Title:
Break Up By The Book
Chapter
Title: Priceless Things
Author:
Restive Nature
Disclaimer:
I do not own the rights
to Dark Angel. They belong to Cameron/ Eglee and Fox Television. No
infringement is intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment
only.
Rating:
PG-13 up to NC-17 (just to be on the safe side, down the road.)
Genre:
Dark Angel
Type:
friendship/ romance
Pairing:
M/A
Summary:
When she finally made the decision, she knew that she would have to
do it and do it right.
Spoilers/
Time line: Mid second season.
Feedback:
Always welcome!
Distribution:
Ask first please.
Break
Up By The Book
Chapter
Two
Priceless
Things
“Okay,
I know sex is outta da question,” Cindy muttered, while she held
Max to her side, comforting the girl in her enormous decision to
break up with her boyfriend. “But d'ya still wanna do the rest?”
“I
think maybe I should,” Max agreed slowly, nodding her head just a
little on her friend's shoulder. They parted and each straightened
up. Unconsciously leaning forward until their elbows were resting on
their knees. “I feel like I owe him more than I've... not given any
other.”
“So,”
Cindy spoke slowly, a little surprised, and not so surprised at the
same time. “Logan was the first real, serious...?”
“The
only,” Max confirmed dryly. “We were taught never to get
emotionally invested. To always be ready to move on in a moment's
notice.”
“But
yet, you took the time to make friends,” Cindy pointed out, though
she well knew the difference between good friends and a perceived
soul mate.
“I
got tired of runnin',” Max shrugged one shoulder and then chuckled.
“And if you recall, after you and Kendra badgering me and all that
trouble, I did try to tell you the truth about me.”
Cindy
was quiet for a moment, and then a smile curved her lips. “Yeah,
you did that Boo. Hey, you eva hear how Maria's doin'?”
Max
smiled as well at her friend's small attempt at distraction. “Last
I heard, she was headin' into high school, doin' well. But Logan
hasn't mentioned her. I would assume she's doin' good. Otherwise...”
Her room mate nodded at that.
“So,
what about all the rest of the break up?” Cindy wondered again. “I
mean, you could still do the rest, couldn't you?”
“After
the disastrous attempts at dinner, wherein with one stupid, careless
moment, I almost killed him because I tasted the sauce and put the
spoon back in the pan and contaminated the whole thing?” Max
demanded swiftly and sarcastically. Cindy arched an eyebrow and then
pursed her lips.
“I'd
make it, if that'd help,” she offered and was relieved to see her
friend relax instantly.
“I...
think it would,” Max murmured. “Thanks. I mean, that way... well.
Okay, so if I invite him here, then break up with him, maybe he can
associate the bad memories here and with me. I don't want to...”
“He
need a place to lick his wounds,” Cindy agreed. “And home turf
the best place for that.”
“Yeah,”
Max agreed wholeheartedly. “But the question is, what will we
make?”
“Dere
always that chicken recipe,” Cindy suggested and watched as her
room mate winced.
“Poulet
chez Cale,” she announced and when Cindy frowned Max shrugged
helplessly. “It's a Cale family recipe or something like that.”
Cindy could instantly see that was a bad idea. The point was to break
up. Not insult the man as she had so many others. But then Max
inhaled sharply. “I know exactly what to make. Problem is...”
Cindy waited patiently. “It might take me a little while to gather
the ingredients.”
“A'ight,”
Cindy nodded amicably. “Den dat give us time to get ready. And
maybe for you to talk to your otha friends. Maybe start introducin'
them to Logan while you still on good terms.”
Max
nodded. That was a good point. She started going over in her mind,
who might be most receptive to the idea and unfortunately it was a
short, very short list. Perhaps she could ask Alec, if he knew any
other X's that he hadn't brought into Jam Pony yet. There must be
more hiding out there, not ready to come in from the cold at that
point in time.
She
clapped her hands down on her thigh then. “Okay,” she muttered.
“Looks like I've got a plan then.”
