Title: Stress
Author: Arimi
Disclaimer: Since they are free can I take them home with me?
Rating: CC/PG
Description: I think we need a little nothing in Season Three. Just for the sake of being a couple.
Note: This is actually a mix of two or three different fics in my head that didn’t want to die. I didn’t use my regular beta since this was meant for her. I had started this on her birthday, but as she me too well, since I can never finish any fic in one day.  So Didi, this is for you babe! Love ya!

36-24-10…

36-24-10…

Maria tried the combination once more. It had to be the right combination; she's had the same locker since the beginning of the year. It’s already begun, a bad day, she just knew today was a bad day. Two tests and a quiz were on the agenda and she couldn’t even get into her locker. She hit the locker with a fisted hand, but nothing! Stupid damn locker was jammed! She turned around to see curious eyes looking at her. Maria just rolled her eyes at the busy bodies that infested the halls of West Roswell High. Leaning back on her uncooperative locker, she sighed and closed her eyes as the back of her head hit the metal locker with a clang.

*

Michael massaged the back of his neck to release the tension that had been there too long. His spine cracked as he moved his neck from right to left, but it didn’t seem to help much. Michael had too much on his plate; working two jobs and keeping up his grades in school was causing his body to wear down, not to mention the no-sleep he was getting. His muscles were all too tight and he needed release, badly.

He spotted her right away. Actually he felt her before he saw her. She was always giving off these vibes. It was pretty hard to miss, but everybody else seemed to be defective or something, because they would walk around like zombies, unaffected by her. But he really didn’t mind. He was not good at sharing. As he got closer to her, he noticed that her eyes were closed and her shoulders were tense. Michael furrowed his eyebrows as he stood in front of Maria and his hurt disappeared when he saw how tired she looked. They both were always able to read if one or the other was near, but today Maria was out of it. He knew she was up most of the night studying for her exams so it was forgivable she didn’t notice that he was there.

*

Maria flinched when she felt something pressed against her lips. She opened her eyes to be greeted by heavenly brown eyes that belonged to the lips that were lightly pressed against hers. Her body relaxed as they broke away from their greeting. Michael snaked his arms around Maria’s waist. Personal space was too much space when they were near each other. Maria always loved the way Michael kissed, full of passion and need but also gentle and sweet. With his arms around her, she always felt safe and protected. She could stay like that forever, it just felt so right. Maria looked up to see Michael looking at her with questioning eyes.

“Locker is jammed,” Maria said tiredly as she laid her head on Michael’s strong shoulder, snuggling against his neck. She inhaled deeply, soap and water – clean. She loved that smell; it reminded her of showers, baths, and wet Michael.

Michael moved to position them so that their bodies were leaning against the locker and his hand was hidden. A dim red light resonated under his palm and disappeared as quickly as it did appear. He turned the handle and gave it a little tug. “It just needed a little ‘Michael’ touch,” he said with a satisfied grin.

“I need a little ‘Michael’ touch,” Maria whispered as she suggestively licked his neck. Michael rolled his eyes back and let out a throaty moan that started from deep inside. As Maria’s hands moved under his shirt, Michael moved them so that he could pin her against the lockers, hiding her with his larger frame. Usually Michael and Maria were never very public with their affection, but they both had been so busy that they didn’t have any time together lately; therefore everything was out the window as soon as Maria started to nip at the skin on his neck.

“Man, would you two please get a room?” Kyle stood there looking at the horny couple as they broke a part. Kyle grinned at the deadly look that Michael was giving him. He always had a way to make Michael happy. Maria was too busy hiding her head in her locker and shuffling through her books to look at the annoying Buddha-Boy and to think she actually liked him at times.

“Kyle-” The ‘get lost’ was implied in just one word. Michael looked over at Maria. She looked embarrassed enough for the both of them. Michael turned his head and glared at Kyle when he started laughing at the situation. Kyle tried to suppress his laugh, but looking at Michael’s face made him laugh harder. Michael was about to give Kyle a few choice words, but Kyle had magically disappeared to find his next victim.

“You know, you look sexy when you’re embarrassed,” whispered Michael as he took Maria's books. She gave him a lop-sided grin, understanding him too well, horny boy. Maria looped her arm around his as Michael escorted her to first period, to her first test of the day. Michael’s pace gradually slowed down as they changed direction. Maria looked up from her notes and noticed a very familiar door just a few feet in front of them. Looking up at him, Maria noticed a very determined and mischievous look on his face; he looked devilishly handsome when he was determined. She abruptly stopped, but was pulled forward by Michael's still-moving body. Michael finally looked down when he realized the reason why he was going to the eraser room was no longer by his side; his arm felt empty. Looking behind him, he saw the blond petite girl standing with her hands on her hips, waiting.

Scratching his eyebrow as he walked, Michael met Maria half way. “Maria, I-”

“I have a test-”

“But, Maria-”

“No-”

“Lunch?”

“I can’t-”

“But-” Michael said with a frown, almost pouting. He missed her.

“I have to study,” Maria said delicately as she got closer to Michael, purposely invading his personal space. Michael Guerin was a hard man to ignore, she tried and it didn’t work. Not only was he extremely good looking, but there were these moments of vulnerability, where he just acted like a child. Those were the times that Maria’s heart bled. All she wanted to do was pick him up and hug him to make everything better. With him pouting like that, it made saying NO to him so much harder. She started to brush away the invisible lint on his chest as she spoke, "I miss you too." He didn’t have to say it, she knew, "-but I gotta concentrate." She looked up at him with pleading eyes and a smile tugging at her lips. Michael was a man of unspoken words and his actions showed how he felt; it took Maria a while to really understand that about him. And she once made the grave mistake of wanting him to be more like Max, but finally realized that he would not be the Michael she fell for. Michael might be hard to take, but she understood him and the things he didn’t say.

