Title: A King Among Commoners

Author: RavenWolf

Feedback: ravenwolf1414@yahoo.com

Pairing: Hints of Max/Liz and Max/Tess.

Rating: G

Summary: Max goes to take his place among the stars. Liz POV.

A/N: Set during the end of S2. Alternate ending, in which the aliens do take the granolith to Antar.

~~~

Strangely, you never seemed like a king to me, Max. You were always so humble in your ways, such a sweet, loveable person that it felt like I could forgive you anything in a heartbeat. I know you perceived me as the innocent one, the one who needed protecting, but really, it was you. You with your deep, dark, deadly secret, locked in a cage that your soul was never meant to bear.

I tried to help, I swear I did. All I wanted was to make you happy. And I know you loved me, as I loved you. But you were all wrapped up in a destiny that, like a spider web, just wouldn't let you go.

It's no wonder I got confused. So many different directions to be pulled in, so many people trying to get me to believe. Tess, you, Isabel, Maria, Nasedo, your mother. Everyone saying something different. I'm not like you, Max. I'm only human. I can only take so much. Sometimes it amazes me how much weight you carry on your shoulders, and yet how high you hold your head. I can't do that, Max. I just can't.

In the end, ironically, it was you who broke us. Not the you I knew, but another one. A distant, future Max that came back to tear us asunder. And I let him, Max. Sure, I believed what he said, just the same as I knew he was you. There were no lies in those amber eyes. But the point was that I gave up. I let you convince me that we weren't worth fighting for. That we were just a mistake, and a deadly one at that. For all I know, we were. But I let him convince me, and I let him ruin us.

After that, things were never the same. You found it hard to believe, I know. But I said it enough times that even I believed. I want you to know, though. I still loved you. You were still Max, and I still held your bleeding heart in my hands. Nothing had changed, and yet, everything was different.

I trusted you, Max. I want you to know that. I thought that you were beautiful. I thought that your beauty was untouchable. That you would never change, no matter how the waves crashed against you.

I was wrong.

I'd like to blame Tess. I really, really would. She was a mean one, right from the beginning. Well, maybe mean's not quite the right word. Single-minded. Devoted. She wanted you, and she would get you, no matter the cost. It didn't help that I encouraged her along. I would like to say that it was she who broke you, but the truth is, I don't know for sure.

All I know is that you aren't the Max I knew any more. You're a king. A dictator. You no longer feel for others. You control them. I wouldn't let you control me, and I still won't.

I'm not sorry that you're leaving. You can take your place as a tyrant in the stars, because Earth won't have you anymore. I won't have you anymore.

Goodbye, Max. Send me a postcard when you get to Antar.