Yeah, so... nickeldime17 wanted to play the alphabet game again, and asked me to supply the prompts. Which is great, 'cuz she supplied the prompts last time, so now she'll get to partake in the fun of Creativity Gone Wild. So, here's the first three. Thanks to quirkies for suggesting the prompt for A! It's kind of like the flipside of Yawn. Thanks to the movie Labryinth for supplying B, and well, I guess my muse for supplying C. If you're a LJ lurker, these haven't changed much from their original forms, just cleaned up some minor mistakes.

A is for Alpha

Rated M

This was all very, very new territory.

From the time that she'd been a child, Max could only remember taking orders, not giving them. Zack and Tinga had been the alpha's of her unit; every eye had followed them. In all honesty, Max had been relatively low on the totem; the only female she'd had status on was Syl… to everyone else, she was "baby sister". And when she'd been younger, she'd liked it that way…

But now that she was older, leading a nation in which animal instinct tinged the edge of every power play, every command, the whole thing was a hindrance that was starting to piss Max off. For the most part, she made up for her lack of edge in the alpha department with bitchiness that went for miles and a caustic tongue that could send even the most hardened transgenics running for the hills.

…But sometimes it annoyed her that no one backed down from her stare, only from her tongue. That she couldn't send people from a room with a pointed look and a small gesture, but had to chase them out with a well-aimed kick or a harsh word. To be brutally and totally honest… sometimes it annoyed Max that she wasn't Alec.

It came so frickin' easy to that guy.

It all made its way back to her eventually; through other transgenics, through Cindy, through the whispers that always followed behind him. He'd been instrumental in bringing transgenics and transhumans together… merely by showing up in T.C., lookin' for Joshua. He'd been the one that'd rallied the transhumans, bringing them to the hostage swap that day Sam had been in town, effectively saving Max's ass. He'd been the one that Gem and Dalton, all transgenics, really, immediately and implicitly trusted. He'd been the one to calm Mole with merely a gesture and not a single word that day of the Jam Pony fiasco. Whatever it meant to be an 'Alpha', Alec apparently had it in spades. Now that other transgenics were constantly around, it was like the sun shone out of his frickin' ass and everyone saw fit to point it out to her and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

She'd mentioned it to Logan, once. And she'd never mention it to him again, because Logan used her really rather serious attempt at a conversation to, once again, bring up that time he'd saved a wounded Alec from that Familiar chick. Guy needed a new story. Seriously.

So, instead, Max did her best to fixate on all the times Alec had screwed up, and there were plenty of those from his days just out of Manticore, to remind herself that she was the better leader. She was chosen for a reason. Not just because Sandeman had designed the runes into her code. Not just because she was some apocalyptic savior.

"Because there was no one else stupid enough to take the job," Mole snorted.

"What did you just say to me?" Max hissed.

"Max has more experience at evading The Man then anyone else," Alec pointed out. Max wished he'd shut it. She could fight her own battles.

"Yeah… Evading." Mole grunted and Command fell silent, eyes swinging to the fight brewing in its center. "We're not evading nothing by sitting here waiting for the bombs to drop."

"You agreed to stay and fight! To stand up to them!" Max exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Mole argued and his next words made more than one face turn grim in agreement. "And yet all we're doin' is exchangin' diplomatic bullshit across the fence while your little monkey lover tries to win over the populace that wants to see us all dead!"

Alec coughed; dangerous territory. Mole glanced at him. Max did her best to ignore him, still fixated upon the tall transhuman, the only person she counted as more annoying than Alec.

"Don't even get started on Logan again! He's doin' more for us than you are right now!" She shouted into Mole's face.

His large hand connected with her shoulder, shoved her out of his personal space. "Yeah, 'cuz you won't let anyone do anything 'cept stick our thumbs up our-"

"Okay, kiddies" Alec pushed himself from his lean over the table, his expression becoming stern. "I think we've had enough playtime for today."

"We're not done," Max scowled at Mole. Mole scowled back.

"Yes, we are," Alec's voice had taken a hard edge and both Max and Mole stiffened and looked away from him, away from each other. Mole finally grunted something about lunch and slipped out of Command to overwhelming silence. Max turned and did her best to not stomp back to her office. When he came in, she was staring out the window, the melancholy that'd been plaguing her for the past few weeks having caught up with her once more.

Alec must not have known what to say, because he paused in the doorway, watching her for only a moment before turning to leave without a word.

"How do you do that?" She asked, stopping him.

He frowned and he turned to face her. "Do what?"

"Just… say something and have people immediately do your bidding." Her forehead touched cool glass, just for a moment, the barest concession to how tired she felt.

Alec scratched the back of his head. "Dunno." He shrugged, the smirk she couldn't see shining through in his voice. "Just lucky, I guess."

Max sighed, because part of her knew that there was more to it then luck.

Alec rolled his eyes. "Max, don't be like that. People just like me, is all. I mean, you n' I've got the whole good cop, bad cop routine goin' on; of course people are more willing to-"

"That's not it and you know it." Max's voice was soft as she straightened, her eyes still focused on some spot on the distant skyline.

She could feel his eyes move across her back; could feel him look away. Could feel his presence, so strong, overwhelming. When she'd first gotten out of Manticore, she'd thought he was just transfixing her with his annoyingness, making her hyperaware of his activities. The truth, that her eyes followed him because her genetics demanded it, was harder to swallow.

"What do you want me to say, Max?" He rubbed tired eyes.

What could he say? What could he possibly say to fix this whole strange situation? She wanted it to be his fault, but it wasn't… it was Nature's, or Manticore's, or whatever it was that had given Alec that imperceptible something that made people stand up and take notice. They followed her orders, of course they did, just like they'd all followed the orders of the handlers back at Manticore… but no one snapped to it for her they way they did for him.

"Besides," Alec grunted, turning to leave once more, his hand resting on the doorframe. "This is probably the kind of thing you should be talking about with your Second, not with me." And he slipped out into the hallway before she could even turn to face him, to face the bitterness in his voice.

Max sighed as she was reminded of her second greatest mistake after not making Alec her Second… defying all logic, all convention, all naysayers, and making Logan it instead. And her arguments had made sense at first. To the doubters; Logan had more than enough experience with Eyes Only and all his contacts would prove useful. To the haters; Logan was just as involved in the war effort as everyone else and at the end of they day they were all human, so what did it matter if he wasn't transgenic? To Alec; he's proof to the U.S. that we can work with normal people, we're not racists, and to top it all off, he's the best man for the job. Mature. Stable. Intelligent. Computer savvy. All things a Second should be.

