doing business with us, since they don’t really give a shit where the stuff is going so long as they get paid, and paid well. And that mostly explains how I spend the bulk of my time now, focused on managing inventories, sweet-talking suppliers, and planning and pulling the necessary heists and supply runs to keep us going. It seems like a never-ending battle sometimes, trying to track down reliable sources for everything we need to keep our people safe and happy.
I wouldn’t be this tired though, nor would it be half as bad if that’s all I did. Instead, I wind up pitching in with Max and Mole on a shitload of the other things that need doing around here – things that I never dreamed in a million years I’d ever get involved with.
I mean, really, mediating and settling disputes? Me? I don’t recall seeing that in the job description anywhere. He shook his head, still a bit amazed that it was even necessary. You’d think with our higher IQs, we’d be able to sort out that kind of thing on our own. But apparently not. Leaning his head back again, he started rinsing out the shampoo.
We’ve spent a ton of time organizing cleanup, salvage, and repair crews to get as many buildings up and running as possible. Had to acquire some form of power and water for the places that hadn’t been hot-wired into external grids yet, and set up facilities for things like medical care, food prep, childcare, repair/tech, and training. Needed to implement a training regimen for everyone too, to make sure we keep our skills sharp.
And we also had to put together a team of stealth ops personnel to gather intelligence and perform surveillance on all the groups that are gunning for our asses. ‘Cause between the constant protesters, the Sector Police, the National Guard, White, his Familiars cult buddies, and well, basically you name ‘em, it seems like everybody wants a piece of us.
I guess I really shouldn’t complain about the workload either. I did choose to get involved after all. And really, it has been a lot better the last few months – ever since we got that committee in place to help handle all the crap that doesn’t fall under our own specialized areas of control. It’s a lot less work than trying to do it all ourselves, even if we still end up overseeing everything and meeting almost every day for an hour or so to discuss current issues. But instead of putting in around 18-hour days, it’s usually down to about 12 or 13 now, which I can live with. Still not great, but doable.
Although occasionally good old Murphy still has to try to screw us over. Just like he did last night, with those damned ordinaries lobbing Molotovs at us from just outside the main gates. ‘Cause who wouldn’t enjoy a good riot on Halloween! Especially when the monsters and demons you’re so afraid of are right there, waiting for you to torment ‘em. And the sector police and National Guard just stood there watching with their thumbs stuck up their asses. Hoping we’d do something stupid so they’d have an excuse to attack.
And while Mole and Max were tied up dealing with that, the rest of the shit had to hit the fan too. Which left me as the only one available to deal with it, since HQ was pretty much cleared out by the time I got back from Tacoma with Rick. First I had to take Jess’s shift on perimeter watch. He closed his eyes and shook his head, still hard-pressed to believe something this stupid could happen at their age.
Nothing like an unattached female going into heat to fuck up most of the male X5 population and leave us extremely shorthanded, what with everything else that was going on. Thank God she was nowhere near command or the main gates when it happened ‘cause that would’ve been an unmitigated disaster. Rick volunteered to fill one of the other vacant shifts, but even with that, I still had to struggle to find two more people, due to the injuries our guys took fighting over her.
And just when I started to relax this morning and figured I’d be able to come back here and catch a few z’s, Ruben had to call me in an absolute panic over Juli and the baby. Not that I blame him, but damn the timing! So I ended up taking his shift too.
He sighed and swayed on his feet; the exhaustion he’d been stubbornly fighting off starting to plague him again. Better finish up in here and crawl into bed before I fall down. Reaching beside him, he blindly grabbed for his shower gel. Opening the bottle and raising it to squirt on his chest, he froze as he was inundated by the luscious aroma of cherries and vanilla.
Mmm. Max. Man I love this scent on her. He inhaled deeply as his mind automatically flashed to one of his oft-visited fantasies of her.
