Breeding Partners, or Not!

Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters do not belong to me. This fan-fiction had been written purely for entertainment purposes. No infringement had been intended and no profit had been made out of this.

Breeding Partners…or not - Chapter 7

(By elle6778)

“I’m your breeding partner.”

“My breeding partner,” Alec echoed numbly, unable to believe what he was hearing.

Had she finally come to her senses and decided that it was in her best interest to just complete the mission? Or was this another trick of hers? Alec watched her, trying to gauge her thoughts. She seemed sincere enough, at least outwardly.

He should be overjoyed, buzzing with elation at the fact that he could finally complete this utterly maddening mission. To finally give Manticore what they ordered of him so that he could get them off his back, at least momentarily.

Now that he thought about it, all this time he had failed to achieve copulation with Max, he had merely been annoyed, and maybe slightly disappointed in himself because she had managed to outwit him on so many occasions. But truth to be told, he had not been as pissed off as he should have been.

Why?

And now, when his success was within his reach, all he felt was a sense of anticlimax, of all things.

Why?

Because something was off. Something was not right.

It was clear to him that Max would never agree to do Manticore’s bidding willingly. She had made it plain enough all these time they had been together. The girl would rather die than to give Manticore what they wanted. She hated the very thought of it. So why the sudden change of mind?

“Alright, what’s going on?” he asked warily.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied without a hint of emotion.

Waving away her proclamation with a dismissive sweep of his hand, Alec pressed, “What’s with the sudden change of heart?”

This time she just looked bewildered. “I’m afraid that you lost me there, 494.”

“Really? I’m kind of feeling the same myself here,” Alec said flatly. And she was not calling him by his name. She was calling him by his designation.

She scowled. “Look, I have no idea what you’re talking about. And I think we’re done talking. Are we going to copulate, or what?” she asked, sounding impatient.

Alec stiffened as alarm bells began to ring in his head. What the hell? Did Max just say ‘copulate’?

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

Manticore must have drugged her or instructed psy-ops to work on her. Yeah, that must be it. That would explain things. Before she could spot his intent, Alec grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, stiffening as her guards went up. She gripped his wrists in warning.

“Relax. I’m just checking something,” he replied as he tilted her chin up.

Alec’s brow furrowed as he studied her eyes. Her pupils were not dilated; in fact, her eyes conveyed how seriously she was taking the mission. Manticore must have really done a number on her.

She looked like Max and held herself just the way he remembered. Her voice sounded the same. But she did not talk like Max. The fire, the passion and the feistiness he associated with Max was gone from her eyes. She might as well be someone completely different, if he had not known better.

Whoa, hang on. He might be on to something here.

Maybe this was not Max at all.

Alec’s eyes narrowed. Was it Manticore’s idea of a joke? Was this girl actually Max’s twin who had been called back from her away mission? It must be. It was the only feasible explanation to the bizarre situation. That explained a lot.

Alec smirked, relaxing for the first time since he entered the cell. The cell devoid of all hints of the pheromones he had expected to encounter should have told him something. Renfro must have given up on Max and settled for 453, and conveniently decided not to inform him of the latest development. It would be just like Renfro to mess with his mind.

Scratching the back of his head, he looked at the other transgenic thoughtfully. Well, at least he would complete his mission now. 453 seemed more than happy to play her part in it.

But first, he had to make sure.

“So, Max, I didn’t realise that you’re so eager to be my breeding partner,” he said, watching her carefully.

Her eyes flickered for a moment before it became unreadable. “Who’s Max?” she asked, sounding disinterested.

The hint of hesitation in her eyes which contradicted her words made Alec pause. If she was 453, the name ‘Max’ should not mean anything to her. So what was really going on here?

Raising his eyebrows, he asked, “You don’t know who Max is?”

She shook her head. “Why would I ask if I knew? What’s wrong with you, anyway? We have a mission to complete and you’re wasting time with all this,” she pointed out, scowling a little.

Now that was definitely not Max-speak. The girl sounded more Manticore than any other female transgenics he had encountered in the past. And he had to get to the bottom of this. Since he was getting nowhere in trying to be subtle, Alec decided that it was best to go for the direct approach. “Who are you?” he asked coolly.

The girl planted her hands on her hips, a move which made Alec inhale sharply. At that moment, wearing a long-suffering expression, she looked exactly like the Max he knew.

“Fallen asleep at your briefing, 494?” Then she continued in an eerily detached voice. “I am X5-452, your assigned partner for the Breeding Programme. The mission specification on my part is to ensure that you achieve minimum mission requirement for copulation and then continue with whatever means necessary for you to accomplish ejaculation. My final objective is to attain fertilisation. Any questions?”