But if anything, making Logan her Second had only compounded her troubles. Her already tenuous grasp was weakening further… and to top it all off, she knew that it'd hurt Alec's feelings to boot. Granted, he still did all the work of the job of a Second… just without the title that she hadn't thought would be important to him.

Logan was a good guy… but whether Max admitted it or not, he had no business making plays in transgenic politics and it seemed everyone and their clone was trying to point that out to her. Max tried not to admit it; tried to hold on to the belief that she was a human. As for the other part… she quelled the guilt and pretended that Alec's feelings weren't important to her. That T.C. would still run smoothly even if Alec stopped working on the sidelines…

She did her best to ignore the unstable situation… until it blew up in her face.

"I said no one was to harm the Familiars," Logan scowled at Mole. "The public-"

"I don't give a damn about the public. And I don't take orders from the likes of you," The tall scaly man hissed in return. The T.V. droned on in the background, the reporter's voice illuminating in gleeful detail the state of the bodies that'd been found by the river.

"No, but you take orders from me," Max's frown was a twin to Logan's, despite the fact that some of those bodies that'd been found belonged to some of the people under her command. "And he's my Second, which means-"

"I said I don't take orders from apes," Mole turned on Max. "And it's getting harder to take orders from a trannie that wants to be an ape." Mole paused, his sneer deepening. "To be honest, I'm not sure how smart it was in the first place; making the runt of Manticore's most defective litter-"

"Mole, that's enough." Alec's voice broke over them, stalling Max's fist. He'd been leaning in the corner, but he finally pushed himself away from his spectator's position and joined the fray.

"I'm just saying what everyone else is too scared of her bitchiness and your support to admit!" Mole ignored Max's bristle and whirled on the man that she wished was the source of her problems. "Why do you defend them? We both know you could get more done with a look then those two could with-"

Alec snagged the taller man by the sleeve and pulled him out the door and Max hadn't heard what'd been said, but whatever it was, the two sometimes-friends had come to blows in the street outside of Command.

"Why do you stay?" Max asked him later, handing him an ice pack for one bruising cheekbone. Her voice was bitter; she'd heard some of the whispers, after all. "I mean, if you're so fucking alpha, why don't you-"

"I believe in you," He interrupted. And her breath caught in her throat because she didn't know how to react to a statement so simple and so awesome.

"Plus," Alec grunted, wincing as he placed the cool plastic against his face, "Doesn't matter what anyone else says; we're more than just the carriers of freaky instinct that the whackjobs at Manticore cooked us up with… We are human. Besides." His little half-smile was playful and warm. "You're the right woman for the job. The only woman for the job. You're the only one that can make them see that we're more than what they made us."

Was this the really the same man that'd sauntered into her cell a year ago with a cocky grin and devil-may-care attitude? The man that she'd told herself she'd never want; that'd never mean anything to her past an annoying waste of space that ate her time, patience, and resources?

Who'd changed? Him? Or her? Or had they just met somewhere in the middle?

Alec dropped the ice pack to the floor at her somber look. He leaned back into the couch and stared hard at her. "You really want to fix the Alpha thing?" He finally asked into the silence.

Max had a feeling she wouldn't like whatever the 'fix' was. "How?" She asked, her voice soft.

"Find someone to claim you," Alec shrugged. "Mated partners share the status of the most dominant of the two."

"Yeah right," Max scowled, glaring at him in suspicion. "Even if I was that desperate, where would I find-"

Alec's eyes slid up and caught hers and her breath once more lodged in her windpipe and would not move for all the burning lungs in the world. He glanced away, but his words could not hide what his eyes had told her. "I dunno. There's gotta be somebody stupid enough to do it."

Yes. Yes, there was. Her head cocked to the side and her eyes narrowed and she released the held breath, attracting his eyes once more. He shifted in discomfort as she took slow, sauntering, swaying steps to him.

Because she'd finally seen it; seen what some secret part of her had always known. For all of his alpha status, for all of her lack thereof… She had some kind of power over him. Always had. If she asked it of him, he would do it.

But… but he was her friend. Could she really demand that of him? And there was still Logan to think of… And…

"Max?" He asked softly when she was before him, and she wondered how it'd gone from her asking him, to him asking her.

Her breath hitched and her eyes fell shut as he reached for her. "Oh god, yes."

He had her laid out on the couch, kneeling on the ground between her splayed legs, eyes roving gently across the dark material of her shirt. His fingers danced across her neck; too visible. Down her front, lifted a scant millimeter above her breast, following the curve in the air; too intimate. Splayed gently against her flat stomach; too awkward. Slid across the edge of the grey cargo pants. Pulled the tab free. Shoved the material away from one curved hip. Leaned down and placed a chaste kiss there on the hipbone. Yes. There. Now. Please, Alec, please, please.

She didn't realize she'd said it all out loud until he grunted, his fingers digging convulsively into the tops of her thighs, his teeth digging into the sensitive skin above her hipbone. She jerked in pain as she felt the skin break. Discomfort was forgotten quickly as his tongue swept across the mark and the whole of her being realized that yes, he was between her legs, yes, that was his lips on her skin, and oh my god, that was Logan. Her eyes widened in horror.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Alec broke away from her hip, his green eyes sliding up to meet Max's. And she couldn't look away, not until the corner of his mouth quirked and he looked away first, standing slowly.

"I said-"

"Calm down, Log-man. It's just politics." Alec turned to face the blonde man, his small smile disappearing into neutrality.

"Politics?" Blue eyes darted to Max in angry disbelief as she zipped her pants, sitting up slowly, legs still slightly open to accommodate the ache that had developed. Logan's eyes danced across her knees and her legs snapped together and Alec coughed to cover something that could have turned to laughter.

"Don't worry," Alec shrugged, his hand dropping away from his mouth, amusement still tingeing his voice. "I'm just doin' my part to help out the war effort. You remain the untouchable boyfriend and Second extraordinaire."

For now, his amused silence, that fairly vibrated the room, seemed to say.

Alec turned to look at Max and his eyes caressed her hip and his voice became a murmur and her hands squeezed the worn green felt of the couch. "I'll see you tonight,"

"Yes," She breathed without thought.

