This was supposed to be a one-shot about cute faux domesticity… it kinda got away from me and turned into a full undercover mission fic. I have no regrets.

"You're really enjoying this aren't you?" Alex Danvers asked as Maxwell Lord took her hand, his other arm sliding round her waist, pulling her body closer to his.

"And you aren't?" He replied innocently. His breath was soft on her neck as they swayed to the gentle music, their bodies moving together easily, almost effortlessly.

"Not particularly," Agent Danvers answered shortly, eliciting a laugh from her partner.

No, Alex was not overly happy with her current situation, having been forced to babysit Max on this undercover mission. The DEO needed access to some top-secret files belonging to one Dr. Simon Tellman – a scientist currently working on a few rather questionable projects. Fortunately for the DEO, Maxwell Lord was well acquainted with Dr. Tellman, having worked under him for a few years as a student. Unfortunately for Alex, this meant he was their only connection to the scientist, and consequently, the files. Tonight, Dr. Tellman was hosting a formal gathering at his out of town facility for 'likeminded scientists', and apparently, Max had made the guest list, leaving Alex to accompany him to make sure he held up his end of the mission.

Even more unfortunate for Alex, in order to get a plus one invitation she had been forced to pose as Max's fiancée, a detail that he, of course, had been enjoying immensely all evening. The long gazes, the barely concealed innuendos and taking every opportunity to call her 'Honey'… it was enough to make Alex seriously consider throwing him back in his 'collectable display case'.

She scowled up at him as he continued to laugh, clearly entertained by her displeasure at the situation.

"Is it the heals?" Max asked, spinning her around, his arms now encircling her from behind. "The dress?" Of course, given that it was a formal event, Alex'd had no choice but to dress up. Kara had eagerly selected a knee-length purple dress, and although she had to admit it was beautiful, Alex couldn't help but point out to her sister that its low neckline and lacy material seemed highly inappropriate for a mission, even if she was undercover. This, together with the strappy silver heals, made her positive that taking action against any potential threats was a non-starter.

"Or…" Max continued, his lips at her ear, "is it the lack of guns and fighting that has you so unimpressed?"

Although she wasn't the biggest fan of undercover work, or her outfit for that matter, Alex decided it was much less of an annoyance than Max's behaviour had been that evening. "Maybe it's the company," she suggested scathingly, turning her head towards him, her neatly curled hair brushing against his cheek as she breathed in the scent of his - no doubt ridiculously expensive - cologne.

"Oof Agent Danvers," Max murmured, his voice like velvet as he stroked his thumb back and forth where his hand still rested on her waist. "You do know how to hurt a man," he chuckled.

"In more ways than you can even imagine," she replied slyly, giving him a crafty elbow in the ribs to fully convey her meaning. However, Max recovered smoothly, using the momentum to spin his partner back around to face him.

"I don't doubt it," he replied easily, causing Alex to smile despite her best efforts.

She looked up at him; his grey-blue eyes were sparkling with humour as he leant still closer. She could taste his breath on her lips, and, despite her earlier irritation, Agent Danvers could admit that there was much worse company to spend an evening with. The thrill of the situation seemed to be rubbing off on the both of them, and against her better judgement, she found herself pulling him closer. The mission provided the perfect cover, the perfect reason to close that distance…

However, a flash of movement over Max's shoulder caught Alex's eye, and just like that, the moment was gone.

"He's on the move," she whispered, nodding in the direction of the security guard as he finally left his position at the bottom of the staircase. "Come on," she added somewhat abruptly, making a beeline for the stairs and leaving Max to catch up. She felt his fingers interlink with hers and a gentle tug on her arm, causing her to look back at him questioningly.

"Don't want to blow our cover now, sweetheart," he murmured before winking at her. She resisted the temptation to elbow him again and worked to slow her pace, conceding that he had a point, and even allowing him to slide an arm around her shoulders.

