Chapter 36

Maya and Axton were alone as the AE jeep was long gone from their vision. As the wind filled the silence, the two Vault Hunters had nothing to do but to go back to the motel. So they both turned to their backs and walked towards the motel. From blue sky to warm orange, night was about to come and their belly was going empty since the last time they ate was lunch.

Axton breathed in the deep breath. "So Maya." He looked at Maya and started the talk. "What now?"

"Huh?" Maya responded.

"You know, I never expected to meet you really." Axton told her. "Red told me that you were busy with your Siren training so I kinda expected to just meet you after you finished with what you doing."

"So you came just to meet with Red? You never want to meet me?"

"Yeah." Axton raised his brows. "I mean, you are busy. But hey, now you're here, you have anything that you want to do? Shoot some psychos? Have a beer? You know, the usual down time that we often do."

"Oh I never thought about it. I just wanted to move away from the Siren stuff for a while." Maya remarked. She went quiet and thought for a moment.

This is kinda weird. Axton wondered. She never been this open towards me, heck towards anyone really. If this was Salvador then we would blow stuff up. Guess sitting in a cave really make a difference.

Honestly I want to spend time with Axton alone. Maya thought in her head. But I don't want him to know that I want to spend time alone with him. I mean, he chilled with Lilith and there was no problem. Maybe if I just told him, he won't think too much.

"We can go back to Overlook if you want to." Axton pointed at his new pickup truck. "Just take a few hours and-"

"No!' Maya blurted.

"What?" Axton was shocked.

Maya suddenly realized that she was out of character, she quickly turned back to the monotonous her. "I mean… don't you think it's kinda far? Why not we just… you know… chill."

"Chill?" Axton digested the word then stopped. "Okay what the fuck happened to you Maya?"

Maya walked a few steps forward and stopped suddenly, she looked at Axton. "What's wrong? Did I say something bad?"

"You said chill." Axton pointed out. "When the hell do you ever say that? Heck, that's my word. Are you sure you're okay Maya? I mean sitting in a cave for a few months is kinda not healthy?"

Her intention was to not get caught that she wanted to spend with him but it seems that Axton might see right through her. Rather Axton started to suspect her true intentions and she doesn't even like it at the slightest. She started to panic, she didn't know how to cover it or make it sound natural to hang out with Axton. She looked down, her face blushing red and her blue Siren Channels made it more obvious. She was truely clueless on what she was supposed to do. So Maya stood there like a pole in front of Axton.

All her life, Axton was the first man she had a liking towards. Being introverted does not help her on how she should express her feelings.

As for Axton, he was deeply concerned about his blue Siren friend. Indeed, she was more attractive than ever with that body of hers and new hair. But seeing her change in the way she talks so drastically, it was downright worrying. Usually she never opened her mouth, occupied with the books that she would bring almost all the time. She was straightforward and only talked whenever necessary. Now, it was upside down as she was more expressive and could joke and laugh together. She's all over the place and giving mixed messages. Her feet tapped restlessly. She was avoiding eye contact. The way she stood as if she wanted to jump away but at the same time she wanted to stay

What is going on? thought Axton.

Then The Commando stopped thinking. Suddenly everything connected. Like a light bulb turned on, he finally understood what was going on. Axton smiled kittishly and if he was a kitten, he would pur.

"Oh…" Axton said.

"What?" Maya looked at Axton.

"Nothing." Axton sighed then looked at the motel. "I think I should grab the keys." Axton started to walk.

"Wait." Maya caught up with Axton and walked in front of him. "Where are we going?"

"I think we need to meet you up with Zed. Staying in a cave for too long get you some diseases by the looks of it." Axton glanced at Maya. "Look, there's something different about you. Jeez…"

Axton walked quicker while Maya covered her face, wondering what's wrong with herself. No matter what, she panicked and stopped Axton from moving by grabbing his shoulder.

"Now now Ax…" Maya pulled his shoulder and made him face her. "I'm fine. See? Healthy like always. Healthier even."

"Tsk tsk tsk." Axton shook his head. "You sure? Your face is so red Maya."

"Really?!?!" Maya gasped.

"See? Clearly you have a fever." Axton shook his head again but in all honesty, he wanted to cover his smile. He was clearly enjoying this. "I'll get the keys and we go back to Overlook ASAP."

"No!" Maya argued. "I'm fine like always Ax, totally fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm perfectly sure."

"No weird feeling whatsoever?"

"Yes!" Maya answered.

"Alright." Axton shrugged. "Just checking, nothing personal."

"Finally…" Maya let out a long sigh, they were just talking yet she felt that she put too much effort to make sure that Axton didn't see that she liked him.

Axton nodded and just looked at Maya but deep down, he was liking the teasefest. Maya changed a lot after being with the two soldiers and with all honesty, Axton welcomed the change. Maya from the past would just be quiet with her books and never talked or even open to anything unless she needed to. She was rigid and Axton had to put in a lot of effort just to have a conversation and more often than not, she would acknowledge and move away. This new Maya who has longer hair was relaxed, carefree and playful. An unexpected but welcome surprise. As a friend, Axton was happy to see Maya changed for the better.

Axton let out a small laugh and shook his head. "Oh man oh man." He mumbled.

Maya took a deep breath and put a hand on her head. Quite dizzy and overwhelmed by the conversation; fortunately it had ended. Maya looked at Axton and it seemed that he didn't suspect anything about her feelings. She wanted it to be that way and stay that way. Maya missed her friends back in Overlook, specifically for now, she wanted some personal time with Axton. It was normal for them to hang out and chat even though it was not too often. So why should Axton even need to know that she has some feelings towards him?