"Max?"

Her eyes snapped back to Logan. "Umm… I mean, sorry, I… got this thing, tonight. Eyes Only."

His smile was wicked. "Do you?" For a moment, she wondered if he'd use that edge on her, that edge of animal that could get others to obey, that edge he'd never focused solely upon her in a negative way. He finally just did that little half-shrug, his wicked grin softening to an amused smile. "Well… have a good time."

Max slumped in a mixture of relief and disappointment as he brushed past Logan, leaving her alone with the man that she told herself was her boyfriend and all of his silent recriminations.

Max spent the rest of the evening practically clawing at the walls. Every movement made the harsh material of her pants move against the imprint of teeth on her hip. Reminded her of him. Of her need for him. She'd just clicked off the desklamp, and she was readying to leave for Logan's, and she was almost out of her mind... That's when he slipped in. And shut the door behind him, not bothering to throw the flimsy bolt that would hold no transgenic anyway.

"So," He rolled his shoulders, looking like he was easing away some tension. "Still got that thing tonight?"

His eyes were narrow, his hair mused, the hungry look hidden in his eyes telling her that he may have spent his afternoon just as unfocused as her.

"Yeah," She waited in the soft darkness in the center of the room, waited for his lazy strides to bring him close. He plucked at the seam at her shoulder, a distracted frown on his face, like he was tryin' to work up the courage to-

It was like a dam breaking inside of them.

His mouth, so hot against hers, as he pushed her back into the desk. Her fingers, scrabbling at his back, pulling his shirt out of the waistband of his jeans. His grunts as he pressed into her, his hand holding her leg up around him. Her pants as she reached for the fly of his jeans.

"No," He broke away, gasping. "No, Max, can't do this."

"Wha- What?" She straightened slowly, her eyes wide in disbelief and unhappiness.

"No sex. Not 'til you get rid of the Ordinary." He turned away from her. So he didn't see her spring at his back, grabbing at his arm and swinging him around, pushing him back around her desk.

Alec was clutching convulsively at the arms of her deskchair when Logan came in.

"L… Logan?" He grunted, sitting up slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"You seen Max?" Logan asked, his eyes sweeping across Max's office. He smiled, 'cuz he was so telling Max when he found her that Alec was sitting at her desk in the darkness, probably thinkin' of ways to usurp her position.

"No," Alec said, eyes wide, squinting when Logan flipped on the light. "Probably out bitchin' at somebody," And then hissed, his teeth gritting together, his pupils expanding even further, if that was possible.

Logan's eyes snapped back to Alec, and his smile turned to a small frown of concern. "You okay?"

Alec's lips pressed together in a grim line. "Great, just… hurtin' a little from that fight with Mole." His eyes darted downwards.

"Listen, Alec-"

"Can we talk later?" Logan had never heard the man's voice so high before. It was kind of amusing. Probably embarrassed he'd been caught at Max's desk. Logan shrugged, turning to walk out.

"I'm going to kill you," Alec murmured, looking down at his lap, at Max's wicked eyes, gleaming up at him, as Logan was slipping out the door.

"What was that?" Logan paused, his voice hard in anger.

Alec's eyes swung back up to the Ordinary, and his voice was bland. "I said, when she comes, I'll tell her you were lookin' for her."

"Thanks," Logan nodded briskly, not sounding particularly grateful, as he shut the door behind him.

Logan paused in the hallway as he heard the deskchair crash to the ground and Alec's annoyed grunt, "Dirty fighting bitch!" Logan shook his head in annoyance. Now Alec was trashin' her office? Jeez. Why did the guy make it so easy for Logan to make him look bad? And whether he'd thought Logan would hear him or not, the guy had threatened him. It was finally gonna be the end of the reign of the Golden Boy when Logan told Max; everyone would finally see him for the sociopath that he was. And if he could pull this 'mission' off by himself, Alec would be removed from the picture for good…

"What?" Max shrugged from her place on the cool cement beneath him. "Didn't hear you complaining."

"You could have stopped when Logan walked in," Alec grunted, pushing her pants and underwear away from her body. She toed off her shoes, kicked the material the rest of the way off of at least one of her legs as his hand moved between them, positioned himself at her entrance.

"Not even gonna get naked first?" Max smiled up at him, at the, once again, complete role reversal. "Besides… what happened to waiting 'til I broke it off with Logan?"

"I've waited a fucking year." Alec grunted. "What more do you want from me?"

"Just you," She replied softly. And gasped as his head dropped into her shoulder and his stomach tightened, and he surged forward and in to her.

"Well, look who's makin' the walk of shame, wearin' the same clothes as yesterday. Guess you found that cure Logan was nattering about after all." Mole sneered at her. "He was just lookin' for you, by the way."

Max's eyes widened and her head whipped towards Mole. Then back to Alec, just letting himself out of the hallway that led to Max's office. Mole's mouth dropped open; the cigar dropped from thin, loose lips and hit the floor, spraying embers across his black combat boots.

"Wait," Mole stuttered. "Wha-"

"Mole," Max said blandly, and couldn't help the slow smirk when Mole's eyes immediately snapped to her. "Shut up."

Mole glanced away from her hard gaze. Then snorted. "It's about damn time," And stalked off, a surprisingly jaunty spring in his step.

She had a feeling she knew why when Mole reached the stairs leading up to the catwalk. "Looogey-bear," Mole's amused voice filled Command. "I found Max for you."

Alec's fingers dug into her hip and she arched back in to him; couldn't help it.

"So, a cure?" His voice was hard. So was his grasp.

Like he expected her to run. And he wasn't going to allow it.

"Guess… Guess that's what that Eyes Only mission was about," Max's head craned up and back to look at him.

"Yeah. It was. But don't worry, I went by myself," Logan's hard voice broke into their enclosed world. His arm was outstretched before him, a vial filled with clear, amber liquid held in one steady hand. He waited for Max to break away from Alec, to remove herself from the intimacy that exuded from the two transgenics who were far too close for Logan's liking.

Max was reaching for the vial when his fingers dug, again, into that secret mark at the edge of her hip. She fell still, her arm dropping not because of some strange inferior instinct, but because the arousal was damn near paralyzing. Alec's other arm wrapped around her ribcage, under her breasts, and he pulled her back into his body. Logan's eyes widened.

