Part 46
After dinner Michael went to take a shower while Maria washed up the few dishes they had used for their takeout dinner. His thoughts were running wild as he switched the hair dryer off, finished drying his hair. He unplugged the device and put it away before running his hands through his hair and turning his head to the side to examine his reflection in the mirror. Maybe it was time for a haircut, he mused, realizing that it was longer and shaggier than he had ever let it get. He frowned. Had he even had a haircut since Maria had come to stay with him? No, he hadn't. It wasn't like he kept it very short, but he had never let it get like this. He shook his head and flipped the light switch off as he walked out into his room and threw himself down on his bed. He linked his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling as he went back to his previous thoughts.
There was no pattern to them, no order that made sense; they were just random thoughts about his double from that other universe, Maria, Dupree, and his job. He had spent most of dinner going over their conversation on the plane and he was still surprised by the sheer civility of it. She didn't understand his job, she couldn't comprehend how he did what he did and still managed to look at himself in the mirror each morning, but she hadn't judged him one single time.
Regardless of where his thoughts moved to, they always came back to the fact that she was trying to understand him. He didn't know what that meant exactly, but, he felt like maybe it was pretty important. She had touched him a lot while they were on the plane too, and she hadn't once pulled away from him. They were making progress if she was beginning to reach a point where she could touch him without looking like she had just committed some horrible crime. He nodded to himself, not even realizing that for the first time he hadn't attempted to sexualize her touches in his own mind.
He glanced towards the doorway when the sounds of people talking caught his attention and he wondered what Maria had found to watch on TV. He hauled himself out of bed and went to check it out. Just in case he was missing something good, he rationalized to himself.
The only light was provided by the television and a single lamp, but he easily made out Maria's form sitting at her end of the couch. He paused just inside the room and glanced at his chair for a few moments before skirting around it and making his way over to the couch.
Maria's face expressed surprise when he ignored his precious chair and dropped down on the couch, quickly stretching out and placing his head in her lap and propping his feet up on the opposite arm. Her gaze skimmed over him, taking in the long, bare legs exposed below his cargo shorts, and the strong, muscled shoulders visible courtesy of his tank top. He had just gotten out of the shower and he smelled better than any man had a right to; a combination of soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, and that heady scent that was uniquely Michael.
"What're we watchin'?" he mumbled after a few minutes.
"A documentary about the Caribbean; Michael and I always wanted to go there. We traveled after graduation… well, not so much traveled as ran from the government, but we did get to see some pretty cool places. It was difficult to enjoy seeing new places and all these natural wonders when we knew that there were people who would've been happy to take us into custody and kill us without a second thought. Well, they would've been happy to kill me off; I wasn't really of any interest to them - " Her gaze shot to the man lying beside her when his hand shot up to grab her wrist and he tipped his head back to meet her gaze in the near-darkness.
"He wouldn't have let that happen," he said, his tone insistent.
"Well, no, not intentionally. But, we never knew what could happen from one day to the next. I never once doubted that he would do whatever was necessary to protect me, but these people were trained government agents and - "
"Trust me on this, Maria; he wouldn't have let that happen." He released her without another word and his gaze moved back to the television as he shifted around to get comfortable again. "So, you never quite made it to the Caribbean?"
Maria shook herself out of her musings as she stared at her wrist where his big hand had been wrapped around it just moments before. "No, we never did make it there. There were times when we did really enjoy ourselves, mainly because we were alive and together, and for a short while we could lose ourselves in whatever we were seeing or doing."
Michael listened to her as she talked, not interrupting or making a single disparaging comment about his double. Feelings that he had never in his life felt began to settle over him and he was shocked to realize that they were happiness and peace. Before she had come into his life he hadn't believed that either thing truly existed, but now he knew differently… he felt differently. He felt himself relaxing even more when her fingers started to card through his hair, her nails raking gently against his scalp. Even after she fell silent and the droning voice of the man providing information off-screen was the only sound in the room, her touch continued to soothe him and he eventually started to doze off.