"Do you like me Maya?" Axton looked into her eyes.

Her eyes joined together with his and her heart skipped a beat. A moment of silence between the two.

Axton showed his smile to Maya and no longer acted as if it was a layback conversation. Perhaps Axton was enjoying it with a smile but the question was nothing short of serious.

"Say again?" Maya spoke.

"Oh come on Maya… I'm not speaking French." Axton put his hands behind his back and moved around with a playful manner. "Do you like me?" Axton's smile widened ever more.

Maya was not prepared for such a question and she gave a blank face. Clueless of what she should do, she doesn't know whether she should be honest with her feelings or lie to save face.

Maya's knee jerk reaction was "No.".

She quickly covered her mouth and regretted the decision.

"Oh!" Axton was slightly surprised but kept his cool. "I guess that means we need to go back to Overlook…"

"Why?!?!" Maya responded.

"Because we can't stay together alone Maya." Axton folded his arms together. "I mean it's kinda not a good thing really. You're a girl, I'm a boy. You see where this going and we should not stay together alone."

Axton was now fishing and he had already thrown the hook to the sea. He could feel the hook was touched and he knows that today will be one heck of a catch.

"Look." Maya pinched the skin between her eyes and frowned. "We've been on missions together alone and you don't have any problem with that. So what's wrong with us chilling together? Like there's no difference at all if you look at it."

"That was back then Maya." Axton looked up and shrugged. "Now you said that you don't like me, it kinda changes a lot of things. I don't want to force you to be with me. I mean at the very least, we need to have a common ground. Don't you think?"

"Look I didn't say that I hate you." Maya looked to the side and broke eye contact. "I don't hate you Axton…"

"But you said that you don't like me." Axton was pulling back his line and he knew that he was at least getting something. "I mean it doesn't get any clearer than-"

"How can we be friends if I hate you?" Maya stared back at Axton eyes again and somewhat quite frustrated. "I mean come on!"

"But you said no." Axton had a smug smile. "Don't lie to me Maya."

"Yes I did! But I didn't said that I hate you." Maya groaned. "Ugh… It's complicated."

"Yes and no it's kinda not complicated." Axton thought. "Obviously you said no."

"No."

"So you don't like me then?"

"Yes." Maya loudly said then regretted. "I mean no!"

"So you like me then."

"Yes, I like you Axton!" Maya confessed.

Fuck, she said it. Axton was taken aback; he had pulled the biggest catch more than he ever thought he could get.

Moments later, her face started blushing more than ever. She was embarrassed but she already confessed her true feelings. Whether it was right or wrong, Maya could not say. Her heart was beating fast but the weight of her shoulder was no more. No matter what, she felt the need to speak out.

"Yes, I like you Axton and I want to spend time with you."

All started with a playful tease now turned to a serious confession. Axton's smug smile turned to straight lips and raised brows. How the tables have turned.

"I don't know how to say it but ever since I'm busy with my Siren things, a lot of things have happened." Maya continued. "I just… I just want to spend time with you. I kinda missed you too and maybe if we can, maybe we could just hang out like we used to. We don't usually do it but it's not wrong right?"

Maya lowered her eyes and tapped her backfoot, not knowing the reaction of The Commando in front of her. Anxious.

Axton did not expect the confession would have a serious mood to it. it was reflective with who Maya was, a serious yet sincere woman. His expectation was that it was going to take more than a few weeks to get her to finally confess. With the short amount of time that it took, it showed how much has changed. He never really knew what to do if Maya really liked him; let alone if she even had an interest in the first place. But for Axton, whether or not Axton liked Maya, it was somewhat undetermined. A lot of things have happened ever since Handsome Jack.

The man coughed and adjusted his throat. "Well… I appreciate your feelings Maya… this gets awkward really quick."

"I'm sorry Ax but I'm kinda tired with what I'm going through." Maya timidly explained. "I know it's kinda heavy on you and that's why I don't want to tell you. All I want is just chill and chat with you together. I'm sorry that I pushed you away back then but whenever you check on me, it really helped me a lot. It just let all the stress out. So… thanks Axton."

"Your welcome… uhh… don't sweat on it." Axton scratched his head, he just wanted to talk to everyone so the praise was not needed. He was not used to being praised.

Axton felt somewhat guilty seeing Maya going through a tough time talking to him. Guess he should be more understanding when it comes to Maya. The man let out a breath and approached Maya. Putting his hand on her back and smiling at her. The Iconic Axton smile.

"Well you could've been honest like you usually do. But then again, it won't be as fun as now."

Maya pushed his shoulder and gave a cute face. "You're my first time, you think it's easy??"

"Alright, alright I get it." Axton chuckled as he managed to lighten up the mood. "Sorry Maya."

Maya pushed his shoulder again and Axton continued to smile. Despite her awkward social antics, Axton never thought he would see Maya this cute. He looked at the sky and now he could see the stars; night has arrived. He thought of an idea to make it even with Maya.

"Hey Maya." Axton called.

Maya gave her attention.

"You wanna get some pizza?" Axton suggested. "I don't know how to cook and the motel doesn't have any vending machine. I know a great pizza place to hang out. What do you think?"

Maya thought for a moment. "Is it the Zafords back at Overlook?"

"Zafords only sell Whiskies Maya."

"Promise me we're not going back to Overlook. Okay?"

"A-Okay!" Axton gave a thumbs up. "This new pizza place is the bomb!"