"Matt, you didn't have to let me stay with you. The hotel was fine. I don't want to be a burden," Max protested for the hundredth time as Matt led her into his luxury apartment on the North side of Gotham.
It had been two days since her arrival in Gotham and Matt had decided since she would be staying longer then she had originally intended that she would stay with him and even though she had protested he had refused to take no for an answer. He chuckled as he disappeared around the corner placing her bags in the guest bedroom before rejoining her in the living room.
"Max, we are practically family. It's no trouble at all. Please, make yourself at home. I'll let you get settled in while I run around the corner and pick up some dinner. Is Chinese from Mr. Chow's okay?" he asked.
She smiled brightly at the promise of having dinner from what had been one of her favorite restaurants during her younger years in Gotham. Her mother hadn't been around to cook so she had to adapt by learning to prepare quick meals and ordering out.
"Chow sounds wonderful, Matt. It's a nice place you have here. Your interior decorator has a great eye," she murmured looking around the place. It was small and compact but the furnishings were sophisticated. The living room was a burst of burgundy and gold ranging from the curtains over the windows to the throw pillows on the black leather couch. The carpet was a deep burgundy through out the house and on the walls hung different various paintings all from different parts of the world. Their was a huge plasma tv bolted to the wall over the mahogany brick fire place and a several exotic plants in several corners of the room.
"Thanks. I kinda got the skills from my mother," he said blushing lightly.
She smiled at him bemused once again marveling on how different he was from Terry. Terry never took an interest in domestic things, and where the older McGuiness lacked in interior decorating skills, Matt definitely made up the difference. She gasped delighted as a calico cat leaped from its resting place under the grain wood table that held a beautiful antique marble lamp and wrapped itself around her ankles purring sweetly.
Matt smiled surprised.
"Miko usually doesn't take kindly to people he doesn't know. He must really like you," he smiled warmly leaning back against his green marble counter with his arms folded across his chest watching Max interact with his house pet. She had knelt on the floor and was scratching the three year old feline behind the ears and Miko was enjoying every minute of it. Eventually he stopped watching them play and focused more on just watching just her. She had a huge smile stretched across her luscious lips and her eyes sparkled with merriment as she laughed softly tossing one of Niko's toys across the floor and watching him pounce on it. Seeing her so carefree, so at ease made her appear more beautiful to him. He had always had a crush on her as a kid. She was unlike most girls he had known. While most girls had been worried over the latest styles in fashion and competing in stupid popularity contests, Max had been Max. The girl who could always be found in the arcade on Friday night's challenging her high scores on the latest games and hanging out scrounging on pizza not fretting over calories or getting fat. He used to always look forward to the night's his mother had to work late because it usually meant she would come over and they would watch retro movies late into the night until he fell asleep. When she had left he had missed those times she had spent with him. He had missed her. Not as Terry's friend, or the coolest babysitter he had ever had. He had missed Max, the woman. At that moment she looked up and caught his eye and the smile she flashed him sent a warm blush creeping up his neck.
"I've always had this strange liking for cats and I never met one that didn't like me. What can I say? I'm a cat person," she said wryly rising back to a full vertical stance.
"Maybe we should have stole a suit so you could be cat woman," he teased.
Max smirked.
"Yeah, I seen that suit. It looked too tight. I probably wouldn't be able to breathe," she laughed at the thought.
"Still, I think you would have looked amazing in it.," he murmured causing her to blush.
Max bit her lip and found herself flattered by his comment.
"Thanks," she said bashfully.
He drew closer and she was amused to find he was unconsciously biting the corner of his lip with nervousness on his face.
"Max, I just wanted to say thanks for helping me with this. I don't know if I could have did this own my own and it helps to have a good friend beside me who believes in me," he said huskily leaning in and surprising her by giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Their eyes met and what Max saw in his made her smile. He was starring at her adoringly.
Flustered his cleared his throat and took a couple of steps away from her feeling awkward. Max barely could keep from laughing out loud at the cuteness of the situation but she was wise enough to know that laughing would completely shatter his ego so she forced the twitching in her lips to subside.
"I think I am going to grab a quick shower before dinner if you don't mind," she said warmly.
Matt flush deepened and he had the urge to kick himself. Max clearly wasn't taking his come on seriously.
"Me and my stupid mouth," he groaned inwardly.
"Yeah, uh, that's fine. There is clean towels on your bed. I'm going to grab dinner before the place closes. Are you going to be okay here by yourself?" he asked grabbing his wallet and jacket off the kitchen table desperate to get away feeling completely embarrassed.
