Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Spoilers: Episodes after Proof of Purchase. Slightly AU.

Summary: Twenty days ago, Alec killed a few transgenics, almost killed Max, ruined her chances with Logan, apologized for everything, obliged to Max's wishes and left. But then he returns, twenty days later. What will happen now? M/A!!!

Twenty Days

Twenty days.

It has been twenty days since I last saw her. Since I last saw those pained, disappointed brown eyes glaring at me. I could even still hear her voice reverberating back and forth inside my head. She haunted my dreams. She turned them into nightmares. She became a ghost in my head, lingering around until I finally realized what a mistake I had made back then.

Twenty days ago.

Shame and guilt would burn my soul every time I thought about her. Every time I replayed the image of her scared face looking up at me as I prepared to stab the knife straight into her heart to save my own, worthless life. And I knew it wasn't because of my humane sanity that I had stopped myself in time.

It was because of my sheer lo -- infatuation for her.

It was because of this lov – infatuation that I have returned back to Seattle.

And it was because of this love – no. Infatuation that I am now following her in her latest act of larceny. I watch her silently as she lowers herself into the large rotunda. A few feet from the floor, she stopped. Right in front of a baseball resting in a translucent glass case. Engraved on the base of the case were the following words:

September 17th, 2009
Home Run No. 756

I have to say that she has great taste. This single baseball would bring me a sweet amount of money. A sweet amount of money that I would be paying her. For saving my life.

She started to unscrew the glass case, and I realize that it was now or never. I dropped myself onto the space next to her, and I grin.

"Hey Max."

…

Max's head whipped around to look at him. She didn't know what to think the minute she saw that annoying, infuriating, sexy grin of his. Here he was, trying to steal her baseball, and acting as if nothing happened those twenty days ago. She had been so angry at him then, hurt even, in fact, she could even still remember that critical night as if it was just yesterday…blame it on her genetically enhanced memory…

Flashback

He was kneeling over her, his hazel-green eyes were glittering with trepidation and guilt. He pulled out a knife, and the blade gleamed menacingly against what little light there was in the broken-down lot. This ignited the fear within Max and she struggled helplessly against the effects of the electric shock. "Alec." She pleaded, her voice coming out unsteady.

"I'm sorry, Max. There's just no other way." His eyes searched hers, and she was astonished by the amount of genuineness she saw there. This wasn't the soulless, cold-blooded killer that she expected. "I don't want to die." His voice cracked.

He paused and stabbed the knife hard into the ground beside her.

Flash

They were standing in the middle of the Manticore tech's apartment room. The geneticist had already left, and both transgenics were staring at each other in silence. It was he who broke it first.

"I owe you Max…I know I screwed things…"

She cut him off. "Shut up and listen, because I'm only saying this once. That guy was the last chance for me and Logan. He's gone and it's your fault. Don't think that I'm ever getting over that."

He hung his head. "I know."

"Just – do me a favor, alright? Go away. I can't even look at you right now." She said softly as she fell helplessly onto the seat he had vacated.

He nodded and went to the door. But before he closed it, he turned around. "I'm sorry, Max…for everything."

End Flashback

That was an apology that she never knew she would accept. But she did. And she didn't know why. She shook herself out of her reverie and glared at Alec. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Stealing a baseball." He responded cheekily. "How 'bout you?"

"Trying to get the money I lost because of you," she snapped. For a moment, something flickered in those green depths of his, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared to be replace by another one of his cocky smiles.

"Yeah, me too. Figured I'd swipe the ball and repay my friend Max…"

She snorted. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious." She glanced at him and saw that he was indeed serious. "I owe you, Max. Why don't you go on home? I'll finish this up. I'll fence this thing and get you the money tomorrow, huh? What do you say?"

She scowled. "Fine. But if you don't pay me back by tomorrow, I am so going to kick your ass."

"You know, this whole tough-chick act thing is really unbecoming. "I'm gonna bounce you on your ass. I'm gonna smack your bitch head." It's so unfeminine." Alec rolled his eyes and laughed as she hit him on the shoulder.

She resisted the urge to stick out her tongue at him and pulled herself up and out of the rotunda. A cool breeze greeted her face the minute she was outside. She stood there for a few minutes, looking down at the man in black below her. He probably felt her gaze on him because he looked up. He was clutching the baseball, and he waved it at her, a grin on his face.