Soaking wet and skin flushed with desire, she slowly massaged the lather into her skin, hands lingering over her breasts and abdomen and dark curls… The steamy hot water caressing her skin like a lover as it flowed over her body. Her lower lip sucked in between her teeth, an expression of ecstasy on her face as she slid her fingers over herself intimately, her breath catching in her throat as she keened out her pleasure…
Feeling his body harden accordingly, he shook his head at himself and slowly opened his eyes. Is now really the time to be starting this? With how tired I am? Jeez, get a grip man. He snorted despite himself. Okay, bad pun there. But it’s not as if it takes much anymore for me to get this way either. It’s been way too long since I saw any action other than my own hand. And it certainly doesn’t help that it’s gotten to the point where I’m not interested in anybody other than her anyway.
He groaned and forced himself to put her bottle away and grab his own, trying to push her out of his head as well. Yeah, not a hope in hell of doing that, is there? She’s had my attention since day one, no matter how hard I’ve tried to fight it.
Squeezing out some soap, he started scrubbing his body, determinedly turning his thoughts away from anything provocative in an attempt to calm down. I still can’t believe how well we’ve been getting along lately. Didn’t figure living together was going to go smoothly at all. Actually, I half expected one of us to have killed the other by now with the way we used to fight.
And things were so strained around here at first; I didn’t know what to do about it. She’d come home and have a bath, maybe eat something, and then retreat to her room and not come out for the rest of the night. Almost as if dealing with me, and our situation all day, was a bit too much for her, but even then, I could tell there had to be more to it than that. She’d sit on her bed, seemingly absorbed in reviewing whatever reports or plans she’d brought home, but she’d eye me warily whenever I moved, almost like she half expected me to go in there and pounce on her or something. As if I’d ever do anything like that.
I guess she realized how ridiculous she was being too, because after a week or so, she started coming out of her shell. Lingering in the kitchen to talk about whatever happened that day, and occasionally migrating to the stools whenever we became engrossed discussing something at length. Until finally she just started settling in on the other end of the sofa from me.
Our living together did take some getting used to though, ‘cause boy does she ever have some quirks. She has a really weird sense of modesty. Has no problem whatsoever with flashing skin when she’s out in public, but get her alone and suddenly she’s little miss shy. And then there’s the rather large personal buffer zone she prefers, and the fact that she’s skittish as hell about guys touching her in anything but the most casual of ways, particularly if she’s not expecting it.
I accidently caught her by surprise twice during the first few days of our charade, and damn near lost the boys both times. Luckily for me, she managed to catch herself and redirect her fists, making it look like she was reaching back for my hips instead. She finally pulled me aside after the second time though and warned me point blank that I was taking my life in my hands doing that. Said she could only deal with me ‘manhandling’ her in front of everybody if I made sure she knew it was coming, and told me if she ever caught me trying anything here, she would kill me.
So we ended up establishing a couple of ground rules to help smooth things over. I promised that I wouldn’t sneak up on her, and that I’d keep my hands completely to myself around here. In return, she agreed to stop using me as her personal punching bag. Not that she really had much choice there – since the rumour mill would’ve had a field day with all the S&M implications – but the gesture was nice, just the same.
And I guess she’s become accustomed to having me around constantly, because it doesn’t appear to bother her anymore when I occasionally infringe on her personal space, and she doesn’t tense up at all when I touch her now either. Of course, it’s not as if I’ve really been pushing her by doing anything that could be considered too intimate, which probably has a lot to do with it.
I’m still kinda surprised that we don’t fight over the bathroom, ‘cause I’ve heard horror stories from some of the other guys about that. He shrugged. But then again, she never has been one to get all dolled up either, so I end up getting first dibs on the shower every morning. And while she occasionally has one to help her perk up before going to HQ, she locks this place down every night for an hour or so when she gets home, while she takes one of her baths. And it’s all good really, because by the time she comes out, she’s usually tons easier to handle.
And we’ve worked out a system of trading for chores that seems to work pretty well too. We take turns mostly, but there are a few things that one or the other of us either can’t stand doing or is no good at. Like how I end up doing the majority of the cooking since she somehow manages to burn water without even trying. But seeing as how she’s more than happy to clean up afterward, that’s fine with me. And it’s a lot easier on both our stomachs.
