dark angel - Instincts 5/?
Title: Instincts 5/?
Author: Liv darkmagic_luvr
Fandom: Dark Angel
Characters: Max, Alec, Renfro
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Spoilers through season two. AU through Designate This.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Dark Angel. Any characters you don’t recognize are original and should not be used without my permission.
Author’s Note: Written as part of my alphabet meme for jazmin22, the prompt was ‘instinct’. This couldn’t be contained in a one shot, so it’ll be multi-chaptered. First Dark Angel fic.
Summery: There was really only one way he could keep both their asses safe, he just didn't think she'd kiss him back.
part 1| part 2|part 3| part 4
Max had her cot chained up to the wall, using one of the metal bars she’d pulled from the bottom of her bed as a makeshift saw to cut through the cement holding the bricks in her cell together. She estimated it would take her to the end of the week to get two of the blocks out and she could start making her escape. Alec or no Alec, Mate bond or no, she was getting the hell out.
Alec, however, was standing to attention in Renfro’s office, wondering if solitary wasn’t enough for getting into it with Max. He’d been standing in her too cold office for ten minutes, alone, wondering if she wasn’t an Artic division transgenic in disguise, because holy crap, it was cold. His spine straightened automatically when he heard the door behind him open. He could practically feel her smugness coming off her in waves, and he knew he was in trouble.
“Hello, 494.”
“Ma’am.”
Her heels on the linoleum floor echoed off the walls as she made her way around him, a metal file in her hand and a smug smile on her face, carefully setting it down on her desk and then turning briskly to look at him. Her arms folded over her chest and she leaned her hip against the edge of the desk. Alec felt his skin crawl.
“Do you have any idea what your purpose is, 494?”
It’d been drilled into his head so many times, so many different ways that he couldn’t put it to words. He jerked his head downwards, and an wolfish, self-satisfied smirk tugged on the corner of Renfro’s mouth. If you asked him, it looked like she was overflowing with joy.
“Do you know why you were made?”
He had a feeling the normal propaganda wasn’t what she was looking for, and he trying not to sound curious, or nervous, or anything at all. “Ma’am?”
“You’re breeding partner,” started Renfro, as if she hadn’t heard him, turning slightly to the only other file on her desk, sliding it forward and flipping it open to look at the contents before continuing. “452,” as if she’d forgotten. “Has no junk DNA. Has she told you this?”
“No, Ma’am. Our respective DNA does not come up in our conversations.”
“Well, aren’t you clever,” spat Renfro, and Alec tried not to flinch. The disgust in her eyes disappeared after a moment and the glee returned. She flipped the folder closed and opened the one she had brought in with her. “452 has no junk DNA, and you 494, don’t either.”
Alec blinked and frowned. What the-?
“You and 452 are the only X5’s with twins. Did you know that?”
No. he had always assumed-
“We had no need to make any others. 493 was obviously a failure,” another disgusted look Alec’s file. “As was 453. However, you and 452...” she trailed off, smiling delightfully at Alec’s file before closing it and tossing it on top of Max’s loudly. “I should have guessed with the way Sandeman took to the two of you.”
Alec frown at the name. It sounded familiar-
“There will be no failures in this mission, 494,” said Renfro, all the glee in her eyes and smugness in her voice disappearing suddenly and leaving a hard cold edge behind. “Do I make myself clear? I will not tolerate it. And if either of you mess it up for me,” Alec tried not to swallow or make a break for it when Renfro stalked towards him slowly, more like a predator than some of the X5’s he knew. “I will take the DNA from your body’s myself and dispose the both of you.”
He was dismissed with a wave of her hand and told that 452 was in her cell for the evening and he should join her there.
He all but ran out of Renfro’s office.
And frowned at Max’s ass stick out from under her bed when he got to her cell. She seemed engrossed with…whatever she was doing. He cleared his throat.
“Ah, Max?” she glanced around at him, obviously knowing he was there and that he didn‘t faze her. She raised and eyebrow, and he returned the gesture. “What the hell are you doing?” Max rolled her eyes and went back to trying to saw through the brick.
