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 8

(By elle6778)


Alec did not pay any attention to the sounds of metal utensils scraping against metal plates and the low murmur of transgenics in conversation surrounding him in the mess hall. He used his fork to prod the chunk of unidentifiable piece of dry meat on his plate, supposedly bacon, but his mind was far from breakfast.

Instead, he was thinking about Max.

No, not Max anymore, he corrected himself. 452.

He was not even sure why he was thinking about her, and the fact that he was really rankled him. He barely slept last night, not being able to dismiss the feeling that something was not quite right. Just thinking about it almost made him feel sick. They made a good start to completing their mission, so why was it still on his mind? It was like an irritating itch he could not reach.

Yes, they made a good start, but he could not help but wonder what would happen if she somehow regained her memory. And in one way, that was why he felt as if he should keep his distance from her. The less contact she had with him, the less likely she would remember. Right?

Also, the sort of thoughts he had been having of her really unsettled him. It was one thing copulating with her as a part of a mission, but it was another story altogether if he grew attached to her. The errant thought he had last night about having her all to himself was completely unexpected and more importantly, unwelcomed. It made him feel exposed, vulnerable. And he did not like that at all.

A thump on his shoulder made him drop his fork. Turning around with a scowl on his face, Alec was prepared to give whoever it was a tongue-lashing before he caught sight of the cheeky grin on his friend’s face.

“Funny, after last night you should be starving,” 511 commented before he sat down beside Alec.

Alec grunted something unintelligible. He was not in the mood for this. Turning back to his plate, he picked up his fork and continued mutilating his food.

511 raised his eyebrows, surprised. “What? Don’t tell me it didn’t actually happen?”

Alec looked up. “No. It happened alright. Copulation was successful,” he said tightly.

“Yeah, I suppose it’s not so hard now that 452’s the way she is,” 511 remarked, his attention more on the food than their conversation. A piece of scrambled egg found its way to his mouth.

Now that she had been brainwashed? Alec frowned. “You know what they did to her?”

511 nodded as he chewed his food.

“How? You were away with me on mission.”

Swallowing, 511 tossed Alec a sideways glance before replying, “You know how the gossip travels, right? What I heard was that Renfro tried to chemically induce heat into 452, but something went sideways. The lab they were in got completely trashed. I guess 452 did not go quietly. Knowing her, I’m not too surprised by that,” 511 mused, preparing to shove another forkful of food into his mouth.

Gritting his teeth in irritation, Alec grabbed 511’s hand before the fork could reach its destination. “Will you stop eating for a minute and just explain that?” he said with a bite of impatience in his voice.

511 gave Alec a speculative look. And then he smirked knowingly. “Oh, it’s like that, is it?” he drawled slowly.

What was that look for? Alec suppressed the urge to glare at him. “Like what?” he asked, his voice not giving anything away.

Wiping the smirk off his face, 511 regarded Alec silently for a moment before he said, almost gently, “Look, buddy. It doesn’t pay to care too much, you know that right?”

“Who said I care? I’m just curious,” Alec said tightly, now unable to hide his irritation. What was 511 going on about? Can he not be just curious about what happened to completely change the attitude of his breeding partner?

511 let out a resigned breath. “Okay, this one came from someone in the psy-ops unit. My breeding partner knows one of them, and she told me what happened. Apparently, in the middle of the mess in the lab, 452 got accidentally dosed with something that triggered her seizure.”

Alec found himself stunned for a moment. “I thought they got rid of those seizures long time ago,” he finally said.

Nodding, 511 went on, “Yeah, me too. But they didn’t get a chance to do it before the ’09-ers escaped. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing that it was because she so recently had a heart transplant that they didn’t do it when she got recaptured. Anyway, they couldn’t stop the seizures, so to minimise damage they put her in a coma instead.”

“What?” Alec exclaimed. “Can’t they just give her something for it?”

511 shrugged. “I don’t know. They might have done that, and it didn’t work. Who knows? Well, when she was in a coma, someone brought up the idea to send psy-ops in to do some work on her.”

Alec raised his eyebrows but gestured for 511 to continue. Yeah, so that’s how she got brainwashed.

“You know what they say about people in coma being able to hear you? My breeding partner said she was told that the technology kind of worked on that. It’s apparently too dangerous to completely erase her mind. So, they just installed new memories into her head, masking over the old ones. Now 452 believes that she grew up and trained here like the rest of us,” 511 said. He looked at Alec thoughtfully for a moment before saying, “It must have worked pretty well because from what I heard, she’s definitely different.”

“I see,” Alec muttered absently.

At least the whole thing made sense now. He guessed he should be glad that it made things easier for him. No more arguments, no more fights and no more being kept on his toes while he tried to second-guess her plans to kill him. Everything was just as it was supposed to be. Nice and simple.

