are we growing up or just going down?
Title: With Worse Luck and Far Less Gold
Fandom: Dark Angel
Characters: Max and Alec
Rating: PG
Prompt: A fic that explores a Max/Alec relationship that is more sibling-like, particularly next to Max's other sibs.
Summary: He was sitting near the edge, dangerously close to it. Even she wasn't that reckless. She could only see him from behind, but even from where she stood she could see.
He wasn't as all right as he was pretending to be.
Author's Notes: Unbetaed. For bytheseaside in the jam_pony_fic Winter Ficathon, and it's two weeks late. I apologize, I recently moved and the internet connection provided by my apartment complex isn't as reliable as I'd like. Anyway, the prompt was to explore the Max and Alec relationship in a way that was more sibling like. I tried, but only succeeded in making it feel as if they'd become friends. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it (or at least don't hate it too much) and again, I apologize for it being so late. Takes place shortly after The Berrisford Agenda. Title is from Fall Out Boy's Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year.
EDIT: Did a quick revision on this and added some things. Hopefully it's a better story now.
It was supposed to be a normal trip to the Space Needle. Sit and watch and reflect, reflect on the events of the past few days, of the past few months, of the past year. Probably the hardest year and a half of her life. Spending three months back in Manticore after spending so much time away from there, she'd begun to feel halfway normal.
Or the past few months, having to deal with being around Logan without being to touch him. It hurt, hurt her more than she wanted to show but she knew it was evident whenever they were around each other, as evident as them being "like that" had been to everyone but them, until it was too late.
Or the past few days, seeing Alec as something more than Ben's twin and a royal pain in the ass, finding out that he was more than a pretty-boy smart mouth who had a knack for showing up at the absolute worst possible time and making situations difficult for everyone but himself.
It was a shock, more so than she'd realized at the time. To find out he'd had a life outside of Manticore and that he'd been able to love someone, to have feelings for someone that were more than superficial.
But not as big of a shock to find him sitting at the top of the Needle, in her usual spot.
She stood there for a minute, observing him. He was sitting near the edge, dangerously close to it. Even she wasn't that reckless. She could only see him from behind, but even from where she stood she could see.
He wasn't as all right as he was pretending to be.
She padded over to him softly, trying to make her presence known, but subtly enough so that she wouldn't startle him and send him off. She settled next to him, letting her feet dangle over the edge rather than hugging them to her chest, like he was doing. She debated making some smart-assed comment about how he couldn't even find his own meditation spot and he'd had to steal hers, but knew that now wasn't the time.
"Hey."
He didn't even move, except to nod to acknowledge her presence. "Hey."
"So do you come here often? Or did you just look up and think it'd be a good place to get away from everything for a little while?"
After all, that was why she'd initially come here.
He didn't answer. He did release his knees and let them dangle, in a fashion similar to hers. But the sorrowful expression didn't leave his face.
His eyes.
It didn't feel right, none of it did, and she couldn't stand it. She'd never seen him like this, he was always quick to recover. The person she'd come to think of as an annoying big brother who always jumped at an opprotunity to tease her was quiet and solemn and she wanted to something, anything, to ease a little of the pain.
But she didn't know what to say to make it okay, to make him okay. And she knew there wasn't anything that would.
All she could do was be there. Let him know he wasn't alone with this.
"Mind if I stay up here?" It was my place first.
He shrugged, folded his hands in his lap, didn't look at her. "Sure."
She smiled, a very small smile, a sad smile, and then looked back out. She didn't touch him, she'd never been the touchy-feely friendship type and knew that he wouldn't like it either.
And they sat there for a long time, watching the city below.
Max knew, later on, that things had changed between them. He wasn't just a burden who got in the way and made her work life a living hell anymore.
He was a friend. Someone she understood and who understood her in a way that was completely different than any other relationship she'd had with anyone else.
It was the kind of friendship that one had with a sibling. But it was different than it had been with Zack or Ben, they'd always been soldiers first, brothers second. What she had with Alec was different, but it was still family. Something she'd been missing for a very long time.