“What’s it look like I’m doing, short bus? I’m getting out of here.”
Alec frowned at her, amused. “Short bus?”
“Yeah, yah know, the school bus for the special kids.”
“clever.”
They lapsed into silence, Max making with the getting the hell out of Manticore and Alec leaning against her door, watching her and trying not to think of the cruel and unusual things that Renfro would do to them when they didn’t give her a child. The thoughts prompted him to speak.
“So, no junk DNA, huh?” that made her pause and turn, dropping the metal bar to the ground.
“What?”
“You and I don’t have junk DNA.” she rolled her eyes at him.
“That’s impossible.” he shrugged.
“Not what Renfro said.”
“But that’s…” Max trailed off, looking away from him and pushing her hair out of her face. “Why the hell don’t we have junk DNA?”
Alec shrugged, pushing himself off the wall and moving over to Max, his back falling against the wall and sliding down to sit next to her. “I don’t know, but Renfro’s pleased as punch.”
Max was quiet in thought, staring at him, assessing him and finally rolled her eyes. “She’s probably lying.”
“Yeah, probably,” muttered Alec, looking away from her and staring at his boots. Max picked up her ‘saw’ and started back on the brick. “You really bustin’ out?”
“Yup,” said Max offhandedly, concentrating on her work. She could feel her mates emotion coming off him in thick waves. He was nervous and wary. “What’s with you?”
“Nothin’.”
“C’mon, Alec.”
He didn’t say anything and she worked in silence, ‘cause if he wasn’t going to share with the class she wasn’t gonna push him. Let him get sucked into his own mess for all she cared.
“Renfro’s gonna kill me when you leave.” his voice was soft, and she almost didn’t catch it. She snorted and he tried to swallow the hurt building up in his chest from her lack of -
“You’re coming with me, stupid. Don’t you think I know what she’ll do to you? Especially since you claimed me-”
“I thought you didn’t want my claim.”
“I don’t,” she covered quickly, frowning in concentration and annoyance and god he was such an ass. Her voice was soft and she hoped he wouldn’t hear her quiet admission. “But I get nervous without you around.”
He pretended he didn’t hear her.
The rest of the evening was spent in silence, the only noise was the rhythmic sawing of Max trying to escape. An hour passed by, and then two and Alec stood up slowly, heading for the door and knocking on it twice for the guard to let him out. Max slide the bar back into her cot and unhooked it from her wall. She didn’t watch him go, and when she finally closed her eyes and laid back in bed she could smell him.
The mark on her neck prickled and she turned over, squeezing her eyes shut until sleep finally claimed her, and for the first time since Alec walked into her cell she dreamt of Logan and it scared her. She woke up just in time to keep from screaming in her sleep, sitting up in bed, breathing hard, because it wasn’t right that she had forgotten about Logan just because of some stupid Claim.
At breakfast she couldn’t look at Alec, couldn’t stand the thought of it. Instead she forced herself to think of Logan, of all the things she loved about him. Because she did. She loved him. She loved him so much it hurt because they had never been together and that hurt.
She could feel Alec staring at her, could feel the heat of his gaze and the pull of it. It shifted when he shifted, cooled when he glazed away and prickled at her skin when he finally stood up and made his way over to her, sliding into the seat next to her, so close that his arm brushed against hers.
She thought of the way Logan’s smile made her feel wanted, how he made her dinner, took the time to talk to her, went out of his way for people who needed him.
“Don’t shut me out.” his voice was soft and broken and Max closed her eyes so she didn’t have to hear the underlying hurt. His body shifted and he dropped his forearms against the table in front of them, leaning against his arms and looking sideways at her. “452.”
Her designation had never sounded so much like a prayer in her ears when he said it. Her name was hidden behind it, his claim was hidden behind it, how much he wanted her, his knowledge of her planning to escape, how much he wasn’t like Ben hidden behind it. Max opened her eyes and caught his, the electricity running between then had the remaining X5’s at her table shifting, itching to get away. Alec reached out and touched her jaw, the pad of his thumb smoothing over the corner of her mouth.