"Send it off to the lab, first." Alec grunted, his eyes gleaming at the other man as he pressed the side of his face into Max's dark hair. "Not lettin' you kill my mate 'cuz you're blinded by the possibility of getting some."

"What happened to 'it's just politics,'" Max hissed in mortification, part of her realizing she should be more annoyed, when Logan stomped off, apparently too angry to string together a coherent sentance.

She could feel his smirk against the curve of her neck. "I'm a notorious liar."

And there was something there, hidden in his voice; a smug satisfaction and a secret guilt. She did break away, then, turning on him. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?" She accused.

Alec shrugged. "Be glad I overheard Logan talking to his contact yesterday before you made a huge mistake and slept with him. If you'd went around telling everybody that it was 'official', you'd have been pushed out of your position by the end of the week."

The desire to wail on him should have been growing by now. But she shifted, 'cuz-

"Christ," He hissed as she plastered herself to him.

"Get a room!" Came Mole's gleeful voice from the catwalk where the computers were kept.

Alec dragged her back into the hallway, back to Max's office.

"You didn't mention the part where I'd be super horny all the time," Max hissed as he laid her out on her desk.

"Claims don't make people horny," Alec smirked down at her, his eyes wicked. "That's all you, baby."

She forgave him for the use of the word 'baby' because she could feel him pressing in to her, and that was all him, too.

"I meant get a room somewhere else," Mole snorted when the sound of Max's muffled cries reached his ears.

The sudden alpha status that had people rushing and bending and scraping and following orders was phenomenal. It was almost as good as the knowledge that she could reduce one of the strongest males in T.C. to a quivering, foul-mouthed wreck, desperate for her. Which was almost as great as the sex in general, really. Which, on a good day, could even come close to the feelings that he inspired when he dropped all the innuendos, and commanding stares, and gruff pretenses and just curled behind her and held her tenderly.

Not that she liked that mushy crap or anything.

Really, she was just in it for the alpha status.

Yeah.

Alec's slow smile when she showed up on his doorstep, half her clothes and some lotions n' stuff thrown in a duffel 'cuz she spent most of her off hours over here anyway (whatever, it's no big deal, make me some cereal), inspired something warm inside of her. She collapsed into his couch, flicking on some cartoons as she heard Alec moving about the kitchen, pulling a bowl from his cupboard.

Just the alpha thing, she told herself as she traded the remote for the bowl and he collapsed at her side, his head pillowing on her thigh. That was all.

B is for Ball

Rated T

The only ones who'd been surprised that it'd turned into a make-out session was Max and Alec. A day later, when they told all of their friends, everyone else would insist that they'd seen it coming a mile away.

At the start of the night, Alec had been speechless for once. The slow warmth of feminine pleasure, so foreign, colored her cheeks. The hint of blush had turned his dumbstruck appearance… well… even more dumb. If that was possible. Before he shook it off and offered her a slow smirk.

"Maaaax." He drawled, circling her slowly. "The fairy tale look suits you." He ended up before her once more, his eyes dipping to the neckline… well… make that the bustline of the white and silver dress. They moved down for only a moment, noting in fascination how the full skirts made her waist look so tiny, before moving back up to what he thought was the most interesting part of the whole ensemble-

Max's mask popped him underneath the chin. "Eyes on my face, pretty boy."

He glanced up in thought. "I prefer the term… eyes on the prize." And his eyes immediately dipped back down to her breasts, lifted to precarious positions by the whale boning within the bodice.

The time, her heel dug into his foot.

"What are you even wearing?" Max hissed when he was done hobbling around in pain. "I told you we were going as a prince and princess."

He scowled at her, fingering the gilt handle of the rapier at his waist. "And I told you I wanted to be Zorro."

"You're not Spanish!"

"It's a masquerade ball, who the hell cares if I'm Spanish or not?!"

"Besides," Max sniffed, ignoring him. "I told you that there's no way I'd dress up like a prostitute."

His eyes dipped again, god, she'd find a way to wipe the smirk off his face if it killed her. "Yeah…" He said thoughtfully, his eyes roving across her flesh. "I could see how you'd-"

"Come on, guys, stop fighting." Asha plopped herself on Logan's couch, kicking green, belled shoes in boredom.

"What are you supposed to be?" Alec asked and Max was only slightly annoyed that he stopped looking at her so that his eyes could follow Asha's generous expanse of leg. Only slightly. She didn't care who he looked at.

Her elbow slammed into his ribs and Alec grunted, looking back at her and scowling.

"Tinkerbell," Asha answered, despite the fact that Alec was only half paying attention, and her eyes sparkled beneath the glittery, golden eyeshadow.

"Waitaminute," Alec frowned, turning back to her, his eyes widening. "If you're Tinkerbell, does that mean-"

Yes. Logan was going as Peter Pan.

Tights n' all.

Alec was in heaven.

Kill him. Right now. His life was complete.

"Stop laughing," Logan grunted, his arms folding in discomfort across his chest. "It's all the costume shop had left. Everyone already rented up all the good stuff for the Mayor's New Year's Eve masquerade ball."

Then his eyes glanced over Alec's billowy, opened white shirt. The black gloves. The… leather pants?

"What are you supposed to be again?" Logan demanded, controlling the tinge of green that wasn't supplied by his costume and that looked a whole lot like jealousy.

"Zorro," Alec reminded. And clasped the sword again. 'Cuz it made him feel all manly.

"But you two don't even match!" Logan protested, wishing Alec's costume didn't prominently display cut muscle quite so much, and that his own showed a little bit less of leg. "This is a couple's only event! You're supposed to match."

"I think he looks great," Asha smiled at Alec and Max ignored the urge to get annoyed. God. She wished the blonde would make up her mind already. Either she liked Logan or she liked Alec. Did she think she could have it both ways? Max slid in front of Alec, obstructing Asha's veiw.

"Besides," Asha continued, glancing at Logan. Max didn't get annoyed or block Asha's veiw 'cuz there was no way that even she would be attracted to the older man in flesh toned tights and a short green costume. And Max was right too, 'cuz Asha looked away quickly and tried to peer around Max's billowy skirts at Alec's hidden form once more. "All Alec has to do is leave his hat here, put on the black mask, and he can be a bandit to Max's princess. It's kind of," Asha's smile became dreamy, her head cocked. "romantic," She finished with a sigh, staring off into space, undoubtedly imagining what Max's full dress was hiding.