Alec forced himself to remain impassive at her words. So, she was Max after all. Well, not really Max, but 452. The same person, but not quite. At least her identity was clear now.

He exhaled heavily. What was he supposed to do now? Just copulate with her knowing that she was some washed-down, colourless version of Max? Conveniently forget that if Max was in possession of her mind, she would never have allowed this?

But if he just complied, then this mission would be over faster. Wasn’t that what he wanted all along? For this to end so that he could get back to his usual missions away from this place?

He should just follow orders, make thing simple. Why complicate matters for himself? Come to think of it, why the hell was he over-thinking the entire situation anyway? He had never thought so much on a matter. Manticore gave an order, and he just followed it.

Simple.

Since when he ever deliberated this long over something which practically has an arrow with the words ‘DO IT!’ pointed at it?

Since when?

Alec knew.

Since two weeks ago.

Since he met Max.

Alec fought the urge to groan. The essence of ‘Max’ had practically been stripped away from this girl in front of her and yet she was still haunting him. It was disturbing.

Max’s voice, no, Alec corrected himself, 452’s voice tore him away from his musings. “494, if you’re done day-dreaming, could we proceed?”

Straightening, he hardened his resolve. What he had to do was pretty obvious, so obvious that he should not have bothered deliberating.

Smirking at her, Alec said lazily, “What’s the hurry, 452? We have the whole night to ourselves.”

He watched as she glanced warily at him, probably suspicious of his sudden change in demeanour. But it did not take her long to fall back into her role as his breeding partner. “We should not waste anymore time,” she said just before she hooked her fingers under her shirt and pulled it off in one swift move.

Alec kept his eyes on her face as he did the same with his shirt, tossing it onto the end of her bunk. He saw her removing her trousers in a completely detached manner, using brisk movements which should leave him cold.

But it did not.

It must be because he knew how that body felt like under his fingers and lips. Suddenly the cell felt warmer.

Her hand was reaching under her bra to yank it off when Alec suddenly found his voice. “Wait!” he exclaimed without thinking, holding a hand out. Then taken aback by his own actions, he fell silent. She was not doing anything wrong; they were supposed to be copulating. Why the hell was he trying to stop her from undressing?

She gave him a quizzical look. “What?” And then, noticing that he was still dressed, she said, “Well, you’re not going to take anything off?”

Alec lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. Ah, hell, what was he supposed to say now? Maybe he should wait until she knew what she was doing. This was not what Max would do. Alec gritted his teeth and mentally slapped himself when he realised what he was thinking about.

A stern voice inside him snapped, Damn it, stop hesitating. This is a mission that you WANT to complete, so what’s the problem, soldier?

“494!” her voice calling him snapped him out of his reverie. “I would like to get some rest tonight, so could we just get on with it?”

“Fine,” he yelled out loud, sick of all the conflicting voices warring inside him.

She regarded him warily, obviously taken aback at his tone. “There’s no need to shout.” And then, after a little pause, she asked carefully, “Are you alright?”

“I’m always alright,” Alec said, a little tightly. What, did she think that Manticore had gotten his wirings wrong or something? He resisted the urge to growl. This entire mission was driving him nuts, so much that he even have to think of what he was supposed to do.

She gave him a look which said that she did not believe him. That was the sort of look Max would wear, not 452. He did not know why, but knowing that it was 452 there and not Max actually made a difference. And the fact that 452 was wearing that look unnerved him.

Fine, he would show her how ‘alright’ he was, Alec decided. She wanted to proceed with the mission, and who was he to argue when he was supposed to be doing the same thing.

In a fluid motion, he pulled his shirt over her head and tossed it roughly to the side. His trousers followed next. He looked up to see her watching him, her expression completely detached.

Suddenly, all he felt like doing was to wipe off that detached Manticore mask.

Just in his boxers, Alec stepped closer to her. He lifted a hand and slowly traced a finger from her cheekbone down to the valley between her breasts, all the while keeping his eyes locked on hers.

When he brought his other hand up, slipping his fingers under the stretchy material of her bra, he saw her eye flicker, but he was not sure whether it was due to uncertainty or in anticipation. Then he pushed up sliding his hand between the material and her breast.

As his palm came into contact with her, he heard her suck in a sharp breath. His own breath was becoming shallower, he noticed absently as he touched her. No longer blank, her eyes flared in response to his actions, Alec noticed with satisfaction. Encouraged, he pushed her bra over her arms and head and threw it onto the bunk.

Alec swallowed, trying to relieve the sudden dryness in his throat. Bringing his hands back down, he lowered his head. Just before his lips reached her, he felt a pair of small hands clamping around his wrists, stilling them.