*****
Max
stood, the next morning, in the headquarters of Jam Pony, near the
lockers set aside for the employees, watching the coming and goings
of the other employees. She was hiding out from Normal, trying not to
be saddled with a run, before Alec arrived. She had decided to talk
to him immediately. Of course, she didn't want to reveal her plan and
open herself up to the ridicule that was sure to be his natural
response. Or his smugness at being proven right. She'd thought a
little about what she would tell him and she figured she had a good
enough excuse ready.
But
when she saw another of the new transgenics stroll in, CeCe, she
thought her name to be, Max decided to jump on things. The girl
ignored Normal just as easily as everyone else did as she parked the
bike and then moved to the bank of lockers. Max moved around to the
other side, watching for errant passerby's that might get too close.
But everyone seemed occupied enough.
She
knew that CeCe had noticed her. How could she not have? But the other
woman kept her peace after one questioning glance.
“Hey
CeCe,” Max offered awkwardly.
“Max,”
the other woman returned the greeting as she emptied the contents of
her bag into the locker. “What did you need?”
“Actually,”
Max moistened her lips. “Well, I was thinking about some stuff the
other night and... well, it's a pretty huge favor, I guess.
Especially since we don't really know each other.”
“Personal
or professional?” CeCe interrupted dryly, catching Max slightly off
guard. She sagged a little.
“Both,
in a way?” she offered quietly and in the seriousness of her
response, could see that she had caught the blond's attention. CeCe
stuffed her bag into the locker, leaving both hands free and turned
to lean against the mesh patterned metal, watching carefully, both
Max and beyond her, just as Max was watching for interlopers over
CeCe's shoulder. “Um,” she began again, “I don't know how much
you know about... my extracurricular activities...”
“Alec
filled us in a little,” CeCe hurried to say and Max actually
exhaled with relief. It was sort of a violation of her privacy, but
she'd let it slide, since it might make things easier for her now.
“Okay,”
Max nodded. “The thing is, with so many more of us now, I'm worried
that too much of that... extra extracurricular could lead to some
exposure. And we definitely don't want that.”
“No,”
CeCe agreed, with an amused grin. “And what does your boyfriend
think about this?” she asked wryly. Max tilted her head a little,
trying to read the other woman and finding it a little difficult.
“Logan,”
Max breathed out and CeCe nodded. “You know...?”
“About
his extracurricular?” CeCe answered for her and nodded briefly. Max
chewed at the corner of her lower lip and CeCe burst out with a
little chuckle. “Not like it was hard to figure out,” she offered
and Max sighed.
“No,
it really isn't,” she agreed with dry amusement.
“So
how did you figure it out? And why?” CeCe asked and then drew back
a little. “If you don't me askin'?”
“Oh,
no big dealio,” Max chuckled. “I was lookin' for extra cash. He
had a sweet Bast statue. I was in the process of rippin' him off and
caught wind of his little project while I was in the apartment.”
“Seriously?”
CeCe asked, looking surprised and then started laughing. “That's
priceless!”
“I
guess,” Max agreed, wrinkling her nose up. “Course, I fenced it.
Got a good price. And Logan, fool that he was,” she explained
fondly, “bought it back and then gave it to me.”
“Really?”
CeCe asked, seeming to soften. “That's a pretty sweet gift for
someone you barely know.”
“He
knew enough about me,” Max mused, a little sadly. “Knew what I
could do, wanted my help. The statue was a bribe.”
“Ah,”
CeCe murmured, but it was full or understanding. “So... am I to
take it that he doesn't know about you... broadening the circle?”
“Not
yet,” Max sighed. “I thought it would be better to see if people
wanted to, rather than just drafting them.”
“Like
you did with Alec?”
“Oh
man,” Max sighed. “He so owed me. Us. And that wasn't how it
started.”
“Yeah,
that's what he said, too,” CeCe murmured and Max was surprised
again. But before she could reply to that, CeCe had tilted her head.
“Let me think about it okay? I mean, I'm not liking running the
risk either... but...”
“It
would just be for... family matters,” Max murmured in assurance and
she could see the relief in the other woman's eyes. “I don't think
it fair to ask for the other. That's not my place.”
