Aftermath

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Dominion or its characters. Hope you enjoy what I've done with them while I borrowed them :)

Author's Note: I figured that since I've done a Michael/Becca aftermath story from Ouroboros, I might as well do an Alex/Noma one too. Hope you enjoy!

*

Alex prowled down the hall to the practice arena. He needed to pound on someone. No, check that, he needed to pound on Michael if for no other reason than to get the Archangel to figure out that if he wants Alex to trust him, he needs to start being honest - about everything. But as Michael seemed to be hiding from him, and everyone, Alex would have to settle for a dummy.

"Hey!" Noma's voice called to him when he passed her without looking at her. She caught up to him easily - and why wouldn't she? She's a higher angel! - and kept pace with him as he continued towards his destination. "You okay?"

Alex snorted, unable to believe that she actually just asked him that. As he was content to let that serve as his answer, he didn't reply further. He knew she wanted some sort of assurance that he wouldn't either tell Riesen on her or kill her right here and now. She should have known that he would do neither - no matter what happened between them. Still, he couldn't exactly tell her that they were okay since they weren't.

"Look, I know you're mad-"

"Ya think?" He countered, letting his anger seep through in his tone and stopping to look at her. He turned away almost immediately, finding it hard to resist shouting at her here in the halls. Started walking again, Alex picked up his pace, hoping that would give her a hint. It didn't.

She continued as though he didn't say anything, once again chasing to catch up to him and accomplishing it easily. "But it wasn't my decision not to tell you. I mean, at least once it was revealed who you were."

At this, Alex did stop fully, unable to control his mouth any longer. "Until then you were content to lie to me? Me!" he hissed, not wanting to be heard. "We were in a relationship, how could you not tell me this?"

He hated how betrayed he sounded, and that his voice was steadily rising, but there was nothing to be done about it. The truth of the matter was that he did feel betrayed. By her. By Michael. And even by Claire, although not as much as the other two. How could they both lie to his face, day in and day out, deciding what was relevant for him to know as though he were merely a child. He was a grown damn man for God's sake; he could make his own decisions about what was relevant and what was not!

Feeling the need to burn off energy now more than ever, Alex marched into the practice arena. There were a few recruits who where training for their exams but otherwise the place was deserted. Alex glared at the newbies, easily scaring them off so that he - and apparently Noma whom had entered right behind him - could have the place to himself. Once the recruits left, Noma shut the door, locking it with practiced ease. Although being behind closed doors with a higher angel wasn't always a good thing, even now Alex knew he could trust Noma - at least where his safety was concerned; where his heart was involved was questionable. Besides, it gave them the semblance of privacy so that they could continue their conversation where no prying ears - providing they managed to keep their voices down - could hear things that no one else is ready to know.

"I was scared, Alex," Noma said once the lock of the door had slid into place. She came around from behind him, putting her hand on his arm as though to turn him to face her, and stood face-to-face with him. Her brown eyes begged him to hear her, to understand her. Had he not been so mad, he probably would have, but right now, he just didn't want to hear anymore. She didn't seem to get that message as she continued, "Besides Michael, and later Lewis, I didn't know who I could trust. And then we got together and I was going to tell you but Michael told me not to and then we got found out and, well, you know the rest."

Alex stood before her, looking down at her with betrayal running through his veins, poisoning his heart. To a degree he did understand, but he couldn't, wouldn't, let it soften him just yet.

"You could have trusted me," he pointed out, not bothering to keep the anger from his tone. He leaned in again, knowing that what he would say next would only drive the knife that stuck out of her heart in deeper. Good, it matched the current knife sticking out of his back. "Like I trusted you."

As expected, her eyes welled up with tears. Alex walked away so that he didn't have to see it, knowing that he wouldn't be able to remain mad at her if he did. Instead, he walked over to where the dummy stood and began pounding on it, not bothering to check of Noma remained in the room or not.

For what felt like hours, Alex wailed on that dummy. He took out every ounce of hurt, betrayal, and rage he could find, drawing them from him like the poison he knew them to be. His arms were tired, his breathing was becoming labored, and his knuckles bled but he refused to stop. He couldn't stop. He needed to get this all out in order to get over it. Blood smeared on the dumy's face as his last punch opened a cut up wider and it was then that he stopped, panting to catch his breath.

"Feel better?" Noma asked from behind him. She was close, though. Close enough to breathe on his neck and he spun around, prepared to try and choke her out of pure instinct. She easily blocked his attempt and pushed him against the nearest wall, pinning him there as though to prove her strength over his. "Higher angel, remember?"

He glared at her, not appreciating her sense of humor at the moment and she raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" she said, "Too soon?"

Something about the familiarity made him crack a smile and before he knew it, or could stop it, Alex was laughing. Noma kept the a teasing look on her face for a second longer and then she joined in, the smile brightening her beautiful eyes. She let go of him and stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So, are we good?" she asked, bringing the seriousness back into the room.

Alex sighed. "I don't know, Noms," he answered, using her nickname. He shook his head, hoping that that would provide some sort of insight as to how he should proceed and what he should do. But when nothing came, he sighed again and used his stiff and slightly swollen hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Gentle hands grabbed hold of his hand and pulled it down so that he could look her in the face. Her sincerity was obvious as she said, "Whatever I may have kept from you about who I am, I never lied to you about how I felt." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Think on that while you decide if you're still mad at me."

She left him with that little gem, closing the door to the arena behind her with a resounding clack. As though her presence had been the only thing holding him up, Alex sank to the floor and cradled his head in his hands.

Man, he thought, how did things get so screwed up?

Fin