Maria looked down when he shifted and his head rolled towards the back of the couch, his forehead coming to rest against her stomach. She combed her fingers through his soft, shaggy hair and let them slide down to rub against the back of his neck. She could feel the tension there and she used her fingertips to massage the knotted muscles, smiling when he made a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a purr.
She watched him as he slept, wondering once again what had happened to him the night before, wondering what had changed. He had been oddly content all day and she didn't know what had caused it; he hadn't been argumentative, condescending, pissed, or just plain mean. The entire day he had been almost… pleasant. She shook her head and slouched down a little further in the cushions, and before she even realized it her eyes were sliding closed and the sound of the television faded into the background.
Several hours later Michael awoke with a start and he blinked rapidly as he tried to identify his surroundings. He felt his breathing settle and his head eased back down to rest against Maria's body. He glanced down at the arm lying across his chest and then up at her where she was slumped against the cushions, her body angled protectively over him. He wondered if that was just the way she had fallen asleep or if it had something to do with him.
His mind scrambled back to the dream that had woken him up, the images hazy now that he was awake once more. He could recall scenes of him… only, it wasn't him… walking in the rain, being driven by the need to get to the one person who understood, the one person who wouldn't turn him away. The feeling of being overwhelmed by emotions as he stood outside of a window, waiting for the one ray of light in his dark existence to notice him, to take him inside and make the pain go away, even if it was only for a little while. He had felt the walls holding his emotions back shatter in the face of her caring touches, and despite the fact that he felt like ten kinds of fool for crying in front of her, her acceptance and her complete lack of judgment had been a balm to his wounded soul.
The memories didn't belong to him, but he knew that was what they were. The images, the feelings, they weren't just random subconscious thoughts that had come together to create a dream; they were memories. Maria had never said a word to him about such a scene happening between her and his double, but he knew that was what they were. But, how was it possible? How could he possibly be remembering things that had happened to him in that other universe? He didn't understand it, but he knew without a single shadow of a doubt that the images, the feelings, from the dream belonged to his double and the woman next to him.
He started to move and the hand on his chest started to rub against him sleepily, and her lips moved as she murmured something he didn't have a prayer of deciphering. All he knew was that it continued until he settled back down against her and then she fell silent once more and her hand clenched lightly in his shirt for a moment before relaxing and lying flat against his chest. He had been intending to get up and carry her to bed, but he changed his mind and just let himself bask in the unexpected peace of the evening.
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Maria delivered another round of drinks to the quiet table in the back corner of the bar, not bothering to speak to the two men sitting there. In the almost five months that she had been working at Azrael's Sanctuary she couldn't recall either of them speaking unless it was to place an order.
She carried the empty tray back behind the counter and collected one heavily-laden with food. She glanced at the table number on the ticket and sighed, shaking her head and mentally preparing herself to fend off Novak's advances once more.
Too bad Michael wasn't there tonight, she thought as she made her way to the table. Novak minded his manners a little better when the other man's scowling presence was close by. But, unfortunately, Michael was out of town on assignment, once again protecting the Covington's, who had requested him specifically.
It was his fourth assignment since they had returned from their trip to meet Dupree nine weeks ago. This was the most dangerous one he had taken on out of the four but he hadn't been concerned about it. Not that he was ever concerned about the assignments Marcos sent him on. He was completely confident in himself and his abilities and she had learned that it wasn't conceit so much as self-assurance. No that she really cared; the important thing was that he survive the missions he was sent on.
She had met Marcos and Cailyn a couple of weeks earlier when the couple had stopped in at the bar on their way to Lake Tahoe. The man had apparently proposed and his fiancé was dragging him off to be married before he could change his mind. Marcos hadn't looked like he had any thoughts about changing his mind, but the woman obviously wasn't taking any chances.
Michael had been there and he had just rolled his eyes, but he had refrained from commenting. At least until Cailyn had insisted on hugging him right there in front of everybody. Maria chuckled to herself. He'd had plenty to say at that point, mainly to cover his discomfort and embarrassment.
She brought her thoughts back to the present as she served the group at the table, careful to stay out of Novak's reach. She didn't think he was dangerous; he was just young and full of himself, and he hadn't learned to keep his hands to himself.