“No,”
CeCe agreed and then nodded. “Yeah, I'll definitely think about
it.”
“Okay,”
Max breathed out, relieved to have taken on this first hurdle. And
made it through okay. “Um...”
“Yeah?”
“Okay,
getting presumptuous again here,” Max snorted quietly and then
forced herself to hold CeCe's gaze. “If you might know of any
others, I mean, whether you agree or not...”
CeCe
was quiet a moment, gauging the brunette before her and then nodded
once. “We'll have a pow wow,” she decided. “Don't worry Max,”
she assured. “We know the risks. And even with what we were taught,
well our here? We take care of our own.” With that, she threw her a
tight smile and turned back to her locker. Max, feeling suspiciously
misty eyed, murmured her thanks and then moved to her own locker. She
had taken care of one step. Now it was time to move onto the rest.
*****
Alec
arrived to work in a pretty good mood.
Things
had been going surprisingly well and he had been able to easily
maneuver several alumni into working at Jam Pony. Normal, desperate
for help that actually helped had welcomed the offerings Alec gave
with palpable relief. He had caught sight of CeCe on his way in and
Biggs, plus a few others as well. They weren't exactly responding to
working as they would when Manticore called formation, but they were
here on time, ready to go and polite, if a little frosty. Alec knew
that was simply because they didn't know enough about their
environment. They'd settle down and quit being so cliquish once they
had a handle on things.
The
other pleasant surprise was that Max had been a little distracted by
something going on. Not that that was a happy circumstance, Alec
knew. Distraction was dangerous for them in the current climate. But
it had meant that she had been too busy to get on his case about what
he was pulling off under Normal's nose. Of course, he was sure once
he explained things to her, she'd back off, but she'd made no protest
as yet. And as he paused at the desk to greet Normal, he almost did a
double take as the girl in question approached CeCe. He could see the
wariness in both of them, but there was no outright cat fight. He
chuckled under his breath at his own musing and then, deciding that
they were both professional enough not to create a scene in public,
he resolved to ask CeCe what was up later. To see that it was Max
approaching her and not the other way around was good. It was really
good.
“Your
friends are here on time,” Normal noted as he checked several
things off his work sheet. He glanced up and graced Alec with a
smile. “That bodes well.”
“Well,
it's like I told ya boss man,” Ale preened as he leaned against the
partitioning desk. “You find the right people, the ones with that
all important work ethic, and we'll have this place running smooth.
You'll be able to kick back, relax... we got ya covered.”
“Pipe
dream,” Normal scoffed, though he was smiling. “If it weren't for
the rest of the reprobates around here, we just might get there. But,
red tape, you understand?”
Alec
nodded. He as well aware that one of the more savvy
young adults in the biz had been threatened with a firing because she
was late to work. She had promptly rounded on Normal and told him
that if he tried so much as to do more than dock her pay, she'd have
the authorities on his ass so fast, he'd be another broken bum
sleeping in a cardboard box on the street. She had stormed away and
Normal, recognizing his chance, had immediately written her up with
two warnings. One for being late and one for insolent behavior. The
paper trail had started. Alec felt bad that the girl, as Lizzy had
been having a bad day, but she had later revealed that she had only
been late because she had an interview elsewhere. She just needed to
hang on to this job a little longer. So Alec had shrugged it off,
figuring Normal would get his firing, she'd move on to get a better
job and Alec would be in the position to bring another transgenic in
from the cold.
Thus
buoyed, he accepted several packages from Normal, tucking them into
his bag with a murmured explanation that he'd drop his things at his
locker and then head out. Normal had nodded absently, already
reaching for more envelopes and small boxes to continue handing out.
Alec turned away from the desk and saw that whatever Max and CeCe had
been discussing was done. CeCe had a thoughtful expression on her
face as she slipped around Alec. Max on the other hand, had her back
to him and was sitting on the bench regarding something in her hands.