They made their way up the main staircase, and thankfully, nobody in the party below seemed to notice their absence as they slipped down the central hallway. "You sure you know which room it is?" she queried, making sure they were alone before stepping out of his embrace and taking in the labyrinth of doors lining the corridor.

"Believe me, I know my way around this place," he reassured her, striding along with confidence as she followed close behind. "Anyway, Simon has never had the tightest security - Lord Tech looks like the Pentagon by comparison… and we both know my facility's security isn't watertight," he said, side-eyeing her. "I'd still like to know exactly how your big green friend managed to break in, by the way."

"Ah," Alex said, fighting the grin spreading across her face. "I'm afraid that's classified," she replied sweetly.

"Even for your fiancé?" He teased, earning him a sharp backhand on his upper arm.

"Especially for my fiancé," She countered, although she found herself running her fingers over the fake engagement ring on her left hand.

"I should have guessed as much," Max chuckled, coming to a stop at the final door, having reached the end of the corridor. "This is it." The door was fairly nondescript - tall and wide but still same featureless white as every other one in the hallway.

"You'd better be right," Alex warned, bending down to take a look at the lock. "Standard key-card access scanner," she told him, holding out her hand for the EMP.

"I told you," he said as he handed over the device, "piece of cake." As he spoke, Alex attached the EMP and there was a small bang from the scanner followed by a few sparks, before the door popped open. "After you," he said, holding the door open. She slipped into the dark room with him close behind, flicking on the lights to find a fairly empty space. Before them was a sparsely decorated office - a few bookshelves and filing cabinets lining the walls, and a solitary computer sitting on a desk in the corner.

"Well this is… underwhelming," Alex stated, turning back to see Max's hand outstretched towards her.

"Care to finish that dance now, darling?" He teased, eyes twinkling once again. Alex returned his gaze, her dark eyes narrowed, but still betraying the humour behind her otherwise unimpressed expression.

"Just get on with it," she replied shortly, swatting his hand away and pushing him towards the computer.

Agent Danvers leaned against the door, arms folded, and watched the billionaire work. He produced a memory stick from his pocket, plugging it into the computer, his fingers moving nimbly across the keyboard as he searched for the relevant files. As she watched him, the light glinting off his dark hair, she considered the situation. She didn't actually mind his flirting, but now was neither the time nor place - as tempting as Max made messing around seem, someone had to make sure they actually did their job.

"All done," he announced barely a minute later, slipping the memory stick back into his jacket pocket.

"That's it?" Alex couldn't help asking as his words brought her back to the present. Usually her missions were a lot more difficult than this… although they weren't out of the line of fire quite yet.

"Would I lie to you, Agent Danvers?" He asked dramatically, making his way back over and coming to a stop just before her.

She raised her eyebrows at him in response, placing her hands on her hips. "Do you really want me to answer that?" She fired back, earning a small laugh in return.

"I suppose not," Max conceded. He couldn't stop his eyes from roving over her dress, fighting the urge to brush a strand of hair from her face… caress her cheek with the back of his hand… before gently lifting her chin, bringing her lips to his…

"Right," Alex said eventually, averting her eyes and clearing her throat in an effort to break the charged silence that had settled between them. "Let's get outta here."

She turned towards the door, pausing as she felt the gentle pressure of his hand on her arm.

"Why the rush?" He murmured, his voice husky. Alex considered turning, but she was certain that the proximity would be too much of a distraction. Just being alone together in the small quiet room was enough to make her mind wander… She'd been in a similar position when she was back at university - her girlfriend had had a particular fondness for fooling around in the library… Just the memory was enough to bring a blush to Alex's cheeks, but she was resolved to make better decisions this time around and not give in to the temptation. After all, as caught up as she might get, they were still on a mission.

"Don't worry," Alex reassured him eventually, her voice firm as she decided not to look back. "There'll be plenty of time to bask in your genius later," she said sarcastically, pulling the door open, "but for now, I'd rather get out of the danger zone."