Then stop thinking about it, a voice within berated him harshly.

“Well, look who we got here,” 511’s amused drawl interrupted his musings.

Alec looked up to find Max, no, 452 standing on the opposite side of the table in front of him. To his surprise, she laid her tray on the table and sat down facing him. Why was she sitting here anyway? She had never done that before, he wondered.

He was still not used to her being this way, being so…Manticore. She looked like she had always looked, but her eyes were twin blank orbs, Alec noted, careful to keep his expression detached as he studied her.

Well, they were definitely not blank last night. Those melted chocolate eyes of hers had been flashing hot in passion as she writhed and gasped under him. Alec could still feel the ghosts of her fingernails raking down his back as she clenched her legs tight around him. And her scent…

Taken aback by his wayward thoughts Alec tensed involuntarily. Deep breaths, soldier. Don’t embarrass yourself, he ordered himself silently.

“How are things going, 452?” 511 asked, breaking the silence.

“Just fine, 511. You?” she asked while she proceeded to slice her food into small chunks.

511 shrugged. “As usual.” He suddenly paused in thought, frowning slightly. He then continued curiously, “Say, how do you know my designation?”

She frowned a little. “We worked together on the mission up north three years ago, remember? The arms dealers?”

Alec stiffened and exchanged a look with 511. If he remembered correctly, three years ago, 511 had been partnered with 487, a female transgenic who had since been killed in action. From the sounds of it, 452 had been given 487’s memories.

Turning his attention back to her, obviously trying to mask his shock, 511 said brightly, “Oh, yeah. That went well, didn’t it?”

She nodded, looking a little suspicious at first. “Yeah.” Then her expression cleared and she asked with polite interest, “So, been on any other missions lately?”

511 pretended to think. “Hmm, the Breeding Programme?”

“I meant away missions,” 452 clarified with a wave of her hand, her attention solely on 511.

Alec suddenly felt a prick of irritation. What was he? Invisible? The two of them seemed to have forgotten that he was sitting there.

“511 and I just got back from a mission overseas,” Alec interjected before 511 could reply. Ignoring his mission partner’s raised eyebrows, he elaborated, “We retrieved a disc from an abandoned naval base.”

“Really?” She frowned at the piece of meat at the end of her fork, and then shrugging, she ate it anyway. “Abandoned base, huh? Sounds simple. Was it?” she asked.

Alec opened his mouth but 511 beat him to it, “Yeah, it’s more like a vacation than anything else, but I guess that’s understandable. 494 here was recovering from-,” he stopped with a jolt and then instantly levelled a glare at 494. “What was that for?” he growled.

“What?” Alec said, feigning innocence. The kick he directed at 511’s ankle was the only thing which stopped the blabbermouth from exposing his injury to the third person in their party. Trying to explain the cause of his injury to her would be awkward to say the least, seeing that she was the one who had given it to him.

She watched them curiously. “What was 494 recovering from?”

Damn, too late, Alec thought. “Just a small injury.”

“Oh? How did you get it? A mission went sideways?” she asked, sounding interested.

511 coughed. Irritated, Alec thumped his friend’s back a little too hard. “I’m okay,” 511 declared, pushing Alec’s hand away.

“So?” she persisted.

“Yeah, it all went a bit wrong,” Alec finally said, sounding lame even to his own ears.

“You don’t want to tell me, do you?” she asked point blank, looking amused. “Must have been some injury, huh?”

511 snorted. Alec levelled a glare at him before he faced her. “Yeah, now can we drop it?”

Smirking, she replied, “Sure.”

Alec stifled the urge to groan. He just knew that this was not the last of it. 452 was going to dig, and then she would find out.

So what if she knew? Would it jolt her memory? What would happen if she recalled her identity in combination with what they had done last night? She would kill him, he was sure of it. Perhaps it would be better for the both of them if she remained this way. After all, he should have no complaints about the ways things were going now. Their interactions had been far less violent than before, and they even managed to make a good start to their mission.

Yeah, it could work, he concluded.

As long as that possessive monster inside him remain buried and did not resurface. It had really shaken him, the thought that he wanted the girl all to himself. This was not what he prepared himself for when he was assigned into the Breeding Programme. In any mission, it did not pay to be attached. That was exactly what 511 warned him just a while ago. It did not pay to care too much. Judgement would be clouded and the mission would be compromised. He would grow soft. Not good.

Alec took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He just needed to be more careful and remain detached. Try not to interact with her unless it was necessary. It was just a temporary aberration, he told himself. It’ll pass soon enough. After the novelty wears off.

511 got up with his tray in his hand. “Well, I’m all done here. Enjoy the rest of your meal.”