He
slipped up behind her, shaking his head at her preoccupation. It was
gonna get her in trouble one of these days if she didn't start paying
to her surroundings at all times. Instead of when she was on one of
her and Logan's little missions. Seeing the list in her hand, his
eyes twinkling with merriment, he leaned over and snatched it from
her. She spun around with a gasp.
“Alec!”
“Hey
Maxie,” he greeted, his eyes scanning what was just a very ordinary
grocery list. A short one, but groceries nonetheless. “What's up?”
“Nothing,”
she ground out between clenched teeth, reaching up of course to take
the paper back. “Give it back,” she half whined.
“Seriously
Max?” he taunted, holding it out of her reach. “Can't remember
what you wrote. That is bad. You must be slipping in your old age.”
“I
know what's on the list Alec,” she protested. “I just have it in
case Cindy needs to mark some things off.”
“Oh,
so Cindy does know about it,” he continued, finally letting her
have it back. “And here's me thinking you were all moony over
getting Logan his pasta for yet another romantic dinner,” he
teased, placing both hands over his heart for effect. The sudden
blush on her face made his heart sink a little. She really was... “oh
don't tell me you're making
him dinner!” he
exclaimed.
“You know Alec,” she snapped,
standing to turn to face him even as she stuffed the list into her
pants pocket. “In the polite world, it's considered nice to
reciprocate things like that. He makes dinner so often for me, I
thought it would be nice to return the favor.”
“Uh yeah,” he agreed inanely,
startled by the vehemence in her voice. He shouldn't have been, he
knew. Max had always been like this on the subject of Logan. Even
before the guy had a name, he'd known that. What surprised him was
that she was making the effort. He knew, from Max having admitted
herself when he was in her vicinity that she had no clue about
cooking. She and Cindy usually threw things together for ill or good,
got take out or like she had already mentioned, went to Logan's to
eat. “That does sound nice.”
“What Alec?” it was her turn to
taunt. “Jealous that someone is making an effort that the bimbos in
your life obviously couldn't be bothered with?”
It wasn't that precisely. The woman in
question wasn't a bimbo, but he knew better than to tell her that.
But he had to come up with something quickly, before she started
thinking that she had gotten the better of him. He scratched at his
head. “Not that. I'm just wondering what the hell EVOO is. Like
alien cow meat or something?” He was surprised that she laughed at
that.
“No,” she muttered between
startled giggles. “It's extra virgin olive oil. E-V-O-O.”
“Ah okay, gotcha,” Alec nodded.
Acronym. He could deal with that. “Sounds expensive. And how do
they make it extra virgin. I never got that.”
“Easy,” Max shrugged one shoulder
as she lifted her messenger bag. “Olive oil, comes from olives.”
“Yeah, got that,” Alec nodded,
rolling his eyes. Max snorted a little.
“Virgin olive oil comes from the
first pressing of the olives,” she continued explaining. “Extra
virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of the first
production of a new olive plant. After that pressing, it can never be
considered extra virgin status again.”
“Oh, okay,” Alec nodded. “That's
pretty simple.”
“Most things are,” Max agreed,
then looked glum. “But just cause the process is simple, procuring
it won't be.”
“Hard to get, huh?” Alec pondered.
“Probably pricey too.”
“Extremely,” Max nodded. “Oh
well, I'll get it eventually. Too bad it's necessary for the recipe.
Otherwise I could just substitute or improvise.”
“Oh, well,” Alec suddenly saw some
light at the end of the tunnel. “You don't want to do that. I've
had meals like that. Kinda throws the whole thing down the crapper,
you know what I mean?”
“Exactly,” she grimaced, though
inside, Alec wanted to crow. If she couldn't get what she needed...
Of course, that didn't mean that she couldn't change her mind about
what to serve...”Well, if I'm gonna afford it, better get busy,
huh?” Without waiting for his reply, she had turned away and
approached Normal, holding out her bag, which their surprised boss
promptly filled. As she left, Normal gave him a grin and a thumbs up.
Alec nodded, then turned back to his locker. Looked like he had some
planning, scheming and recon to do. With a determined grin, he
finished preparing for the day and headed out to do exactly that.
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