And my first Roswell fic continues…
The Return Home part 2
By Catheryne
Liz could not wait to see Maria. She heard from Isabel that her best friend and her longtime boyfriend Michael were returning to town today after settling down south. It probably held so many pleasant memories for them that they chose to go that way. Liz was thrilled at the prospect of seeing Maria again. She missed her best friend, but she knew that Maria would be happier by far with Michael out there, far from the reminders that he was meant to leave, that at any given moment, he would be called upon to support his leader and go to a place neither Liz nor Maria could imagine.
She felt that Maria's decision had been a sound one. Liz knew Maria would have been driven insane had she stayed. Maria would be at the edge of her seat every time Max stared, and Max would stare. Liz had seen the way Max turned into some soft of desperado after his son dreamwalked him. He told her about it. It happened before Max drew away from her. In fact, Liz suspected it was the main reason he changed suddenly.
It was not much of a dreamwalk. They exchanged no words really. It just so happened that Max was dreaming of the day he and Liz were walking together to the gym after Biology. And then this boy, who Max just knew was his son, walked through the corridor. That was all. And that , also, was everything.
"What time would she arrive? Did she say?"
Isabel's head dropped onto the table. "For the twenty eighth time, Elizabeth Parker, they are due to arrive noon."
"But that's like, right now!" Isabel rolled her eyes heavenward. "Sorry, Isabel. I'm just really looking forward to it," she grinned.
Liz looked up to see Max stroll into the diner, just in time. He would never come here too late. No, not the prompt, ever disciplined leader of the Pod Squad. And he would never come in too early either. He was all business, and would not waste his precious time chatting. Besides, she might even walk over to him and decide to talk. Talk, of all things! Nope. Max Evans had no time for idle chatter with someone he used to date but is casting away.
She muttered an, "Excuse me," to Isabel and stood up to leave.
"Liz."
She walked on, pretending not to have head.
"Liz!" he said, louder and sharper this time.
"What, Max?" she finally demanded, eyes blazing. "Are you going to tell me anything new, anything I don't know?" Max kept quiet. "I thought so." And then she entered the kitchen.
~~
It was already noon when Maria drove them into Roswell. Since the sun was high, there were not a lot of people milling about. She squinted her eyes at the sun glaring into her eyes. Noticing this Michael reached out to pull the visor down, and she gave him a lopsided grin of thanks.
"Oh don't thank me. I knew what I was in for when I went and got involved with a blonde," he teased.
"Very funny, Michael. I know the reason you're hooked with me is coz you couldn't resist my eraser room charms," she retorted.
"Yeah you were always a good kisser," he admitted.
She waited for the rest of the flattery, but when none came her eyebrow arched and she prodded, "And?"
"Huh?"
"And what, Michael? I must be more than that," she said as they pulled into an empty parking space in front of the Crashdown.
"Oh of course!" Maria smiled in satisfaction. "You've got fantastic legs. Every guy gets jealous when we walk into a room together, especially when you're wearing something short."
"Ah, you asshole!"
"You love it."
"Yeah, coz I'm blonde."
"Ouch." Michael stepped out of the passenger seat and hurried over to Maria's side as she unbuckled her seatbelt. He opened the door, and watched fondly how her legs stretched to the pavement. Maria caught his eyes and blushed. No matter how many years they've been together, the thrill of knowing that she held such an attraction for him would never leave her.
"Thanks. I'll hold the door open for you next time," she teased. She knew Michael didn't feel at ease when she commented on the little habit he developed during their time together. In answer Michael chucked her chin affectionately. Marveling at the blush rushing up his cheeks, she continued, "And to think that I was the one catering to you hand and foot when I was chasing after you."
"Don't remind me of that," he mumbled. "I was a first class jerk."
"No. You were just Michael," she said softly.
"I don't know whether to be offended or pleased."
Maria stood on the tips of her toes and pulled him down for a quick kiss. When she turned to go into the diner, he caught her arm. She looked back at him askance, and he shrugged. "You know last few months I worried whether or not we're getting stagnant, that we're not in love like we were."
"Oh Michael," she exclaimed quietly, hurting. "Don't think that. It's just that we've been so much involved in our lives these five years. We don't see ourselves as anything else. Maybe if we had a fight, or broken up, or been mad at each other even once after we got back together that time with Billy, it would have been exciting, and—"
He shushed her with a finger on her lips. "That doesn't matter now. What I wanted to say, before you interrupted me the way you keep doing every time I have an important announcement, is that even though I worried that there wasn't much excitement anymore, or that we've fallen out of love and just staying together because that's all we know… Well, that looks so stupid after this ride, because I realized the moment we drove in, and I saw you just like the way you were when I abducted you in high school," he said with a faint smile, "I cannot remember a time when I was more in love with you."