Has she decided to change her mind now? Or was the old Max resurfacing? Bracing himself for her response, whatever it was, Alec raised his eyes up to hers and asked with a challenging look in his eyes, “What’s the matter? Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind so soon. I thought you wanted to do this?”

There was a small pause before she answered, “Yes, we need to complete the mission. But you don’t have to do all this.”

Alec grinned. Okay, this is still 452, and if he didn’t know better, he would say that the girl was shy. Of all things. “Trust me, it’s better this way.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know, but this-,”

Interrupting her, Alec advised softly, “Just relax, okay?”

After a moment’s deliberation, she released his hands.

Suppressing the urge to let out a breath of relief, Alec went back to what he was doing earlier. When he replaced his hands with his lips, she let out a soft moan.

As her moans became more passionate, Alec felt his body reacting likewise. He needed to move them away from the floor to somewhere more comfortable. She gave a small sound of protest when he pulled off her, gently detaching her hands from his head.

“The bunk,” he said, his voice rough with arousal.

“You got too much clothes on,” she commented breathily.

Alec smirked. “We got one piece each.”

“You look a little uncomfortable,” she remarked, her lips twitching.

Alec raised his eyebrows. Not so shy after all, he thought with amusement.

She caught him by surprise. After encountering her Manticore soldier persona, Alec had thought that Manticore had managed to completely convert her, but what he was seeing and hearing now told him a different story. He was guessing that given time, Max’s old personality would resurface, irregardless of what Manticore had done.

In a rapid move, he divested himself of his boxers. “Satisfied?” he asked.

It was her turn to smirk. “Not yet.”

“I never had any complaints,” he pointed out.

“We’ll see,” she said just before she ran her fingers down his chest.

With a low growl, Alec pulled her closer. Both pairs of eyes, one hazel and the other brown, clashed hotly as he lowered his lips onto her parted ones. She was hesitant at first, but it did not take her long before she latched on to his lips hungrily.

Her hands stroking him in combination with her tongue toying with his was driving him to distraction. If he was not careful, the whole thing could end prematurely and that was the last thing he wanted. Still attached to each other, he gently pulled her hands away from him and nudged her towards her bunk.

When she sank on to the mattress, Alec knelt down between her legs. He hooked his fingers at the side of her panties and with a swift tug, pulled the stretchy material down her legs.

His breath caught when he saw what he had exposed to his view. He had touched her there before, but this was the first time he had seen it. Deciding that he would tease her a little, Alec trailed his fingers just on the outside of her sensitive spot. When she twisted closer to his fingers, Alec moved it away, not wanting to give her what she wanted yet.

“Quit teasing,” she hissed impatiently.

“Why so impatient?” he shot back with a grin.

Her eyes glittered. “494, I’ll make you pay for this, you know that?” she threatened, without any real malice.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he laughed, and then continued his ministrations.

Then pulling off her, he positioned himself over her entrance and watched as her eyes darken in anticipation. And then he pushed into her.

Both of them groaned at the contact. Alec stilled, overwhelmed by the feeling of completeness washing over him.

Her arms came up to grab his shoulders as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Alec sucked in his breath. Needing a moment to compose himself, he let his head fall in the crook of her neck, breathing heavily. It felt incredible and he could not remember ever feeling so good.

She pushed against him, silently urging him to move.

Not able to wait any longer, Alec did as she asked. He clenched his teeth, trying to maintain some control when she moved in sync with him. Beads of sweat covered both of them, but neither seemed to notice as he continued to move inside her.

And when he felt her muscles spasming around him, he knew he could not hold off any longer. He began to move faster, and with a groan he reached the peak. Absently, he realised that he shouted something, maybe it was her name.

A small movement under him warned him that he might be squashing her, so he pulled out slowly and flopped onto his back beside her.

“Not bad, soldier,” a soft, satisfied sigh came from his side.

His eyes closed, Alec let a smile slip onto his face. “Told you I never had any complaints.”

“You waited too long.”

“Is that a complaint?” he asked, opening his eyes and pushing himself onto his elbows.

She just smiled. Her eyes were closed, her cheeks rosy from their recent activity. Alec swallowed hard when it suddenly occurred to him that she was gorgeous.

And she was all his.

A warning bell rang inside his head. ALL HIS? What the hell was he thinking? Yeah, she was his breeding partner, but that’s it. She’s not HIS! What was he thinking? Keep your head in the game, soldier, he admonished himself.

“494?”

He forced a smile onto his lips, still shaken by the thoughts in his head. And then, quickly, he got off the bunk. For some reason, he was unable to look back at her.