An uncomfortable silence followed his departure.

Left alone with 452, Alec suddenly felt ill at ease. He wondered if he should say something, some small talk to break the silence. Until he remembered that he should minimise unnecessary interactions with her.

Clearing his throat, he muttered, “I think I’d better go too.”

452 raised her brows. “That’s what you said last night.”

Alec froze. What did she mean by that? “Well, I had to go,” he pointed out, keeping his voice level.

She shrugged. “Just that it sounds like an escape line to me.”

His eyes rounded, suddenly feeling indignant. “Escape? From what?”

She shrugged again. “You tell me.”

Alec regarded her silently. He obviously had not done a good job at hiding his hurry to get out of her cell last night, and she had noticed it. Well, what can he say? That his own thoughts freaked him out?

Come to think of it, why was she making such a big deal out of it?

Then he realised what he has to do to diffuse the situation.

He leaned over the table, close to her, wanting to smirk when her eyes flickered in uncertainty. “Look, 452, I know I’m that good, and you missed me, but do we have to do this in public? We have all night tonight,” he whispered near her ear. The smirk he had been suppressing broke out on his face when her flashing eyes met his. He was guessing that she would be pissed off enough that she would either punch him or just walk away after that line.

To his surprise, she countered with a smirk of her own. “Already thinking about tonight, 494? Sounds like you’re the one doing the missing,” she drawled huskily.

Damn, it backfired. “Just eager to complete our mission, 452,” he said, trying to keep his voice level. The way she was looking at him was reminding him of the more pleasurable aspects of last night. Suddenly he wanted the night to arrive sooner. Alec groaned inwardly when he realised what he was thinking of. Why the hell was it so hard to remain detached?

She stood up, taking her tray. Walking around the table to where he was still sitting, she leaned down over his back. Her hand found his shoulders and her fingers lightly traced the curve of his neck.

Alec fought to keep still when her soft lips grazed his ears. “I’m looking forward to it, soldier,” she whispered, her breath tickling his ear.

And then with a parting grin, she walked away, leaving him sitting very uncomfortably on his chair.

………………………….

With a full day of training, it did not take long before she realised that it was that time again. 452 sat on her bunk, wondering which 494 would be walking through the door.

Was it going to be the efficient Manticore soldier?

Or the person bent on avoiding her?

452 grinned. Yeah, 494 was definitely trying to avoid her, she was sure of it now especially after that stint in the mess hall. She still did not know why. But whatever it was, it did not stop him from reacting to her. Whether he wanted it or not, 494 was affected by her, she noted with a surging feminine pride. She had seen it in his eyes and the way he held himself when she was close.

Inside, she knew that she hoped that he would turn up and carry on as they did last night. It had been a pleasant surprise to find out that they were sexually compatible. If she was honest with herself, it was the last thing she had expected at that time. Now she had to admit that she was actually looking forward to their session tonight.

Their attraction was a two-way thing. That was quite obvious. She was just as affected as he was. But why?

She knew that it should not matter. After all, it was just a mission and she probably would not see him again once she got pregnant.

But somehow, it mattered.

Many things did not make sense to her ever since her injury. Her unexplained feelings for her breeding partner were one of them. Her attraction to 494 went against all she had been taught. Emotional or even physical entanglement was prohibited. She knew that. But she could not seem to get him out of her mind. This mission was supposed to be straightforward, but to her, it was far from it.

Not to mention that there was this restlessness inside her which she could not quite place. Something was telling her that she was missing something important. What could it be?

The sound of footsteps outside her cell cut into her thoughts.

A moment later, 494 stepped into her cell, his expression not giving anything away. It made her want to rattle him, to wipe off that bland expression.

“452,” he greeted with a nod as the guard closed the door.

She got up from her bunk. “Right on time, 494,” she said.

He stood there, and if she had not known better, she would have sworn that he looked somewhat ill at ease. But Manticore soldiers were never ill at ease, at least not outwardly. They had been all trained to cover up their emotions.

And then, an idea came to her, making her grin inwardly. It would be fun to see how far she could unhinge him.

She stepped towards him slowly, her hips swaying seductively, her body already heating up at the anticipation of what the night will bring. Hopefully it would be just as good as before, she thought as she removed her top. His eyes were already glazed with passion, she noticed with satisfaction.

“Missed me, 494?” she asked, just at arms length away from him.

He smirked and nodded at her missing shirt. “It seems like you’re the one doing most of the missing, 452,” he pointed out.

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I suppose you’re not ready then?”

“I didn’t say that,” he replied much too quickly to her satisfaction. Then visibly relaxing, he said, “I’m always ready.”

She gave him a challenging look and took another step forward, and then when they were almost touching, she locked her eyes onto his and brought her hands down to remove her trousers.