She couldn't help it. She grinned back.

…

She arrived at her apartment a little past midnight, and saw her best friend lying on the couch, asleep. She must've been waiting for me. Max thought with a small smile. She pulled out a blanket from the closet and covered the sleeping figure with it. Original Cindy mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like 'ice cream' and covered her face with her arm.

Still dressed in her black outfit, and too tired to change, she made a beeline for the kitchen. She barely made it towards the fridge when the sound of a gentle knock coming from the front door reached her ears. What if it's Logan? She thought, feeling a bit panicked. Ever since she used up his money to save Alec's life, he hadn't been very warm towards her. In fact, he even scolded her for wasting the money on a 'useless piece of X5 trash.' She had then punched him in the face and left the penthouse in a huff.

Alec may have done a lot of incredibly scandalous things, but none that Max had not yet forgiven him for. As far as she was concerned, he and Alec were equal.

And a very tiny part of her thanked him for interrupting the production of the cure. Because even before that, she had already felt a rift forming between the two of them. She had a feeling that things were just not going to work out between them. That spark that she used to feel around Logan was no longer there. Just some sort of empty space.

She shook her head and pulled open the door.

A familiar face greeted her. "Hey Maxie."

"Alec," she said, startled. "What're you doing here?"

"I've got the cash," he said with a proud grin as he held up a wad of green paper. "My fence was waiting up for me. Talk about excited."

"Oh, well, uh, thanks." She accepted the money gratefully and motioned for him to 'come in.' He made a 'me?' gesture and she dragged him inside before he could start another one of his dramatizations. He immediately made his way to the fridge and helped himself to a slice of cold pizza.

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Ew. How could you eat that thing?"

He shrugged. "Too starved to think of anything else, really."

She sat on the kitchen counter and watched him as he ate. "So, where are staying?"

He shrugged again. "Nowhere. I'm still scouting for a really good apartment." He raised an eyebrow. "Why, are you offering?"

"Yeah," she said and clamped a hand over his mouth. "So shut up before I change my mind." She glanced at the money on the table. Ten thousand dollars. She sighed and pocketed it. "I'd better get this to, Logan. So just – make yourself comfortable, alright? You can stay in my bedroom for a while. It's the first door on the left. Oh, and my roommates snoozing on the sofa. Her name's Original Cindy, so don't make any crazy, insane," she glared at him for good measure. "Explanations on why you're here."

A wicked grin flitted across his face.

Max changed her mind. "On second thought, maybe you should come with me."

He sighed and grabbed his jacket. "Is he even awake at this hour? Its," he glanced at his watch – the one White had given him. "One in the morning."

She rolled her eyes. "Working on his computer would keep him up even until the wee hours of the morning."

"I have to say Max," Alec said in a conversational tone as they boarded her Ninja. "I never really thought of Logan Cale as your type."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well for one, he's tight on being the superhero and saving the day." Alec explained nonchantly. "While you are a genetically enhanced super soldier who robs extremely rich guys for a living. I guess its true that opposites attract."

Max's reply was a sharp turn around the corner that caused Alec to nearly fall of his seat and suddenly braking in front of Foggle Towers that caused Alec to really fall off his seat.

She would've been laughing like mad right now if only Alec hadn't dragged her along with him for the ride. They fell to the ground hard, with Alec below her. He grunted in pain. "For a girl who looks so skinny, you sure are heavy." That earned him a smack on the shoulder. He grinned rakishly. "Of course, in other situations, I wouldn't have minded…"

Someone cleared his throat.

The two transgenics looked up to see Logan frowning above them.

"Oh. Hi, Logan."

…

"So, do you have an explanation for this?" Logan asked gesturing towards the position the two X5s were currently entangled in. They hurriedly pulled themselves apart and stood up. He didn't know why he felt so – resentful. Or maybe he did. Even just seeing the two of them stand beside each other made his heart clench. Clad from head to foot in black, and with their flawless beauty to accompany them. They looked like they were made for each other. Maybe they were, he thought bitterly. They were breeding partners after all…

"We fell off the bike, Logan." Alec drawled in a tone that challenged him to defy it.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked a bit irritably.

"We're here to pay you back," Max replied before the other transgenic could say anything. She pulled out an envelope from her pocket and handed it over to him. "Ten grand."

"Thanks," he said absently.