Max smiled brightly.
"I'm going to be fine," she reassured before disappearing into the guest bed room.
She closed the door shut and listened for Matt's exit before giggling. Knowing that Matt had a crush on her was amusing. His comment and subtle come on had flattered her but she couldn't help to still see the bratty dweeb behind the grown mature man that he had become. Plus it would just to be weird to think of him that way...or would it?
Still giggling at the absurdity of it all she stripped out of her clothes and made her way into the bathroom where she turned the crystal knobs that released a gentle stream of steaming lukewarm water from the crystal shower head.
Gingerly she stepped into the shower, letting the water run over her body before she became lost in thought. She wondered what Terry would think if he knew Matt had romantic feelings towards her. She smiled willing to pay to see the expression on his face which would no doubt be priceless. She sighed softly as she slowly lathered herself up with soap. It didn't matter what Terry was going to think because it wouldn't change anything.
Fifteen minutes later she cut the water off and stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed. Wrapping her towel around her she walked out of the bathroom and was heading to her room when she heard movement in the living room area.
"That was fast," she called out amused before closing the room door and letting the towel fall around her feet, reaching for a change of clothes in her suitcase. Her hand paused mid air when she heard Niko hiss agitated followed by the sound of quiet cursing. Frowning she wrapped her towel around her listening for any further sounds. She heard none. In fact the house had grown quiet. Too quiet for Max's liking.
"Matt?" she called out warily.
When she got no response she knew something was wrong. Their was an intruder inside the apartment. Looking around for a weapon to use for defense her eyes fell on a
figurine of a naked woman and man wove together in a passionate embrace. Picking it up she smiled satisfied with its weight. Handled with good precision and force the object could be a deadly weapon. Creeping silently out of the guest room she crept down the hall and stopped just short of walking into the living room. Peering around the corner she inhaled sharply when she spotted the intruder standing halfway in the threshold of the front door holding his wrist with pain on his face.
"Damn cat clawed me," Terry growled shooting an evil glare at Niko who arched its back dangerously in response.
His anguish abated momentarily when he noticed she was standing in nothing but a towel. A tense moment of silence fell between them and after awhile Max began to squirm beneath his heavy stare.
"How did you find me?" she asked quietly, suddenly wishing she had gotten dressed. Standing in front of Terry half naked she felt vulnerable in more ways then one.
"Dana got the surveillance tape from a friend of someone who works at the hotel you were staying at. Further reviews of this tape showed you leaving with my brother which obviously led me here," he said evenly keeping a careful eye on the cat who was still quietly hissing at him.
He closed the front door and slowly approached her with his hands in his pockets. His demeanor seemed calm and indifferent, but his icy blue eyes told an entirely different story. He was angry. Very angry. Max gulped and forced a smile.
Max swallowed nervously.
"Well Matt isn't here so I'll tell him that you stopped by. If you don't mind I...," she gasped as he swiftly closed the distance between them cornering her against the wall with both of his hands pressed against the wall blocking her exit.
"I don't know what it is exactly that you are trying to do but dragging my brother into this was low. Real low." His voice was quiet and cold.
She tried to look calm but inside her heart was racing.
"I didn't tell your brother anything. He came to me the night of your promotion telling me that he knew what you were hiding and he wanted my help," she said quietly.
Terry's face darkened.
"If he found out on his own why didn't he just come to me. Why did he go to you?" he asked suspiciously.
Max sighed.
"He was angry that you didn't trust him enough to tell him and I actually believe that this city needs a savior," she started.
She jumped startled when he slammed his hand roughly against the wall inches from her head.
"Damn it, Max. That was not your decision to make! He is my brother! You of all people should know what that suit does to people! It forces them to lie! To be alone. I don't want that for Matt," he snarled his face inches from hers.
Max blinked back tears of anger.
"That's his choice, Terry. He wants to make a difference. It is not your place to stop him," she hissed.
"No more games, Maxine. You are going to tell me where the suits are or..."
His threat lingered in the air between them ominously and while Max was aware of how the serious the situation was she wasn't going to give into him. Not this time. She had started something and she was determined to see it through. She knew her actions could mean losing Terry forever, but if she was honest with herself she realized she never had him in the first place. Terry growled noticing the stubbornness surface in her dark beautiful face. It was an expression he always had been use to seeing on her and he knew that if she cared about something deeply she wouldn't budge and in that realization the problem lied. She wouldn't talk and he wasn't going to let her go until she did. A sardonic smile spread across his lips.
They were at a very familiar place in their relationship. They were at a standoff.