Title: Unicorn Tears
Author: Gis
Rating: PG-13
Category: Michael/Maria
Summary:  The most AU fic I've ever written, and it's M&M...do you need any more of a reason to read it?  Okay, okay…In a world of lost legends and folklore, one unicorn finds the truth.
Disclaimer: If I owned Roswell I'd be writing episodes, not fanfiction.
Author's Note: This is my first Roswell fic, so a little feedback would be nice.

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~Part Seven~

Two broken vases, five toppled displays, one stubbed toe, and four pairs of strappy sandals latter, Michael and Maria had finally picked their way through the main stores of Albythia. So what if one of the display things had been knocked over by him? It had still been her fault. He wouldn't be running into things in the first place if he didn't have to keep such a close eye on her.

"Michael?"

"Hmm?" he asked, sitting on a bench close by and resting his head back. Who knew window shopping with a woman could be so utterly exhausting? Why any man would want to intentionally put himself through this torture, he would never know.

"Liz told me that her father has a business here in town." Michael opened his eyes and looked back up at her. He had been avoiding the Parkers like the plague since the...incident. He hoped she wasn't going in the direction she sounded with this. "Can we go see it?"

He should have known he wasn't that lucky.

Staring at her for a moment, Michael stood up, letting out a long huff. He couldn't believe he was actually going to allow her to drag him to that place. There must be something seriously wrong with him.

"Sure, but just for a little while. I want to have every part of my body fully in tact when I go to sleep tonight," he muttered, starting to head in the direction of the hotel.

When he noticed that she wasn't following him, he turned around to look at her. Maria's eyes had glazed over and her knuckles had turned a ghostly shade of white as her tiny hands clutched tightly into fists, her fingernails digging deep into her skin.

"Maria?" Hurrying back to her, Michael brought both of his hands up to cup her cheeks as he searched her face. "Maria, what's wrong?"

The energy that she felt shooting out through his fingertips made her jump, causing her to realize where she was - in the middle of town, with Michael standing right in front of her. She closed her eyes for a moment, forcing the abrupt warnings she had felt back into her subconscious where they wouldn't get her into trouble. There wasn't any possible way she could explain them to him, and even if she could there was nothing he could do to help her.

Soon. She would have to leave soon.

"I'm fine," she whispered, clearing her throat to speak louder. "I haven't eaten in a while. I need something to eat."

Nodding his head, he wrapped an arm around her waist, making sure she was steady. "There's a café inside of the hotel that the Parkers run. It's not far; we can get you something to eat there."

She smiled weakly at him, allowing his arm to guide her there. For some strange reason she felt comforted by it, as his body heat seeped into her skin, warming her.

It didn't take them long to reach the inviting structure where they entered through the small door in front and made their way over to a table covered with a bright, cheerful cloth.

Liz had just come out of the kitchen in back after speaking with her father when she spotted two of the most unlikely customers she could ever imagine sitting down at one of the small tables inside of the café. She pinched her eyes shut before opening them once more, as Michael graciously pulled out a chair for Maria and helped her to sit down.

She'd stepped out of the kitchens and into another dimension. No...she'd fallen asleep at home out of exhaustion and her trip here had all been a complete dream. Yes, that must have been it! Michael Guerin couldn't possibly be there right now, talking to someone without a scowl on his face.

As Gracie was making her way passed the stunned girl, Liz put a hand on her arm to stop her. "I'll get their order, Gracie. You can take a short break now, if you like."

The young girl smiled at Liz and said, "Thank you miss." Then made her way into the backroom.

Michael watched Maria from across the table near the large window. She had insisted that she was fine, but her cheeks were still slightly drained of color and she had absently been rubbing her palms where her nails had bitten into the flesh as she had stood at the side of the road looking terrified.

Something was wrong.

"Maria, are you sure-"

"Maria, hi! I didn't expect to see you here," Liz said, as she approached the table where the man she was furious at and the girl she'd become recently close to were sitting. "Did you just come to visit, or did you want something to eat?" she asked, noticing her friend's slightly pale cheeks. She would probably look worse if she'd had to spend a large amount of time with that arrogant jerk.

"Hey Liz," Michael mumbled in greeting, clenching his jaw and keeping his gaze locked on the wall opposite him.