She’d take him with her just so he would look at her like that again.
part 5| part 6| part 7| part 8
Author: Liv darkmagic_luvr
Fandom: Dark Angel
Characters: Max, Alec, Renfro
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Spoilers through season two. AU through Designate This.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Dark Angel. Any characters you don’t recognize are original and should not be used without my permission.
Author’s Note: Written as part of my alphabet meme for jazmin22, the prompt was ‘instinct’. This couldn’t be contained in a one shot, so it’ll be multi-chaptered. First Dark Angel fic.
Summery: There was really only one way he could keep both their asses safe, he just didn't think she'd kiss him back.
part 1| part 2|part 3| part 4
Max had her cot chained up to the wall, using one of the metal bars she’d pulled from the bottom of her bed as a makeshift saw to cut through the cement holding the bricks in her cell together. She estimated it would take her to the end of the week to get two of the blocks out and she could start making her escape. Alec or no Alec, Mate bond or no, she was getting the hell out.
Alec, however, was standing to attention in Renfro’s office, wondering if solitary wasn’t enough for getting into it with Max. He’d been standing in her too cold office for ten minutes, alone, wondering if she wasn’t an Artic division transgenic in disguise, because holy crap, it was cold. His spine straightened automatically when he heard the door behind him open. He could practically feel her smugness coming off her in waves, and he knew he was in trouble.
“Hello, 494.”
“Ma’am.”
Her heels on the linoleum floor echoed off the walls as she made her way around him, a metal file in her hand and a smug smile on her face, carefully setting it down on her desk and then turning briskly to look at him. Her arms folded over her chest and she leaned her hip against the edge of the desk. Alec felt his skin crawl.
“Do you have any idea what your purpose is, 494?”
It’d been drilled into his head so many times, so many different ways that he couldn’t put it to words. He jerked his head downwards, and an wolfish, self-satisfied smirk tugged on the corner of Renfro’s mouth. If you asked him, it looked like she was overflowing with joy.
“Do you know why you were made?”
He had a feeling the normal propaganda wasn’t what she was looking for, and he trying not to sound curious, or nervous, or anything at all. “Ma’am?”
“You’re breeding partner,” started Renfro, as if she hadn’t heard him, turning slightly to the only other file on her desk, sliding it forward and flipping it open to look at the contents before continuing. “452,” as if she’d forgotten. “Has no junk DNA. Has she told you this?”
“No, Ma’am. Our respective DNA does not come up in our conversations.”
“Well, aren’t you clever,” spat Renfro, and Alec tried not to flinch. The disgust in her eyes disappeared after a moment and the glee returned. She flipped the folder closed and opened the one she had brought in with her. “452 has no junk DNA, and you 494, don’t either.”
Alec blinked and frowned. What the-?
“You and 452 are the only X5’s with twins. Did you know that?”
No. he had always assumed-
“We had no need to make any others. 493 was obviously a failure,” another disgusted look Alec’s file. “As was 453. However, you and 452...” she trailed off, smiling delightfully at Alec’s file before closing it and tossing it on top of Max’s loudly. “I should have guessed with the way Sandeman took to the two of you.”
Alec frown at the name. It sounded familiar-
“There will be no failures in this mission, 494,” said Renfro, all the glee in her eyes and smugness in her voice disappearing suddenly and leaving a hard cold edge behind. “Do I make myself clear? I will not tolerate it. And if either of you mess it up for me,” Alec tried not to swallow or make a break for it when Renfro stalked towards him slowly, more like a predator than some of the X5’s he knew. “I will take the DNA from your body’s myself and dispose the both of you.”
He was dismissed with a wave of her hand and told that 452 was in her cell for the evening and he should join her there.
He all but ran out of Renfro’s office.
And frowned at Max’s ass stick out from under her bed when he got to her cell. She seemed engrossed with…whatever she was doing. He cleared his throat.
“Ah, Max?” she glanced around at him, obviously knowing he was there and that he didn‘t faze her. She raised and eyebrow, and he returned the gesture. “What the hell are you doing?” Max rolled her eyes and went back to trying to saw through the brick.
“What’s it look like I’m doing, short bus? I’m getting out of here.”