Suddenly, a strange feeling washed over her. Her head throbbed for an instant before an image flashed across her eyes.

She was in her cell, standing just inches from him. Her hand went down to her waistband, undoing her trousers. As she pushed it down, she said throatily, “Cat got your tongue, Alec?”

“Huh? No…No…” he said absently, distracted by her semi-nude state. “Just admiring the view,” he said with a smirk.

Her eyes snapped back into focus, her breathing shallower and she felt oddly light-headed.

What the hell was that all about?

Blinking rapidly, she noticed that 494 was watching her curiously. He must have sensed her abrupt change in mood. Brushing the weird feeling aside, she forced herself to relax. It was probably just an errant thought. Nothing to it.

“452?”

As he continued to watch her, she made herself grin and said, “Just wondering if you’ll live up to expectations tonight.”

His smirk returning, he brought his hands around her and lowered his head to her ears, letting his lips brush against her. She shivered at the contact.

“Is that a challenge, 452?” he asked hotly against her ears.

Their eyes clashed passionately and at that moment she realised that she already knew the answer to her question.

………………………..

Lying face up on her bunk, Alec closed his eyes and attempted to slow down his breathing. It had been incredible, twice now in a row. Manticore obviously knew what they were doing when they paired the two of them up. Perhaps something in their genetic code already predetermined that things would be like this between them.

It had occurred to him to wonder again what it would have been like if her memories had not been altered. Would it be just as good? Alec smirked. He had no doubt that it would be. For one, he would probably sport multiple injuries before he could get near enough to her. He also realised that it probably would not have happened so soon. There was a small, slim chance that Max would have given in at some point, it was just that he needed time and effort to persuade her.

It was probably better this way anyway.

A twinge of guilt nagged at him. Alec frowned. It was the strangest thing but he could not quite put his finger on it. Why guilt? Then after deliberating for a while, he concluded that it must be because he had not been able to keep to his own pact to remain detached from her.

He sighed inwardly. He might as well forget the idea of minimising contact with her. Something told him that it was a futile attempt on his part.

“This is the second time you’ve done that,” she remarked casually, interrupting his thoughts.

His brow furrowed. Done what? “What? You’ve lost me there, 452.”

She rolled her eyes and stood up to put her clothes on. “You’ve got an awfully short memory for a Manticore prototype. You called out the name Max for the second time now.” Then she shrugged carelessly, “Not that it has got anything to do with me, it’s just an observation, that’s all.”

Horrified, Alec tensed involuntarily. Had he been so careless to actually call out Max’s name? Damn it, where was he going to get the idea of that girl out of his mind. Never, from the looks of it. So long as 452 remained near him, he would always see a bit of Max in her. Great, now what?

“Hey, 494. It’s okay, you know,” she said, watching him curiously, no doubt wondering why he was so silent.

He knew he got to come up with something fast. “It’s just a nickname that I use to call you in my head,” he finally said, keeping his face straight. Maybe it was a good idea to just do just that, to call her by her given name, since he apparently could not keep the two of them separate.

He watched her closely, trying to gauge her reaction to his words, but her expression gave nothing away. The irony of the situation did not escape him. Max was the one who bestowed the name Alec on him, and now he was returning the gesture. Alec did not know if he should find the entire situation funny or sad.

She frowned, obviously not believing him for a second. “Right.” Then after a few seconds of deliberation, she asked, “Why?”

“Why?” he echoed, trying to buy time by playing dumb. Why? Why? Think fast!

“Why Max,” she clarified her query.

Alec shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “You just seem like a ‘Max’ to me. If it bothers you, I’ll try to stop.”

She just looked at him silently, appearing to mull over his words.

The silence was making him uncomfortable. Turning away from her, he stooped down to grab his pants. Pulling it on, he said casually, “Look, it’s no big deal, alright.”

The sound of her sigh made him glance over his shoulders.

“I kind of like it.”

Surprise, he turned to face her, not quite believing what he was hearing. “What?”

“The name. It’s not too bad,” she admitted.

“Right. So, Max it is then,” he said, suddenly feeling inexplicably relieved.

“What about you?”

“You can call me Alec,” he said slowly. Then he stiffened as he watched her eyes flicker. Did she remember?

She did not say anything for a while, and that fuelled his nervousness. Then she spoke. “Alec,” she said, as if she was testing the name on her tongue.

He raised a questioning brow. Then when she continued, he had to stop himself from expelling the breath he had been holding.

“I think that’ll work.”


t.b.c.

A/N: Okay, I suppose you can guess what’s coming up next, huh? (*winks*) I’m looking forward to your reviews. Please drop me a few words to let me know what you think. It encourages me to write!!