Maria bit her lip, and even though her eyes grew moist, she swallowed and said, "God, I hate it when we go all sentimental!" And then she hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him down. When their lips met, Michael's hands cupped her bottom, and he lifted her for a lingering, and very gentle kiss.
Moments passed, but neither was aware until an overwhelming need for air possessed them. Reluctantly they pulled away, and Maria rested her forehead over the erratic beating of his heart and she tried to draw in oxygen to feed her starving lungs. She felt Michael drop a kiss on the top of her head. His chest rumbled when he spoke. "Let's go inside."
~~
Maria and Michael entered the diner, and spotted Isabel and Max instantly. She felt him draw a deep breath, and she closed her hand around his firmly. She fought the urge to grab it tight and not let go. He looked down at her, and she thought she saw a flicker in his eyes, as though he was waiting for him to ask that he stay with her. But she did not want to hold him back. She smiled and whispered, "Have fun catching up," although she knew it was not pleasantries he would be sharing.
"You too."
They parted there. She, to go to her best friend at the bar. He, to the table where his… brother and sister were.
"What are you planning to do, Max?" he asked his friend.
"Do you have to ask, for someone who's devoted his life to finding that way to get home?" Max's voice was quiet, his gaze intense.
"I'm not sure that I want to," Michael replied carefully.
"That's bullshit, Michael!"
Isabel winced at the tone of her brother's voice. "Max, just listen to the guy first."
"Listen to yourself. Just remember everything you told me when I fell for Liz. I knew it wasn't a good idea to let you go off with Maria out of New Mexico. Is she giving you a hard time?" he demanded. Max's gaze shifted to the bar, where Maria and Liz were laughing together. Liz saw him looking at them, and sent him a scathing glare.
"Leave her out of this."
"Why? She's the one who insisted on getting involved in the first place." Michael shook his head, as though disgusted. "Can't you see how I'm just throwing everything you said back onto your face?" Max asked calmly.
"Look," Michael explained, "Maria just wants me to find my destiny. I'm just not sure where it is anymore."
"You know where your destiny is, Michael."
"Do I?"
"You've known it since you were a child."
"If that's my destiny then I'm not sure if I want to follow it anymore."
"It's written in the stars."
Isabel shook her head. "You're crazy, Max. Get up. I'm getting out of this conversation." Max slid off the booth and allowed Isabel to pass. He opened his mouth, but Isabel beat him to it. "I'll be back when you've settled this. I will not watch a verbal pingpong then be asked to break a tie." She walked over to where Liz and Maria were animatedly catching up.
"Look, Max. I refuse to accept that I am a slave to my destiny." He followed Isabel with his gaze. When she sat next to Maria, his eyes shifted.
Max could see the way Michael physically looked softer when he watched his girlfriend, so he tried a different tact. "I can see why you're crazy about the girl." Michael's gaze snapped back to his friend. "She's beautiful."
Despite his teasing remarks to Maria about how much she had going for her earlier in the car, Michael told Max, "She's gorgeous. And she's got the biggest heart in the world. She's talented. And she's forgiving."
"Perfect," Max summed up. Michael nodded. "You think she's destined for greatness?"
"I know it."
"And what's she doing now?" Michael's jaw tightened, and again he looked over at Maria. "Last I heard she's a secretary at some law office." Michael refused to comment. "Hearing her, seeing her, I would have thought she'd be big deal right now. But I've not seen anything at the record store that's got Maria de Luca on it."
"She's a big deal to me, Max."
Max nodded. "But do you think she's a big deal to herself? Can you live with the fact that you're keeping her from her dreams, Michael? Billy was right, you know. She's talented. And I know she's stuck right where she is now because of us." He refrained from saying 'you,' but he knew Michael would process it as such.
"What do you mean?"
"She wants to keep a low profile. She knows too much attention on her would reflect on you. Michael, Maria is hiding in the shadows with you, because you can survive only in shadow."
Michael could think of no fitting reply. It was lame, overused, but it was all he knew that would balance everything out in his mind. "I love her."
"Then think about it. I'll give you until tomorrow." Max stood and counted some bills to leave on the table. Before he left, he laid his hand on Michael's back. "Personally, I think she deserves to shine in the light."
Maria watched Max leave Michael, and saw how her boyfriend's shoulders uncharacteristically slumped. She wondered what Max told him, and how she would fix it.
"I'll see you at home, Isabel," Max called to her sister before he was out the door.
Maria approached Michael with a smile, knowing he needed as much brightness as she could provide after seeing Max and facing again memories of a destiny he had chosen to abandon the quest for years ago. "Hey," she greeted. She placed the glass of softdrinks before him. "Have some Coke."
Michael looked at her as she sat down in front of him. He squeezed her hand. "Sing to me tonight, Maria, before we sleep."
Tbc
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