Alec frowned at her, amused. “Short bus?”
“Yeah, yah know, the school bus for the special kids.”
“clever.”
They lapsed into silence, Max making with the getting the hell out of Manticore and Alec leaning against her door, watching her and trying not to think of the cruel and unusual things that Renfro would do to them when they didn’t give her a child. The thoughts prompted him to speak.
“So, no junk DNA, huh?” that made her pause and turn, dropping the metal bar to the ground.
“What?”
“You and I don’t have junk DNA.” she rolled her eyes at him.
“That’s impossible.” he shrugged.
“Not what Renfro said.”
“But that’s…” Max trailed off, looking away from him and pushing her hair out of her face. “Why the hell don’t we have junk DNA?”
Alec shrugged, pushing himself off the wall and moving over to Max, his back falling against the wall and sliding down to sit next to her. “I don’t know, but Renfro’s pleased as punch.”
Max was quiet in thought, staring at him, assessing him and finally rolled her eyes. “She’s probably lying.”
“Yeah, probably,” muttered Alec, looking away from her and staring at his boots. Max picked up her ‘saw’ and started back on the brick. “You really bustin’ out?”
“Yup,” said Max offhandedly, concentrating on her work. She could feel her mates emotion coming off him in thick waves. He was nervous and wary. “What’s with you?”
“Nothin’.”
“C’mon, Alec.”
He didn’t say anything and she worked in silence, ‘cause if he wasn’t going to share with the class she wasn’t gonna push him. Let him get sucked into his own mess for all she cared.
“Renfro’s gonna kill me when you leave.” his voice was soft, and she almost didn’t catch it. She snorted and he tried to swallow the hurt building up in his chest from her lack of -
“You’re coming with me, stupid. Don’t you think I know what she’ll do to you? Especially since you claimed me-”
“I thought you didn’t want my claim.”
“I don’t,” she covered quickly, frowning in concentration and annoyance and god he was such an ass. Her voice was soft and she hoped he wouldn’t hear her quiet admission. “But I get nervous without you around.”
He pretended he didn’t hear her.
The rest of the evening was spent in silence, the only noise was the rhythmic sawing of Max trying to escape. An hour passed by, and then two and Alec stood up slowly, heading for the door and knocking on it twice for the guard to let him out. Max slide the bar back into her cot and unhooked it from her wall. She didn’t watch him go, and when she finally closed her eyes and laid back in bed she could smell him.
The mark on her neck prickled and she turned over, squeezing her eyes shut until sleep finally claimed her, and for the first time since Alec walked into her cell she dreamt of Logan and it scared her. She woke up just in time to keep from screaming in her sleep, sitting up in bed, breathing hard, because it wasn’t right that she had forgotten about Logan just because of some stupid Claim.
At breakfast she couldn’t look at Alec, couldn’t stand the thought of it. Instead she forced herself to think of Logan, of all the things she loved about him. Because she did. She loved him. She loved him so much it hurt because they had never been together and that hurt.
She could feel Alec staring at her, could feel the heat of his gaze and the pull of it. It shifted when he shifted, cooled when he glazed away and prickled at her skin when he finally stood up and made his way over to her, sliding into the seat next to her, so close that his arm brushed against hers.
She thought of the way Logan’s smile made her feel wanted, how he made her dinner, took the time to talk to her, went out of his way for people who needed him.
“Don’t shut me out.” his voice was soft and broken and Max closed her eyes so she didn’t have to hear the underlying hurt. His body shifted and he dropped his forearms against the table in front of them, leaning against his arms and looking sideways at her. “452.”
Her designation had never sounded so much like a prayer in her ears when he said it. Her name was hidden behind it, his claim was hidden behind it, how much he wanted her, his knowledge of her planning to escape, how much he wasn’t like Ben hidden behind it. Max opened her eyes and caught his, the electricity running between then had the remaining X5’s at her table shifting, itching to get away. Alec reached out and touched her jaw, the pad of his thumb smoothing over the corner of her mouth.
She’d take him with her just so he would look at her like that again.
part 5| part 6| part 7| part 8