Turning towards him with a mock smile, Liz stared at him. "Michael. Would you like to hear the special for the day, or would that also be considered an 'unwanted, uninformed Parker opinion'?" she asked, folding her arms angrily in front of her.

With a closed off expression, he glanced at her, "Nothing for me thanks, just Maria." If he ordered something from here, it was more than likely to come out of the kitchen covered in spit. He'd rather cook himself something at home.

"Is it possible to have some carrots or oats? Berries even, if you have some?" she asked quietly, smiling up at Liz.

"I can have the cook make you up some oatmeal with fruit," Liz offered, knowing that the girl must have some rather strange eating habits from living alone in the forest for so long.

Maria nodded, looking back down at her hands, trying desperately to clear her head. "That sounds nice, thank you."

Liz smiled at her before heading back into the kitchen to place her order.

"I was going to meet Liz after this, so you can go now if you need to." As much as part of her wished he would stay, she wasn't sure that she could deal with him continuously staring at her. She knew that telling her secrets to this human was forbidden, but it felt so much like she was lying to him, and for some unexplainable reason she didn't want to lie to him.

Michael watched her for another moment, finally looking down and licking his lips. "Okay." Standing up from the table, he glanced once more towards the kitchen area where Liz had disappeared to. "Will you be there tonight?" he asked, hoping for another night away from the campfire.

Maria nodded her head as she bit her lip, absently playing with the napkin on the table.

Running a hand through his unruly hair, Michael sighed. "All right."

Waiting for another moment, he finally walked out of the café, leaving her in Liz's care.

. . .

There was a slight haze covering the moon tonight, transparent and nearly a grayish color. Michael smiled; there would be rain soon, which was good for their dry plants. He just hoped it would be here and pass before Max and Liz's wedding, although it would be quite a site to see a rain-soaked Liz finally loose her cool and curse everything alive within a one hundred foot radius. He knew the beast was in there, somewhere, just waiting to be let out.

After waiting for nearly an hour near the edge of the forest, Michael finally heard Maria's footsteps behind him. He smiled up at her as she stood watching the men, the lazy moon lighting up a small portion of her face.

"You brought a blanket," she said quietly, looking down at him.

Michael shrugged slightly, resting his arms on his bent knees as he leaned against a tree. "I thought it would be nicer than sitting on the hard ground."

Smiling slightly, Maria sat down next to him, bringing her legs up to rest her chin on. "It's nice."

They sat in silence for a long while, both of them listening to the loud banter going on around them. It was something Maria knew she would miss when she left.

"Liz wants me to help her tomorrow with some of her wedding plans," Maria told him, looking over to where he was sitting.

Michael nodded his head, keeping his gaze held in the fire. "I have to work in the fields. Make up for the work we'll all be missing for Max's wedding," he told her, shrugging his shoulders.

She looked forward again, listening as a song broke through the cluster of men. It was odd how no one ever seemed to notice when the human sitting next to her was absent at the fire pit.

Picking up a small package that had been lying next to him, Michael played with the string holding the brown paper together for a moment, not quite sure how he should give it to her. Taking a deep breath he finally thrust it out towards her, mumbling a soft, "Here."

Maria looked over at him, eyeing the object he was waving in front of her. Looking up at him, slightly confused, she gently took it from him, running her hand over it. "Thank you, it's very nice." She wasn't exactly sure what she was suppose to use it for, but she would enjoy looking at it anyway.

Creasing his eyebrows together, Michael frowned. She hadn't even opened it yet, how could she... Oh.

"You're suppose to unwrap it," he said, an amuzed smile dancing in his eyes.

Glancing over at him, she pursed her lips together. "Unwrap it?"

"Yes, pull the string and the paper off."

"Oh." She looked down at the square object, slowly pulling at the wrapping. As the paper fell away, she ran her hand over the leather-bound cover, enjoying the smoothness of the surface before opening it to find page after page inside crisp and blank.

"It a journal," Michael supplied, scratching the back of his neck. "I got it in town just after I left the café. This way you don't have to leave to be able to write things down."

Maria smiled over at him. It was the most beautiful gift anyone had ever given her. "Thank you."

He grinned back, happy that she liked it. "You're welcome."

They both fell into a comfortable silence, watching the men for the rest of the night.