Logan quickly changed the subject because really, somebody needed to be a spoilsport full time. "Max, don't forget, the best time for you to slip away will be at midnight when the ball drops and the fireworks start."

"Slip away?" Alec demanded. "In that dress?" Then he whirled on Max, his eyes narrowing. "Dibs on helping you get out of it."

"You can't call dibs on getting me naked!" Max hissed.

"You're right." Alec shrugged after a momentary pause. "It's not like anyone else is jumping at the chance."

Asha smiled into her hand as Max and Logan scowled. Oh lord, Alec was in one of those moods. It was going to be a long, looong night. Max flounced away from her 'date', (so much more satisfying when you're wearing swishy skirts) and towards Logan's desk, doing her best to sit on the edge and not quite succeeding.

"You have the bugs for the Mayor's office?" Logan asked.

She nodded.

"Where?" He asked, his eyes flicking over her costume critically, his mind solely on the upcoming mission.

"Relax," Max huffed in annoyance, wishing her not-like-that boyfriend would be a little more appreciative of the romantic dress, the soft make-up, the elaborate hairdo, and less interested in the hardware she had hidden underneath. "This isn't my first time. I've got it all under control."

"Oh, the places my very dirty mind could go," Alec grinned, discarding his hat on Logan's couch. It woulda messed up his hair anyway.

The ride to the city limits, to Mayor Kane's usually enclosed, fortress-like mansion, was a quiet one. Except for the occasional 'get your poofy skirts back on your side of the car' and one or two 'god, would it hurt you to look at my face?'

Logan handed the horrified valet the keys to Bessy before making his way up the steps, Asha on his arm. Max and Alec exchanged a disgruntled glance before she gingerly took his elbow (I don't have any diseases, he hissed. That's debatable, she hissed back) and they made their way up, waiting only momentarily as Logan handed off his invite for One Mr. Cale and Guests.

They both set off the metal detector. Alec for his sword, that was handed back after some terse talking between guards, and Max for what she insisted was the corset and the long pins holding her full, soft ringlets in place. There was no terse talking over Max, just some goofy grins as she got waved in. Sometimes being a girl was awesome. And so much for manliness, 'cuz Alec got annoyed with the way the thin sword kept swinging around and checked it in at the coat claim almost immediately.

"Ready?" He asked, slipping the black velvet mask down over his eyes as he turned to her.

"As I'll ever be," She shrugged, the pure white of her own mask being lowered.

"I think Logan's mask has glitter on it," He murmured in her ear and she resisted the urge to snort, because that was her untouchable boyfriend he was makin' fun of. Her untouchable boyfriend that got caught up in society and saw someone he knew in the entrance, and then someone else he knew, and he had to take his date along to introduce her, and now he was gonna be her dead, untouchable boyfriend 'cuz he'd left her alone with Alec to make their entrance into the ballroom.

God, the Mayor was stinkin' rich. Who even has a ballroom anymore? Pig, he was so obviously making money off the masses-

"Don't pretend like you're not enjoyin' this," Alec murmured as they paused at the top of the steps, taking in the high vaulted ceiling, the colorful crowd, the dancers moving across the marbled floors.

"I'm not," Max smiled, a bit hard, as he took her hand softly in his. "This is all business, Alec. Keep your head in the game."

There was no mistaking the way some eyes turned to follow them as they made their way down the red carpeted steps, Alec leading her with one gloved hand. No mistaking the way Max walked a bit softer, the way Alec stood a bit taller.

But that doesn't mean she was enjoying this.

Still... when Logan had first told her about the masquerade, Max had thought it would be boring. People milling around, wondering what to do with themselves. Really, the mood was quite festive as couples danced and spoke with strangers, anonymity loosening their tongues, and everyone tried to figure out who was who before the demasking at midnight.

Max avoided the dance floor. Kept to conversations mostly, and played the vacant arm candy. Tried not to get annoyed as a few men asked her breasts if they knew her from work, or from the Barrys' summer picnic, or from that charming little restaurant over in Sector Nine. Alec was a lifesaver, though. He broke in, spoke politics or hunting or shop (god, did he know everything about everything?) with the worst of the men, and chatted flirtatiously with the few women who'd given Max the jealous stink eye for more then who she was on the arm of.

Really, Max n' Alec were turning out to be quite the hit. Enough so that even the hostess sidled up to them at one point.

"So, what are you two supposed to be?" The Mayor's wife giggled up at him.

"Beauty and the Beast," Max replied in boredom, her eyes scanning the crowd from beneath the mask for the woman's erstwhile husband. He and his wife, being the hosts, were immune to the costume rule, and so he was easy to pick out, there by the punch… talkin' to Logan?

Logan was busting someone he was on fairly good public terms with?

Dang. Alec snorted to himself, following her gaze, mirroring her thoughts. That's cold.

"Beast, hmmm…" The woman made an appreciative noise in the back of her throat as her eyes moved over Alec's chest and both the young transgenics snapped back to the immediate conversation.

"No, no," Alec corrected. "I'm the Beauty." He gestured at Max. "She's the Beast."

The mayor's wife (call me Estelle, she'd insisted) blinked at him for a moment in confusion. And then laughed. "Handsome and charming," She wiggled her nose, her face scrunching playfully. "I could just eat you up."

Alec made a grab at a nearby champagne tray and downed the liquid while Max controlled the urge to make little gagging noises in the back of her throat. When Estelle's hand once again 'accidentally' brushed against the smooth expanse of Alec's chest, he turned to Max.

"Dance with me." And his eyes darting to a leering Estelle, he tacked on a desperate, "please."

"No way," She waved away his suggestion.

"I'll dance with you,"

Alec's smile was nothing but charming. "That's quite alright, Estelle. My date here just likes to play hard to get." And Alec deposited his glass on the tray of a passing waiter, tugging her away from the garishly dressed woman in peacock colors, pulling her out to the center of the floor.

"Alec," She protested, dragged along behind him, terror building in her chest, climbing up her throat. "I said no!"

"Don't be a baby!" Alec huffed, not even glancing back at her. "I'm helping you out by bein' here, the least you could do is protect me from the cougars," He paused as they reached the center and looked at her horrified face and it all suddenly clicked. "You don't know how to dance, do you?" He asked, his voice soft.