And something she knew he'd never had before.
Fandom: Dark Angel
Characters: Max and Alec
Rating: PG
Prompt: A fic that explores a Max/Alec relationship that is more sibling-like, particularly next to Max's other sibs.
Summary: He was sitting near the edge, dangerously close to it. Even she wasn't that reckless. She could only see him from behind, but even from where she stood she could see.
He wasn't as all right as he was pretending to be.
Author's Notes: Unbetaed. For bytheseaside in the jam_pony_fic Winter Ficathon, and it's two weeks late. I apologize, I recently moved and the internet connection provided by my apartment complex isn't as reliable as I'd like. Anyway, the prompt was to explore the Max and Alec relationship in a way that was more sibling like. I tried, but only succeeded in making it feel as if they'd become friends. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it (or at least don't hate it too much) and again, I apologize for it being so late. Takes place shortly after The Berrisford Agenda. Title is from Fall Out Boy's Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year.
EDIT: Did a quick revision on this and added some things. Hopefully it's a better story now.
It was supposed to be a normal trip to the Space Needle. Sit and watch and reflect, reflect on the events of the past few days, of the past few months, of the past year. Probably the hardest year and a half of her life. Spending three months back in Manticore after spending so much time away from there, she'd begun to feel halfway normal.
Or the past few months, having to deal with being around Logan without being to touch him. It hurt, hurt her more than she wanted to show but she knew it was evident whenever they were around each other, as evident as them being "like that" had been to everyone but them, until it was too late.
Or the past few days, seeing Alec as something more than Ben's twin and a royal pain in the ass, finding out that he was more than a pretty-boy smart mouth who had a knack for showing up at the absolute worst possible time and making situations difficult for everyone but himself.
It was a shock, more so than she'd realized at the time. To find out he'd had a life outside of Manticore and that he'd been able to love someone, to have feelings for someone that were more than superficial.
But not as big of a shock to find him sitting at the top of the Needle, in her usual spot.
She stood there for a minute, observing him. He was sitting near the edge, dangerously close to it. Even she wasn't that reckless. She could only see him from behind, but even from where she stood she could see.
He wasn't as all right as he was pretending to be.
She padded over to him softly, trying to make her presence known, but subtly enough so that she wouldn't startle him and send him off. She settled next to him, letting her feet dangle over the edge rather than hugging them to her chest, like he was doing. She debated making some smart-assed comment about how he couldn't even find his own meditation spot and he'd had to steal hers, but knew that now wasn't the time.
"Hey."
He didn't even move, except to nod to acknowledge her presence. "Hey."
"So do you come here often? Or did you just look up and think it'd be a good place to get away from everything for a little while?"
After all, that was why she'd initially come here.
He didn't answer. He did release his knees and let them dangle, in a fashion similar to hers. But the sorrowful expression didn't leave his face.
His eyes.
It didn't feel right, none of it did, and she couldn't stand it. She'd never seen him like this, he was always quick to recover. The person she'd come to think of as an annoying big brother who always jumped at an opprotunity to tease her was quiet and solemn and she wanted to something, anything, to ease a little of the pain.
But she didn't know what to say to make it okay, to make him okay. And she knew there wasn't anything that would.
All she could do was be there. Let him know he wasn't alone with this.
"Mind if I stay up here?" It was my place first.
He shrugged, folded his hands in his lap, didn't look at her. "Sure."
She smiled, a very small smile, a sad smile, and then looked back out. She didn't touch him, she'd never been the touchy-feely friendship type and knew that he wouldn't like it either.
And they sat there for a long time, watching the city below.
Max knew, later on, that things had changed between them. He wasn't just a burden who got in the way and made her work life a living hell anymore.
He was a friend. Someone she understood and who understood her in a way that was completely different than any other relationship she'd had with anyone else.
It was the kind of friendship that one had with a sibling. But it was different than it had been with Zack or Ben, they'd always been soldiers first, brothers second. What she had with Alec was different, but it was still family. Something she'd been missing for a very long time.
And something she knew he'd never had before.