"So, when're you gonna go out with me, Maria?" Novak grinned at her, certain that she was gonna cave one day soon.
"Not gonna happen, Novak." She smiled and made a mental note of which glasses needed to be refilled. "Sanchez, you want another shot?"
The quiet man nodded and tossed the last of his drink back. He glanced at Novak when the younger man's gaze followed the waitress as she went to refresh their drinks. "You should have more respect," he muttered as he cut into his steak.
"What're you talkin' about?" Novak asked with a frown.
"He's talkin' about the way you keep playin' grab-ass with Guerin's woman, dickhead," Axel said, shaking his head.
"Okay, first, we don't know what they've got goin' on. And second? Hell, even if there is anything goin' on between them, he's gone a lot."
"Which means what?" Bootleg asked, wondering how the kid could be so stupid.
"Which means I'd be happy to take over while he's gone."
"You're playin' a dangerous game. You should have enough honor to leave the woman alone. It's clear that she belongs to Guerin and if you continue this foolishness you will regret it."
Novak shook his head and laughed at the old-fashioned nonsense that Sanchez was spouting. "Hey, I know you feel pretty strongly about this since you're married and you've got like, twelve kids at home, but she's fair game whether she's with Guerin or not." He glanced at the other two men at the table. "C'mon, guys, am I right?"
"You're insane if you think you're gonna cross Guerin like that," Bootleg muttered.
"Why?" Novak sneered. "You think he's ever left a woman alone just because she was married or with another guy?"
"I think Sanchez is right and you're gonna regret it if you keep fuckin' with Guerin's woman." Axel shook his head. "That man'll put a hurt on you, Novak."
"Whatever." He glanced up and smiled when he saw Maria heading their way with another round of drinks.
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Michael paid the cab driver and glanced up at the welcoming sign above the entrance of Azrael's Sanctuary. He walked through the parking lot to drop his bags off in the truck before making his way up to the front door of the bar. His assignment with the Covington's had been uneventful and boring since most of it had been spent watching over them as they rubbed elbows with dignitaries and government officials for the past four days.
He was ready to be back home where he could just lounge around the house with Maria and let her spoil him rotten. He'd had plenty of time since their trip to meet Dupree to become a little more comfortable with his feelings for her. They were more domestic than he had ever thought he'd be able to tolerate, but he had eventually realized that it didn't really bother him. On the contrary, he kinda liked coming home after a week away and having someone there who gave a damn about him, who asked how his assignment had gone, and who would then insist he take a shower and relax while she made him something to eat. Not just someone, his little voice reminded him. Maria.
They still fought like hell, and sometimes it was over the most ridiculous things, but he even enjoyed that. He'd enjoy it a lot more if the fights led to sex, but that hadn't happened. Sometimes he could swear she was ready to just let go and take that leap, but she always managed to distance herself before they had a chance to take it anywhere. He knew she was having a hard time maintaining distance between them, but he also knew she was walking a fine line; she still felt that fucking him was a betrayal of her dead lover and she was fighting that with everything she had.
He frowned when his previous thought didn't sit well with him. It was strange, he mused as he reached for the door, but lately when he thought about getting her in his bed his mind shied away from crass terminology like 'fucking'… which didn't make any sense because that's what they'd be doing. He shook his head and glanced at the clock on the wall as Raphael placed a bin on the counter and motioned for him to unload his weapons.
"You're here late," the big man rumbled. "Only an hour until closin'."
Michael shrugged. "Just got in." He stepped through the double doors and rolled his shoulders back as he glanced around. There were only a couple dozen people scattered across the bar and his searching gaze immediately locked on Maria. She was clearing a table near the pool tables where Novak and another man were in the middle of a game.
He stopped at the bar to talk to Gabriel and order a beer but his gaze kept straying back to Maria. He was just about to take a drink from the cold bottle in his hand when Novak suddenly moved and trapped her against the table. She turned around, her expression furious when his hand slid down to settle on her ass.
Gabriel quickly snatched the bottle out of Michael's hand; he wasn't gonna try to stop what was about to happen because Novak had been warned, but he didn't want to spend the rest of the night explaining a broken bottle impaling Novak's jugular to the cops either.