"I know how to dance!" Her eyes darted around nervously.

"Not talking about club dancing, Max." He shook his head, incredulous. "I'm talkin' about the waltz."

Oh. Is that what this was? Her eyes followed the spinning dancers for only a moment before she turned back to Alec.

"And you do?" Max demanded, her eyes darting around the room once more and she saw Logan watching them, having abandoned his conversation with the Mayor. Guess they were kind of conspicuous, standing in the middle of the dance floor, talking.

"Just follow my lead," His arm circled her, steady. His hand clasped hers, firm. And Max stumbled a bit as he took his first sweeping steps.

"Relax," He hissed at her, as she scowled, staring down at her feet, willing them to work, dammit. "It's a pattern," He pointed out after about a minute had passed and her foot once more connected with the tops of his toes and he worried that they'd never work again.

Pattern? She glanced down.

Yes, it was, she realized and she did her best to follow him. Sets of three. Alec started on the right foot, so she-

"No, no, the woman leads with the left," He murmured and Max quickly adjusted.

She didn't know when it happened. Just knew that one minute her silvery heels were like bricks upon her feet and suddenly, the next, they were gliding.

"That's better," He smiled encouragingly down at her and she smiled back before she could help it. And he picked up speed and she controlled the laugh that threatened to erupt.

Everything was… perfect.

So, naturally, the person with no tact that hated fun and sometimes took control of her mouth just had to ruin it. "Did Manticore teach you this? For assassinations?" She demanded, immediately regretting it when his eyes darkened behind the black mask.

"Nope, my mom and dad scrimped and saved and paid my way through dance school," He smiled blandly, and just like that the warm connection was gone and it was like dancin' on a bed of nails once more.

The music ended, not nearly quickly enough, and Alec led her to punch, deposited her next to Logan, and disappeared into the crowd. He wasn't expecting her to follow him. Logan wasn't expecting her to leave his side. Max didn't usually like to do the unexpected when it came to the men in her life, but she just could not concentrate on Logan's attempts at conversation. She finally slipped away when Asha came up with someone else that had recognized the older man and was itching to talk about... dunno. Yachts, or something boring like that.

The night air was cool, the moonlight giving the snow an air of pristine grace. He didn't straighten from his lean over the balcony when her heels clicked against concrete. Really, he barely glanced at her as she leaned there next to him.

"You're gonna get cold out here," He said, and took a sip of amber liquid from a crystal tumbler. Leave it to Alec to find the hardest alcohol in a room full of champagne and start knockin' it back.

Max shrugged, eyeing the thin material of the loose sleeved shirt. "You're one to talk."

The strings were being tuned up for another round of music. It filled the lull in conversation nicely. Max sighed.

"Listen, Alec, about the dancing thing-"

"Of course it was Manticore that taught me how to dance," Alec grunted, barely even looking at her as he interrupted. "You knew before you even asked. Jesus, Max, it was part of Political Assassinations 101. Don't try and sound guilty for asking something you already knew the answer to."

It took Max a moment to realize he was being facetious about P.A. 101, but she got his drift. And she also got that it wasn't her question that was bothering him. Well, it might have started things off, but something else was eating him now.

"Alec… did you ever… I mean…"

He glanced at her, tumbler grasped loosely in long fingers. "Kill anyone? Max, I think that part is fairly obvious."

Part of Max realized she should huff in angry affront and get all self-righteous… but in the face of his vulnerability, could she really condemn him for what Manticore had forced upon him?

Her voice was gentle in the crisp night air. "Do you wanna… talk about it?"

"No," He sighed, placing down his glass and turning to lean into the railing, his head craning back to look up at the night sky, the twinkling stars.

Max turned as well, saying softly, "Fair enough."

His glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, before looking once more at the heavens.

"Maybe… maybe one day," He said after a long pause.

Max started in surprise, turning to look at him. "Alec-"

"Man, it's cold out here," Asha shivered, taking a sip from her champagne flute as she stepped on to the balcony, her eyes moving over them from behind the green, glittering mask. "Don't see how you guys can stand it,"

The two startled, moving apart, only just then realizing how incredibly close, and not fighting, they'd been.

"Only got about a half hour left," Logan said softly, stepping out of the ballroom and into the moonlight. His eyes glanced over Asha worriedly. It was a well known fact that the blonde could not hold her liquor. Then he glanced at Max and Alec. The somber air surrounding them filled him with a slight sense of worry. Just like Alec's costume. Or their dancing. Or their conversations; when they only had eyes for each other.

They barely even noticed when Logan led Asha's slightly wobbly form back into the golden lighting and soft warmth of the mansion.

"Guess we better get back inside," Alec's eyes moved over the soft curls framing Max's face. And did not get the urge to make fun of her when she glanced down at her hands, a gesture that seemed so vulnerable, so feminine, so out of place on her.

"Hey, Alec?" She grasped his arm, just for looks, really, as he led her back inside.

"Yeah?" His eyes darted towards her.

"Before we go…" The warmth of central heating broke over them and Max pretended like her next queston was no big deal. "Can you... show me how to do that spinny thingy?"

Alec smirked and it was weird how the simple addition of a black mask and an open shirt could cause that expression to make her heart thud faster.

"I can be persuaded."

They danced again. And the intimacy that the balcony had brought only brought them closer. It was like… floating. He swept her across the floor. Spun her around the room. She didn't even notice Logan's eyes, burning in jealousy, as he knocked back another glass of punch.

But when the clock struck twelve, the first bottle rocket whined through the air, and the familiar bars of Auld Lang Syne began to ring out, the spell was broken, and Max knew she had to get back to work.

"That his office?" Alec whispered behind her as they crept down the hallway, gesturing at the large, oak, double doors at the end of the corridor.

Really, they didn't have to creep, or even whisper, really, 'cuz everyone was down in the ballroom, shouting in festivity as masks were pulled off and faces were revealed and kisses were exchanged.

Up in Mayor Kane's office though, the mood was tense. There was no festivity. Masks were pulled off and faces were revealed but there was definitely no kissing. Just some hesitant awkwardness.

"You want me to put my hand where?"

"The wires are in a small bag strapped to my thigh," She explained like it was no big deal. "So, I'm gonna lift up my skirt and you're-"

"Are you crazy?!" Alec demanded, backing away from her. "Why can't you do it?"

