Part 6

Michael sat in the booth with Max and pretended to listen him. That was what he’d been doing for the last week. For one week, two days and four hours to be exact. He’d been pretending to be alive.

What was Max talking about? Probably Liz. Liz f-ucking perfect Parker. He knew there was no reason to be angry with Liz, but he didn’t care. He was so full of rage, he needed to channel it towards someone, anyone. If he didn’t, he knew it would all come crashing down, and he would start to put the blame where it belonged. Himself. It was all his fault. But this wasn’t a good time to become suicidal.

He craved for a moment of peace. The voices in his head were driving him crazy. He couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t eat, most of the time he even forgot to breathe. All he could do was stare into a void and think about her. Fantasize about her touch, her smell, her voice…

God! How many times he’d swore he hated her voice? Her constant bickering, her unexpected laugh at the stupidest things… He was suffocating now without her. He was feeling as if he was wrapped tightly in a box to be delivered to hell, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t find a way out of it.

She hadn't talked to him since that day. Well, of course, she was talking to him, but not like she used to. She was talking to him like he was… like… he was just Michael. Not her boyfriend, not her lover… Just Michael. A guy she knew. He was feeling less somehow. Now that he wasn’t her boyfriend he wasn’t sure what he was himself. There were no more secret touches when noone was looking, no meaningful glances across the room, no pointing the clock to meet up after work…

His life was suddenly empty. He didn’t want to go home, he didn’t want to go out… His life had lost its purpose. He was lonely and incomplete. He had tried to remember what he’d been doing before Maria had come into the picture, but his quest for answers seemed even more meaningless. He couldn’t possibly try so hard to find answers when he knew they would probably take him away from her forever.

He looked at the fries in front of him and grimaced. He had forgotten to eat again and now they were cold. Whatever… They tasted like s-hit anyway. He looked ahead and met Max’s worried eyes.

“Michael, did you hear one word of what I’ve been saying?”

Michael rolled his eyes. “Not really.”

Putting down his cherry coke, Max straightened up and prepared himself for a serious talk. Michael groaned inwardly. That was so not good.

“Michael, what’s wrong with you? Don’t deny it, I know something’s up.”

Michael tried hard to contain his laughter. The guy was serious. God. He wondered for a moment what he would say if he’d told him the truth. He would flip! It would be fun to watch though.

It was so ironic, now that he'd lost Maria, he really didn’t care if anybody knew or not. He couldn’t really remember why it had terrified him that much before.

There had to be a universal conspiracy to keep him from being happy. Because his life was like an episode of a really bad soap opera. Looking at the major turning points of his life he couldn’t find anything good. Or anything believable for that matter.

The Crash. Finding out that he was a freak. Finding out he was totally, literally alone on this planet. Having Hank for a parent. Failing everything he tried. Thanks to his stupid brother getting exposed. Meeting and soon after losing Maria.

Maria. God, what was he going to do?

Maybe suicide was the best. Something dramatic to complete the tragic chain of events that happened to be his life.

“Michael?” Max scolded, crossing his arms. He must have tuned him out again.

“What were you saying?”

- - -

“Okay, pull over here.” Isabel pointed a rock formation near the road. Maria stopped the Jetta, and followed Isabel.

“Are you sure you can find it?” she asked worriedly. It was a hot morning and desert wasn’t her choice of place to be.

“I saw it clearly, it should be around here.”

She was looking around to find something familiar as Maria tried to catch up.

“We should have taken the jeep.” Maria whined, almost ready to give up their search so soon.

“Well if my stupid brother had taken me seriously, I wouldn’t have to force you to come with me! Idiot! I'm sure it means something. It has to.”

“Umm… You know you didn’t really force me, I kinda volunteered.”

“Yeah. I noticed. Why were you so eager to get out of there?” Isabel asked curiously, not even slowing down a bit.

“Uuh… It’s complicated.” Maria said trying to catch her breath and follow the apparently way too healthy alien.

Isabel laughed at her familiar words. “When is it ever not complicated? You have to sort out that life of yours.”

“You have no idea how I wish I could.”