“Tonight then? I haven’t seen you-” Michael stopped when he saw her shaking her head no. They both have been so busy that they had no time for themselves. His hand shot back to his neck, massaging the tension that magically disappeared and reappeared again. Seeing this, Maria’s face turned concerned, but before she could say anything, the tardy bell rang for first period. Without a word, Michael turned around and started walking with Maria dragging behind him, trying to match his pace.

“Michael. You’d better go before you are really late. I don’t want Mr. Morgan on your case again.” He nodded, and then bent down for a quick kiss before heading off to the other side of the building.

***

Michael frowned as he pulled up to his designated parking spot; it was occupied. It was one of his pet peeves, Max parking in his parking spot. He was too tired to even worry about it; he’d just deal with Max another day. He was exhausted from the busy day. It started with work then school then going straight from school to work again. They were short a waitress so he had to pick up some of the slack. The Crashdown was so busy that he didn’t even get a chance to call Maria to ask her why she wasn’t at work. He was hoping they could spend a quality break together, but what good was that when he didn’t have a partner? Without Maria, his day was an endless nightmare of mundane-ness. Michael tried to crack his neck again, but it didn’t do any good. Standing all day was not helping the tension, it was getting worse. He had three hours for a quick nap until he needed to be at Meta-chem and all that Michael wanted right now was sleep. His bed was calling his name and nothing was going to get in-between a man and his bed.

The dead bolt clicked and he slowly opened the door, letting the dim light pour out into the hallway. Michael stood there at the jam of the door a little confused, because the room was filled with lit candles. He had just paid the light bill; there was no way his electricity was out again. “Max! Hey Maxwell, what’s going on here?” Michael called out as the entered his apartment. Movement on the couch caught his attention. Covering his eyes, Michael made an internal wish that it wasn’t the moo-eyed couple under the sheets; he really didn’t need this today. “Ok, please don’t come out… just… just… don’t make too much noise,” Michael said to the direction of the couch. He understood that Max and Liz needed their privacy, he just wished it wasn’t at his apartment, or on the couch that he sits on, but whatever, he was too tired to care.

Michael quickly walked towards his room, ready to jump into his bed. It was the sexy whisper of his name that made him turn around. She looked disheveled, her hair all messed up and her eyes glassed over. Maria. She looked sexy as the candlelight danced on her skin.

Michael walked over to the couch and sat on the coffee table so he could face her. “What are you doing here?”

“You don’t wanna see me?”

“You know that is not it. I didn’t see your car?”

“Oh I took Max’s car so he can spend some time with Liz. They both are at my house right now,” Maria said as she let out a yawn. “Sorry, I guess I must have dosed off while I was waiting for you.”

“Wait, what? You took Max’s car? So Max isn’t here?” He looked at her, as she shook her head no. That was all the incentive he needed. Michael lunged towards her but was stopped by her hand, gently pushing him back.

“Whoa… down boy. Maria stood up in front of him. “First things first, you need a shower! ‘Greasy Crashdown’ is not very arousing.” She took his hand and pulled him up while smirking at her little joke. “Take a shower and I’ll make you a snack, ok?” Maria pushed him towards the bathroom.

“But I already took a shower this morning,” Michael whined as he pulled his shirt above his head then got into the shower.

*

Maria was busy finding the right fixing for the sandwich when he walked out of the bathroom. “Maria, I’ll be in here, when you're done.” Michael said as he pointed to his bedroom. She didn’t notice that he was there until he spoke up. Maria did a double take. She always knew that her boyfriend was hot, but seeing him with a towel around his waist and his hair all wet just made him so sexy! She put the final touches to the sandwich, perfect and meaty, just the way Michael liked it. Maria examined the date on the milk carton to see if it was still drinkable, but gave it a quick whiff just to make sure, one could never be too careful in Michael’s refrigerator. She put the milk back and decided on peach Snapple instead.

Michael was already in bed when Maria entered his bedroom. Frowning, Maria noticed that he was on his stomach, which meant he was already asleep. She called out his name a few times, but she only got grunts as replies. Her poor baby was too tired to eat. He looked so different from when she saw him that morning. There was tension in his eyes and shoulders, but now he looked too peaceful to wake up.

After wrapping up the food and blowing out all the candles, Maria went back to his bedroom. Maria stood there a moment as she looked at him sleeping peacefully. Michael was never really a peaceful sleeper, because his sleep would be riddled with dreams that kept him tossing and turning the whole night. During these last few months, though, those dreams somehow seemed to disappear completely. A smiled tugged at her lips as she recalled the first time she woke up to see Michael looking, staring at her, while she was sleeping. She saw it in his eyes; he didn't need to say the words. It was always in his eyes as he looked at her, and she knew how he felt about her. They would stay awake for the rest of the night, just talking and holding each other. And now she was standing there looking at him, and saw how truly beautiful he looked as he slept.

She lifted the covers and quickly joined him in bed. He must have felt the coolness because he shifted and turned onto his back. She slid next to Michael, but made sure not to wake him. His arms came around and hugged her close. Maria looked up to see if he was awake, but knew he was still sleeping by his deep breathing. Maria closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest. It was a hard week for the both of them, with work and school. And a week without each other made it even harder. Times like this where it was just the two of them made it all worth while. Exhaustion took its toll on her as she whispered something to his chest and fell asleep to the beating of his heart.

“I love you too,” whispered Michael. His arms held her close as their bodies mated together. All signs of stress disappeared as they laid together, sleeping.

The enD