"And how the hell would I do that?!" She retaliated. "Do you know how heavy and awkward these skirts are?"

Alec only continued to stare at her in flabbergasted horror and Max finally huffed in annoyance. "Come on, Alec, it's not like puttin' your hand up my dress hasn't been on your mind all night."

Alec's face was even more horrified and even though Max had meant it as a joke, now she was wondering if he really HAD been thinking about-

"Whatever, I'll do it myself." She rolled her eyes and collapsed back into the antique sofa. He could only watch in numb horror, sharp fascination, as silver strapped on heels were revealed, and then trim ankles, and slim, supple calves, and-

"Don't go any higher," Alec begged. "I'll get it."

Max blinked in confusion before shrugging, letting her skirts pause in their upward climb at her knees. Alec kneeled before her as she stood once more and his hand slipped under the heavy, full skirts, pretending not to notice the way Max was tapping her foot in nervous impatience.

"You'll need two hands to undo the strap," Max said.

Oh god. Kill him now. He sighed, pulling away slightly to pull the gloves from his hands, tucking them into his waistband, before turning back to the monumental task ahead of him.

His hands slid up her thigh, lessening the chance of an awkward over-shoot, and stopped as he felt-

"Is that a gun?" He demanded, his hand pausing at the holster strapped to her thigh.

"Yeah," Max's face colored slightly.

"You don't even do guns," Alec replied in horror, 'cuz he didn't know if there was anything hotter on the face of the planet then the turn his life had taken in the last five minutes.

"It's for you, stupid," Max rolled her eyes, "In case we get discovered, like usual, and we get shot at, like usual."

Alec grunted something that Max couldn't decipher, but that sounded pained, before his hands released her flesh. But in his haste to get to her other leg and for this whole thing to be over, the knuckles of his right hand brushed against the damp, silken fabric of-

Her breath caught in her lungs as Alec fell still.

"Max," Alec's voice rumbled out of his chest and his eyes slid slowly up to her pink face. "Max, are you wet?"

"No," She lied, her face deepening in embarrassment.

His knowing look annoyed her, just like his hot, hard fingers, digging into her thigh. "It's… not you," She covered. "Missions always get me tingly." Oh my god, did she really just say that? And how was that supposed to make it better, she shouted at her brain.

"Remind me to go on more missions with you, then," He murmured and worked to undo the strap that held that thin black pocket to the outside of her thigh.

It was all too surreal. Nothing more was said as they worked in silence, placing the bugs around the room. They barely even looked at each other as they slipped out of the office and back downstairs to the party.

And paused in the foyer at the movement of green behind a large potted palm. And two green, sparkly masks, discarded next to the terracotta planter.

"Asha?" Max made a face. Then her eyes widened in recognition as she peered through the foilage. "Logan?!"

She remembered it now; she'd seen how Asha's eyes had followed Alec out as the music at midnight had begun. How the slightly tipsy woman had turned to look at Logan, who was busy downing another champagne, his eyes securely on Max until she slipped out the door.

"It was the alcohol," Logan would insist the next day, before Max turned on her heel and stalked out. Max would tell Cindy about the whole thing (well, most of the thing, she left out the sexy Alec parts) in angry affront.

"Girl, even I saw that one comin' a mile away," Cindy would shake her head sadly. Because when you're in a relationship with someone you can't touch, it was only a matter of time before someone reminded you of what you were missing and the dam broke.

"So, Logan and Asha," Sketchy would grunt as Alec gleefully told him. "Man, saw that one comin' a mile away. Logan gets all the chicks," Sketchy would follow it up with a huff, wondering what was wrong with the universe.

But for now, it was still night, Logan and Asha were passed out in the back of Bessy, and it was just Max and Alec.

"So, Logan and Asha," Alec shook his head, sitting on the concrete stoop next to her, wondering if they should just leave the two blondes there to sleep it off. Wondering if she realized she was undoubtedly getting the white of her dress all messed up by the dirty concrete steps.

"Guess I shoulda seen this comin' from a mile away," Max grunted, her chin burying in her arms as she stared moodily out at the grungy, snow blanketed streets of T.C. Her cheek turned to rest on her arm and she eyed him.

"You know," She finally said. "Leather pants is a good look for you."

Alec smirked, teasing, "Max… was that a compliment?"

"Dunno," She shrugged. "If I say yes, will you show me some more dances?"

"Why?" He asked, pausing in genuine confusion.

Her eyes darted around, unwilling to admit that she'd actually liked being swept around the floor in Alec's arms. "Dunno." She grunted. "Could come in handy… ya know… if we have to go to any more balls or dances or whatever."

"With Logan out of the picture," Alec said, ignoring the reappearance of Max's scowl, "I'm thinking the chances of us going to another-"

"Just humor me, okay?" Max huffed. "It's been a long night."

"You got it, Maxie." Alec shrugged, his shoulder just touching hers as they waited for dawn to break.

C is for Cat

Rated T

"Honey, you been doin' a lot of starin' lately, and O.C. be wantin' to know why."

Max frowned, looking away from the man that she'd been watching and slumped into the lockers. It crossed her mind that maybe she should be embarrassed that she'd been caught staring at Alec... but something else was tickling the edges of her brain...

"I'm just… curious." Her eyes darted back towards his leaning form before she could control it.

"Curious?" O.C.'s eyebrow arched. She followed Max's gaze before turning back to her friend in amusement. "…About... Alec? Sugah, please don't tell me-"

Max's face colored only slightly as she huffed, "Don't even! I meant curious about transgenics!" When O.C.'s face remained amused, Max scowled and she made sure the coast was clear before her voice lowered and she explained. "I mean… yeah, sure, okay, so we all got feline DNA, but what kind of feline?"

"Why don't you ask Logan?" Cindy shrugged. "Don't he usually figure these kinds of things out for you?"

Max bristled and OC winced, realizing how wrong, how right, the sentence had come out. Normal saved her with a shoved package and a 'Bip' and she'd never been happier to hear it as she booked a hasty retreat. O.C. wasn't stupid; her girl tended to run a little hot, and she didn't want to be on the receiving end of Max's irritation if she didn't have to be. She preferred when Alec got the brunt of it; poor little fake boyfriend whipping boy who was anything but and could more than take care of himself where Max was concerned...