"If I didn't know any better," Max teased, following her back out into the hallway, "I'd think you were trying to get rid of me, Alex."

"I'm saying nothing," she shot back, grinning at him over her shoulder.

"Thank you for a lovely evening," Alex gushed, beaming at her host. Her and Max had returned to the event downstairs, pleased to find that their short absence had apparently gone unnoticed and, after a short period of making more small talk, they had managed to make their excuses to leave. Dr. Simons Tellman - their host - had been more than happy to escort the couple out himself, and after being trapped alone with him numerous times throughout the evening, both Alex and Max were beginning to realise why.

"Don't mention it," Dr. Tellman replied as he walked them to the grand front door. "It was simply wonderful to meet you, Miss Danvers," the old scientist continued, making no effort to conceal the way his pale blue eyes roved over her body hungrily.

"Please, call me Alex," she requested pleasantly, a patient smile fixed in place on her features as Tellman edged ever closer.

"My apologies, Alex," he drawled, embracing her before planting a kiss on her cheek, his hands lingering on her waist. "Hopefully it wont be too long until our next encounter." His smile was positively predatory.

Agent Danvers glanced at her 'fiancé' in an effort to catch his eye, knowing that Max would pick up on the fire there. Thankfully, he was already stepping between them, pointedly extending his hand to shake Tellman's. "By which point," he chimed in, ever the charmer, "I will have the pleasure of introducing you to Mrs. Lord, I hope," he said, blatantly stressing her new title as he wrapped his arm around her, somewhat possessively, to better make his point.

Alex forced a laugh as she leaned into Max's embrace. "Of course," she agreed, smiling up at him, a silent thank you.

"Well, goodnight," Tellman continued as the couple made their way out into the drizzly night air. "And, be careful out there," he added, "the roads can get… dangerous at this time of night."

Alex and Max made their way down the steps quickly, neither one of them looking back as they approached Max's waiting Mercedes.

"Well I'm glad that's over," Alex breathed as soon as they were out of earshot. Max opened the passenger door, helping her in before climbing into the driver's seat.

"You heard Simon," he said craftily, turning to face her, "I'm sure he's already counting down the days to your next visit," he grinned.

"Ugh," Alex shivered, "let's not dwell on that," she said bitterly, eliciting a chuckle from Max. Being stuck in a role of forced politeness had been exhausting. She was grateful when he finally put the car into drive, accelerating out of the facility, the town, and back towards National City. The more miles they put between them and Dr. Tellman, the better.

"Seriously though," Max continued, his voice quiet in the darkness, "despite Tellman, I did have a nice evening being engaged to you," he admitted. Alex laughed lightly at the absurdity of his statement, although she couldn't dispute that she had actually had fun with Max tonight.

"Well," she said finally, breaking the companionable silence that had settled between them, "enjoy the feeling while it lasts - as soon as we get back to the DEO it'll be business as usual, I'm afraid."

"More's the pity," he sighed, glancing sidelong at his favourite agent. Feeling eyes on her, Alex continued to stare out of the passenger window, watching raindrops race along the glass as the car sped along. However, when he finally turned his attention back to the road, Alex placed her hand over Max's where rested between them, her fingers squeezing his lightly. They sat together in this way for a while, pounding rain the only sound to be heard in the stillness as the miles flew by.

They were almost clear of the town when a sudden flash of light in the rear-view mirror caught Alex's attention. She turned around immediately, glancing over her shoulder to see a large black SUV close on their tail.

"How long has that car been following us?" she asked, her voice tense. Max glanced in the mirror before exchanging an uneasy glance with her.

"Do you think its Tellman?" He asked, speeding up slightly. Alex only raised her eyebrows, unbuckling her seatbelt so she could get a proper look at the car behind. The model suggested some form of agency car - not a good sign. It easily closed the gap between them, accelerating to knock into the back of their car - definitely not a good sign.