“I think I’d better go now,” he said as he pulled on his clothes.

There was a short silence before he heard her yawn. “Okay, I’m just going to sleep now.”

When he turned back, her eyes were closed.

…………………………

She did not open her eyes until she had heard the door to her cell shut with a soft metallic clang. Then she slowly lifted her eyelids and sat up. The cell was now empty but she could still smell the evidence of what they had done a while ago.

She did not miss 494’s abrupt change in behaviour. He had seemed quite friendly, and was even teasing her afterwards, and then he suddenly iced up. Strange. But 494 had been behaving strange since he walked into her cell.

She got up and started putting on her clothes quickly. Better to get back to normal as soon as possible. To say that the entire session had shaken her was an understatement of the century.

When she was told to copulate with 494, she did not think that it was going to be, well, so explosive. Somehow, she had thought that it was going to be just a quick one to get the job done and that was the end of it.

But 494 had surprised her.

For one, he had been nothing but skilfully thorough, taking the time to ensure that she was pleasured. She had not expected that. Her face heated when she recalled what he had done.

She could not remember what it had felt like with any of the others, but she must have had sex with someone at some point. A faint memory told her that it had been one of the males in Manticore. She guessed that she must have been in heat because the memory so hazy. It had definitely not been as good as the session she had just had with 494, or else she would have remembered.

494’s behaviour before copulation struck her as being strange. She had no idea why he was asking her so many questions. It had almost sounded as if he was interrogating her, trying to get to the bottom of something.

But why?

They had never met before this.

494 had gone on as if they had known each other before, and looked surprised when she did not reciprocate likewise. Maybe he had thought that she was someone else. Someone he was more familiar with.

Maybe that was why he seemed so familiar with her body.

Someone called Max?

452 grimaced. She guessed that this Max was the same woman that he had mistaken her for when he saw her for the first time. 494 probably did not realise that he had groaned that name when he came inside her. Maybe she should feel insulted that he had the nerve to call out another woman’s name at such a time, but she guessed since this was just a mission, she should not let it bother her.

But that did not explain why she felt that she had known his touches before this. Like when he got close to her, his scent seemed to surround her in a comfortably familiar envelop. It was soothing and exciting at the same time.

Did they know each other before?

It was frustrating to be unable to remember details of her past. All she knew now was what Renfro had told her. That she had sustained trauma to her head in her previous mission and that she might have short-term memory lapses.

She sighed. Well, since it was meant to be a short-term thing, she guessed that she would remember more stuff sooner or later. Not much point in worrying about it now.

In the meantime, she would just continue with the mission as instructed.

Not that it was such a bad thing, she grinned.

494 was turning out to be more entertaining than her usual missions and she was looking forward to their next encounter.

……………………………..

She was already up when the wake-up call blared across the hallways linking the cells.

After performing what she remembered what her usual morning routine, she joined the line of transgenics heading out to the training grounds for their morning drill.

As she was walking out, the fine hair at the back of her neck stood up, alerting her to the fact that someone was watching her. She had a good idea who it was.

She turned to look over her shoulders to find her eyes clashing with a pair of hazel ones. At first, she thought that she saw them flicker hotly as if he was recalling what had taken place last night.

Then she blinked, and when she looked again, his face was wiped clear of all expression. Initially slightly taken aback at his reaction, she stiffened, but then she remembered that was how they all composed their faces under the watchful eyes of the guards. There was no other meaning to that blank look on his face.

Was there?

She noticed that 494 stopped beside her. There was this sudden urge for her to turn to the side to look at him, but she resisted it. They lined up in a neat row, awaiting inspection, backs straight and eyes front.

Renfro came out of the building, her heels clicking loudly on the pavement.

After hearing the reports from other couples, Renfro finally arrived in front of her and 494.

“Status report?” Renfro asked, her sharp eyes questioning.

Silence.

Again she resisted the urge to glance sideways. Was 494 not going to answer this?

“452?” Renfro barked impatiently.

“Copulation successful, ma’am,” she replied crisply.

“Excellent work, 452,” Renfro remarked, sounding very satisfied before she turned to look at 494.

452 felt him stiffen almost imperceptibly next to her. What was wrong with the guy?

“Anything to add, 494?” Renfro asked.

“No, ma’am,” he replied flatly.

Renfro raised her eyebrows but did not say anything further.

Fifteen minutes later, they all fell out of formation and headed towards the mess hall.

452 turned around to look for 494, but found that he had gone on without her. A small niggling feeling that he was trying to avoid her suddenly came to mind.

For some reason, that really annoyed her.

……………………………

t.b.c.

A/N: (Grins) So, at long last, it happened. Please review. I’d love to know what you think of it.