"So, what are you doing here?" It was Alec's turn to ask. He scrutinized the elder man with criticizing eyes. He was dressed – messily, if you could call it that. As if he was hurrying to get dressed. And his glasses were slightly askew. And Alec didn't know if Max could smell it – but he did. He glanced at her but she didn't seem to notice.

"Bought some wine," Logan replied raising a grocery bag.

"In the middle of the night?" Alec raised an eyebrow.

Logan glared at him. "Haven't you heard of 'midnight snacks' before?"

"Nope," he shrugged elegantly. "Manticore seemed to have left that part out in our training schedule."

Suddenly, he felt Max stiffen beside him. Ah, she found out. Alec glanced at her and saw that her gaze was trained on somewhere above the building. He followed her eyes easily and saw that she was staring at a window several stories up. Looking out the window was a blonde woman, clad only in her underwear.

Alec could've sworn that, that window belonged to Logan.

Logan must've noticed the abrupt silence that was emanating from the two transgenics because he arched an eyebrow. "Are you two alright?"

Max's face was a mask of repulsion and hurt. "I can't believe you," she said in a soft, sickened voice. Logan looked shocked at this unexpected change in atmosphere. He opened his mouth, once, twice, three times. But no sound came out. "We're over, Logan." She said, her chocolate brown eyes blazing.

And without waiting for a reply she climbed onto her Ninja and sped off, leaving the two males alone. Logan tried calling after her but all he received was Max's middle finger.

"This is all your fault," Logan spat at him. "If you hadn't come along and wrecked everything, me and Max would be together now. Fully cured and content."

Alec laughed. A cold, mirthless laugh that sent chills running down the other man's spine. "My fault?" he asked, his eyes glinting dangerously. "This was her choice, Logan. Not mine." He smiled crookedly as Logan threw him a punch. He caught his fist in his hands and squeezed it. Hard. Logan cried out in pain as the sound of bone cracking filled the silence. Alec released it. "Don't mess with me Logan. You'll only get yourself killed…" he paused. "Oh, and don't mess with Max either. You'll get yourself killed as well."

Alec shook his head disgustedly and turned around, leaving the pained ordinary behind.

…

Twenty days ago, I almost changed my life.

But a certain someone stopped me from doing so.

And I have to thank him for preventing me from making the biggest mistake of my life.

"Hey Alec!" I called out from the locker area. He had just walked into Jam Pony (he had gotten himself an easy job there. Apparently, Normal was a big fan of Monty Cora.) He grinned and walked over to me.

"Hey Maxie," he greeted me. "What's up?"

"Nothing's up," I said, smiling. "I just wanted to thank you."

His eyebrows shot up. "Me?" he echoed. "You're thanking me?" he placed a hand on his heart. "I'm touched Max, really I am." He laughed as I hit him playfully on the shoulder. "Seriously though, why are you thanking me, of all people?"

"You just – helped me realize some things." I said with a shrug.

"Oh really?" he said, his eyes sparkled good-naturedly. "What kind of things?"

I grinned mischievously. "Do you really want to know?" I asked.

He nodded as his grin broadened.

"Come closer." I instructed. He did as told, until our faces were barely inches from each other. I placed my lips near his ear and whispered softly. "I realized that opposites don't attract at all…but people of the same kind do.."

"That's great Max," he said, his voice husky. That was all I needed. I closed whatever space there was still left between us and captured his lips heatedly. He responded fervently, pulling my body closer against his. Our feline hormones raged within our bodies, and as he slid a hand under my shirt just as I pulled off his, a dark-skinned hand pulled us away from each other.

I was about to ask why when Original Cindy gestured towards Jam Pony. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to watch the live scene in front of them. Even Normal was at loss for words. Heat consumed my face, as Alec wrapped an arm around my shoulders and grinned at everyone. "Bip, bip, bip, everyone! Nothing to see here!"

Sketchy however remained on his spot, still staring at the two transgenics. He gazed admiringly at Alec. "That line really works, huh?" he asked, and recited to himself over and over again. "'You are a unique creature unlike any other.' 'You are a unique creature unlike any other.' 'You are a unique creature unlike any other.'"

The two X5s could not contain themselves, they burst out laughing. Sketchy glared at them and continued his way through Jam Pony, muttering under his breath: "'You are a unique creature unlike any other.' 'You are a unique creature unlike any other…'"

The End

A/N: You are a unique creature unlike any other…so please review. Hehehe… ;-)