Although I must admit she can make a mean cup of coffee, which probably helps too. She always has one ready and waiting for me when my alarm goes off in the morning. A bit of a self-deprecating grin crossed his face. Apparently, I can get a bit... growly when I’m forced to wake up before I’m ready. She says the caffeine is a huge improvement.
Don’t get me wrong either, ‘cause it’s not like it’s all smooth sailing between us now. We do have the odd knockdown, drag out fight. Well, actually, I guess that might be a bit of an exaggeration. We just end up having really intense disagreements… at extremely close range… with the occasional light smack from her thrown in for good measure. But then it wouldn’t really be us either, if we didn’t. And I enjoy the sparks that fly between us too much not to provoke her into one from time to time.
Absently realizing that he’d soaped his entire body thoroughly two or three times over already, he shook his head and started rinsing off. At the same time, so much has changed between us, it sometimes seems like we’re completely different people. It still seems a bit weird when I think about it. We’ve known each other for a pretty long time, but up until a couple months ago, we never could have seriously been considered friends. Now though?
Most nights, I throw something together while she’s taking her bath, and then we discuss our day while we eat. And after, well, that’s the best part of my day. We curl up on the sofa or go sit in the ratty old lounge chairs we hauled up to the roof, and spend a couple hours together trying to unwind enough to go to sleep – or at least get a bit of rest in her case. We usually just end up talking, about anything and everything. Different experiences we’ve had, people we’ve known, places we’ve been or want to go, and even wishes we have for the future. Other times we turn on the tube or put in one of the DVDs I’ve managed to score and just veg. And it’s nice. Really nice.
And at least now – after some of the things she’s told me about her past – I have a better idea why she has some of the hang-ups she does. I always assumed that her life outside was damned near perfect after the escape, at least compared to what I went through in Manticore. But it wasn’t. He shook his head in disgust as he turned off the water and stepped out, leaning back against the counter for support as he grabbed his towel to dry off.
She escaped from our hellhole only to immediately find a different one, what with the foster parents she hooked up with. Depraved son of a bitch anyway. How sick does a guy have to be to beat up and molest a kid? Let alone his own daughter. And yeah, while Max said she ran away before he actually tried to touch her sexually, it still had a huge effect on her, constantly being beaten up and threatened, and seeing Lucy treated like that. Especially when the mom didn’t lift a finger to try and stop it.
It’s no wonder she chose to live in almost complete isolation for several years after that. I wouldn’t have wanted to risk being caught up in that kind of situation again either, especially being so young and not knowing what the expected norms were for behavior out here. It goes a long way though, toward explaining why she’s so particular about being touched and having her own space, even after all these years. And why she’s so leery of men.
Of course, it didn’t help that the first time she did decide to try trusting a guy on a semi-romantic level, Darren had to go and fuck it up for the rest of us by fooling around on her. And then had the nerve to blame it on her, no less. What a prick!
Although, it’s not as if I made a better impression, is it? First there was all the fallout from my involvement with the virus and that shit with White. Then I basically slept with every woman I met the first six months or so after I got out, trying to keep her out of my head. Even seeing multiple girls at the same time. No wonder she and OC were always going on about how all men are dogs. It’s been a real uphill battle since then to improve her opinion of me.
And now Logan’s screwed things up even more, by lying to her about Seth the entire time he’s known her. My chances with her just keep getting better and better, don’t they? How on earth am I ever supposed to get her to trust me enough to accept me as anything other than a friend?
Wrapping the towel loosely around his waist, he sighed heavily and stumbled out toward his bed, never more grateful that he’d been in too much of a rush yesterday morning to convert it back into a sofa. Crawling in, he moaned happily as he pulled the covers up over himself and buried his head in his favourite pillow. Taking a quick glance at the combination clock radio/CD player on the counter and then wearily shutting his eyes, his last thought barely had time to register before he fell asleep. Good. Should be able to catch at least 4 hours ‘fore she gets home...