Max scowled, well aware that her best friend was fleeing. But her irritation was only half-baked, because her eyes flicked again to the man leaning over the counter, flipping through Normal's papers while their boss wasn't looking. Max rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, flouncing over to him.

"Nothin'." He grunted, turning to lounge against the counter, shooting her a glance out of the corner of amused eyes. He smirked at one of the Jam Pony girls as they sauntered by, smiling wickedly at him, and he ignored Max's bristle to throw her a distracted, "What's it even matter? Sheath your claws, kitty."

Oh, hell no.

"What did you just say to me?"

Alec rolled his eyes, finally turning and giving her his full attention. "You're right. Kitty doesn't really fit in this situation; whereas bi-"

O.C. made a miraculous reapparance and pulled Alec away by his ear, the taller man protesting loudly, before the atom bomb of Max's anger leveled the place and took 'em all with it.

She immediately glanced through the papers, wonderin' what was so great about Normal's stuff, anyway. Eh. Nothing important. Guess Alec had just been curious. Just like a-

Her brain immediately diverted once more to its previous path as her eyes followed Alec's whining form out of the building. Cat. What kind of cats were they? House cats or wild cats? In the long run it didn't really matter, but the curiosity was overwhelming and once Max got somethin' in her head, she was hard pressed to ignore it. She remembered, vaguely, something about cats and curiosity and killing, but it probably wasn't anything important.

And yeah, O.C. was right; Max realized this was something she could set the considerable resources of Eyes Only upon… But for some reason, this was something Max wanted to figure out on her own. And there was only one man she spent time with round the clock… one transgenic that she had unlimited access to, to base her judgments upon…

And the more she watched him, the more she became sure…

Alec was a panther.

He pulled on the dark clothes for their newest mission before he slunk into the living room where Max was waiting. And though he had no shark DNA, he blended into the night, faded into the darkness. Crept with stealth down the darkened hallway, towards the room that could house the cure and the end of all Max's problems. But rather than focusing on that door at the end of the hallway, her eyes followed him; the silent, graceful, powerful lines of his body. Yeah. He could be a panther.

Alec was a lion.

After he finished up with the familiar, he followed the trail of their fight. The scent of her blood. Roared onto the scene. White's head snapped away from her bent, coughing form, in time to catch Alec's foot right in the middle of his chest. The man flew through the air, slammed into the wall, slid bonelessly to the ground. Max turned wide eyes up at the man standing tall over her, glaring at White's unconscious form. Alec glanced down at her, frowning, for only a moment before moving right past and paying her no more attention, focused solely upon the man upon the ground. She stood slowly, clutching her ribs, and her eyes wouldn't leave him; the way the light caught his hair, turning it almost blonde; caught the hard, solemn planes of his face as he stared down at White's unconscious form. Undoubtedly, Alec was a lion.

Or maybe he was a lynx.

There's something playful about the lynx. Something definitely playful about Alec, too, as he grinned at her, protesting his innocence. Of course he'd never replace Logan's shampoo with temporary blue hair dye. Of course he hadn't told Asha that the older man secretly pined for her. Of course he wouldn't go into the man's most heavily encrypted files, rearrange everything, and add lines of coding that took weeks for Logan to figure out, only to realize the encrypted message read simply 'blah, blah, blah, I'm a lonely old man that's got nothing better to do then send my ex-girlfriend into White's latest trap'... Suddenly all the pranks he'd been playing on Logan seemed to make more sense. Max tried to hold onto her annoyance at him, but… but Alec was such a lynx.

Alec was clearly a tabby cat.

He stretched slowly, arms overhead, curling his toes, yawning slightly. He curled back into the couch lethargically. Max paused in his doorway to watch him and he turned to look at her, blinking golden eyes slowly, his gaze heavy and shooting straight through her. He promptly dismissed her, turning back to the TV and the nap he wasn't trying to take but that kept creeping up on him anyway, making his lids droop lazily. She collapsed on the sofa next to him and he glanced again at her for a moment; let it be clear that he was kindly and graciously suffering through her apparently annoying and inferior presence before he twisted around, his head pillowed in her lap, and he promptly fell asleep. Her hands ran through his hair and she couldn't help the smile because, yes, he couldn't be anything other than a tabby cat.

Alec was a leopard.

Max walked into Crash in time to catch him trying to walk a girl out. She huffed and got pissy and shoved him into a wall. He pushed himself off the hard brick surface with a frown, all sleek muscle, and reminded her that they weren't actually dating; he could take anyone home when he damn well felt like it. Did she really think that just because they were in a fake relationship, he'd change his spots?

Alec was a cheetah.

He ducked out of the way of her fist, sped around the force of her kick, blurred out of the way of her grab. He wasn't trying to fight, and it made the need to hurt him grow in her chest. His movements were almost as fast as his tongue, taunting her, wanting to know why she cared, what did it matter anyway?

Alec was a tiger.

She got in one good, open-palmed slap across his face and he fell still. His shoulders dropped low and she couldn't look away from his intense gaze. He was readying to spring, but for the life of her she couldn't run; knew that running would only hasten the inevitable. His fingers curled into talons as he sprang at her, and Max barely suppressed the shriek. His fingers scraped over, around, her shoulders, his mouth crashed over hers, and Max melted into oblivion…

Alec was a cougar.

She hadn't seen him for a week; a week since Logan had caught them kissing in the alleyway and Alec had left her there before she'd even realized she didn't have to mindlessly explain herself to Logan because, theoretically, the older man thought she was dating the transgenic. Alec's strike was unexpected; She'd been stomping out of her building, suffering from a week-long bad mood, when he appeared from nowhere, leapt at her, caught her, and went in for the kill. His lips were every bit as soft as she remembered, an aching contrast to the hard force that he put behind the kiss. He cupped her ass, lifted her against him, and walked her back into the building she'd just walked out of.

Alec was something wild; he belonged to no one and took no crap. Alec was obviously tame; because he stayed by her side, and put up with her shit. Alec was something noble; at the end of the day, he fought for the things that were important. Alec was something irreverent; he could still make jokes and relax and just be a friend, even after pulling off noble daring-do's and rescues. Alec was a cat with his playful, teasing nips and wicked, wicked eyes. Alec was all man as he curled behind her and whispered in a harsh, embarrassed voice how he felt.

And all this because she'd been curious about cats. Because she'd taken the time to look at him. Really look at him.

Cat. Man. Whatever. Alec was all Max's.