- - -

“We should have brought water…” Maria said, trying to keep the whining tone out of her voice. It wasn’t like it was Isabel’s fault that they were in the middle of the desert, walking aimlessly for two hours. Oh wait… It was Isabel’s fault!

She just had to have that dream! How were they supposed to find a cave she had only dreamt from inside, in a f-ucking desert that was full of caves?

She could feel her shirt getting even more drenched with sweat. Why oh why had Spaceboy felt like coming to The Crashdown today? Why? She could have stayed there, holding a cool milkshake in her hand, watching Max and Isabel fight over the meaning of the dream. But no… Of course he had to come, and force her to offer a ride to Isabel, and end up in the f-ucking hell.

Her life sucked big time.

“Iz? Iz?” Even after two hours she still had to run to catch up with the tall-blond-and-bitchy.

“Iz, we’re lost.” She stated calmly.

“Oh no we’re not! It’s gotta be somewhere around here.”

Maria sighed. That poor alien was probably just trying to make herself believe. “Isabel, forget the cave, we lost the car and we’re moving in circles!”

“We’re not moving in circles!” she denied.

“Oh really? How do you explain this then?”

Isabel’s eyes followed the way Maria was pointing and her shoulders sagged at the sight. Just a little ahead of them was a huge M drawn in the sand probably by Maria's shoes. So they were lost…

“We’re lost.”

“I know, that’s what I’ve been telling you!”

Isabel looked around in desperation, feeling Maria's expectant gaze on her.

“So? What do we do now?” Maria asked, half expecting her to wave her hand and make the desert disappear.

Isabel narrowed her eyes in order to see around, that damned sun was too bright. “We… uh…”

“We’re screwed, aren’t we?”

“No!” Isabel said forcefully. She wasn’t a one to accept defeat so easily. “It’s just noon yet. We’ll keep walking, the car can't be far. I'm sure we’ll find it before the sun sets.”

Maria took off after her, mumbling to herself. “Yeah, sure… It’s just noon… The f-ucking sun is frying my brain and my bra is boiling! God dammit!”

- - -

“Where’s Maria?” Max asked to Liz who was sitting uncomfortably next to Michael.

Michael had been wondering that himself. He’d been at The Crashdown all day and she'd been nowhere in sight. He was hoping that she’d gone home to rest. Those bags under her eyes were starting to worry him.

“Oh she left with Isabel.”

“What?”

Max’s alerted face informed Michael that his first guess of their whereabouts weren't quite right. He'd never seen Max flare with anger just because Iz went to mall. This was something serious.

“Oh god dammit! Why doesn’t anyone ever listen to me!” Calming down a little he turned to Liz. “When did they leave?”

“Like 10 – 10:30?” Liz offered.

“It’s 5:45!” Max bellowed and ran to the phone.

Finally finding his voice and calming the ever-present Maria protector in him, Michael blurted out his first meaningful sentence all day. “Where did they go?”

Punching Isabel’s cell phone number, Max answered through gritted teeth. “Desert.”

“Why?”

“Iz dreamed of a cave last night. She said it felt important and we should go check it. I didn’t want to just jump into anything so I said we’d talk about it first. It could be a set up, or just a regular dream… I don’t know. It didn’t feel right.”

Who gave a damn about the cave? “And she took Maria?”

“Apparently.” Max said right before his jacket started to ring.

“S-hit!” he said slamming the phone down. “She doesn’t have the phone!”

Michael grabbed the phone and hurriedly dialled Maria's cell. “Maria has a phone.” He explained at Max’s questioning look, but refrained from explaining why in hell did he know the number.

The phone rang and rang and rang… His heart felt like someone was squeezing it. There was no answer.

- - -

“Iz I think I'm going to die.” Maria said, lying in the shadow of a rock.

“You’re not gonna die! You're just… just… exhausted.” Isabel explained without moving an inch. Even moving her eyes hurt.

“My head is pounding, my throat and my lips hurt, and my breasts are roasted in that bra. I want to die.”

Isabel chuckled softly. “They’ll find us, don’t worry.”

“Yeah I guess.” She muttered, trusting Michael to find her. “Iz?”

“Yeah?”

“If we don’t make it out of here, I want you to know I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I lied.”