"Did they just-"

"They're tailgating us," Max confirmed, his voice almost as grim as the expression on his face. "If they damage my paintwork I swear…."

"I told you we shouldn't have taken your car," Alex shot back, matter-of-fact.

Max glanced over to see she was now holding a gun, although he had no idea where she had produced it from. "Where did-" he began, before cutting himself off sharply. "Shit!" He spat through gritted teeth as the SUV rammed them once again. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the wheel, fighting desperately to keep some measure of control over the car as it skidded along the wet road. "Perhaps a little help, Agent Danvers?" He asked impatiently.

"What do you think I'm doing?" she replied, loading the gun and wincing slightly as the unmistakable sound of bullets hitting metal reached them.

"Now they're shooting at my car!"

"Priorities Max," she said flatly before winding down the window and leaning out to return fire. Between the blinding headlights and torrential rain, Alex could barely see who she was firing at, never mind hope to evade any shots fired her way.

"Who the hell are they?!" Max yelled, finally managing to push Alex's patience too far.

"I DON'T KNOW!" She screamed back through the window, focussing only on keeping herself from falling out as Max veered again, attempting to evade more hits. "Fuck it," Alex muttered as her gun clicked, indicating she was out of bullets. She doubted she would be able to make a dent in the SUV anyway.

She climbed back in the window, hastily attempting to push strands of rain-soaked hair out of her face. "This isn't gonna work, we need to lose them," she said decidedly, taking in Max's wide eyes and his hands locked on the steering wheel. His expression was enough to harden her resolve, and she shoved her seat back violently before reaching over to the wheel.

"What are you doing?!" He demanded, glancing at her, panicked.

"Switch with me!" She ordered.

"WHAT?!"

"Have you been trained in getaway driving?!" She unbuckled his seatbelt without waiting for an answer. "Unless this car has stealth technology you haven't told me about, I'm gonna need the wheel." Max didn't bother to question her again, reasoning - as much as he could in such a situation - that an agent of the DEO knew best.

"Switching seats at 80mph," he muttered sarcastically, now resigned to his fate, "what could possibly go wrong?" Max shifted back in his seat, allowing Alex to get a grip on the wheel. "Seems like a faster way to do these guys' job for them, if you ask me."

"MAX! MOVE!"

He leaned back obligingly - admittedly slightly sacred - allowing Alex to climb over him. She took the wheel and he waited for her to get full control before he moved, rather inelegantly, over to the passenger seat. Thankfully, they managed the manoeuvre without incident, and Alex immediately slammed on the gas pedal, swerving the car around and heading back towards the town, hoping she could lose their pursuers in the outskirts. They raced on in relative silence, Agent Danvers driving like a maniac, weaving around backstreets in an effort to escape.

"Do you think you can lose them?" Max finally asked.

"Maybe, but we're still highly visible," Alex replied tensely, eyes locked ahead. "We need to go dark - you're the tech genius, can't you shut the lights off or something?"

"I'll see what I can do."

After a few minutes of Max fiddling with wires, the whole car was suddenly enveloped in darkness - no dashboard lights, no brake lights, they couldn't even see each other in the gloom. The rain picked up, aiding in their cover and Alex headed back towards the edge of town and out onto the unlit highway. Max had no idea how she could possibly see where they were going, but he had to admit she was doing a much better job than he ever could have.

"Can you see them?" Alex asked after about five minutes of tense silence.

"No…" Max answered cautiously as he looked back, the only source of light coming from a small village they had just sped past. "I think you lost them."

Alex allowed herself a sigh of relief, finally loosening her grip on the steering wheel as the car slowed to a more comfortable pace. However, just as they were beginning to relax, the car suddenly jerked sideways, throwing the pair of them violently to the side as it swerved across the road.

Thanks for reading! As always, let me know what you think and I'll try to update soon.