“What?”

“Just… I’m sorry okay?”

“O-kaay…”

“My hair’s a mess…” Maria said after a moment’s silence.

“I would have helped if I had enough energy to come there.” Isabel said sarcastically. “Why did you change your hair back?” she asked curiously after a slight pause.

“ He said it wasn’t me.” Maria answered bitterly. The things she did for Michael…

“Who? Jake?”

“No. Mi… My mystery guy.”

“Oooh…”

“A-sshole…” Maria muttered under her breath.

“What happened with him?”

“I… really don’t wanna talk about this.”

“What else are we gonna do? We’re stuck here.”

Maria sighed. “It’s impossible. It doesn’t work.”

“Just let it go then. You're a pretty girl and there are at least 50 guys in school drooling after you.”

“See, that’s the problem. I can't let it go. I am about to lose my mind. I can't be with him. I can't be with anyone else. Even when I just try to be with myself, he is there in my head haunting me! I hate him!”

“You love him.”

“Yeah…” Maria's voice was small and tired, but there was a hint of hope hidden beneath.

Isabel took a deep breath. Hot air. Disgusting. “When I was a little girl, like 8 or 9 years old, dad used to take me to his office. I don’t remember why. Max wasn’t there. Just him and me. I used to sit there and play with the calculator and pens and stuff. It was boring really, but I remember feeling special for being there among adults…”

Maria tried to not feel the pang of jealousy and pain caused by the memories of being a kid without a dad at that age. What was Isabel talking about she wondered. Did she have a point or had she finally totally lost it?

“…One day when I was sitting there, I heard chimes outside. A picture of a white carriage with golden rims travelling down a road leaving a glittery trail behind flashed through my mind. It was so beautiful. The sound… It was like magical… Like it was from a fairytale. I couldn’t see what was causing the sound, the window was too high for me, but everyday I waited for it, and listened to it, fantasizing about princesses in gowns going to balls…”

“Then like a month later, I finally found the chance I'd been waiting for. Someone had left a chair in front of the window. I climbed and waited for my dream carriage. It came, and crashed all my belief in magic.” She sighed. “It was a truck. A brown, old, rusty truck. There was a chain hanging from behind it, and it was making the sound I'd been hearing.”

“That is so sad.” Maria said on the verge of tears.

“No. No, it’s not. That’s real world. That’s how magic works. That’s how fairytales work. It may not look like magic, but when you close your eyes and listen… Really listen and feel, you can find it. Fairytales are not like the way they are in books in real life. You don’t get happily ever after, you don’t get the perfect fairytale ending… All you can get is the magical feeling it stirs in you and when it’s right, it’s more than enough.”

“What I'm trying to tell you is… Well, if it feels right, don’t give up on it. Don’t wait for the knight in shining armour. Cause Jake is the knight in shining armour. His armour might be shining, but there's nothing for you underneath that…”

“And don’t forget that he doesn’t have a brain.” Maria added chuckling softly.

“Of course… That’s why he spends all his time shining that armour. Trust me on this Maria. Forget about Prince Charming and enjoy your knight in rusty armour.”

“Why are you so sappy lately? Not that it bothers me, but I'm kinda curious.”

“Alex.” Isabel said blushing.

“What?”

“Alex. You know your computer whiz friend?”

“You really like Alex?” Maria squealed.

“Don’t tell anyone! Or I'll tell them you're not a virgin anymore.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Try me.”

“That is so not fair!”

- - -

Michael’s knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. The blood oozing from the inside of his cheek tasted somehow comforting. It had been an hour since they’d found the Jetta, but still there was no sign of the girls. He was getting more edgy with every passing minute.

He bit his cheek harder to draw blood when he saw a glint of golden hair. His heart started to beat erratically and he stopped breathing. Then he saw it. Isabel.

He sped towards them, not even hearing the excited voice of Max as he saw his sister. He had to get to her. He had to know she was okay.

As they drove closer, dread covered his body, and he involuntarily started to shake. Isabel was hovering above something –no, someone- and crying. No. No. No.

They got closer and closer, till he could no longer deny seeing it.

It was Maria. And she wasn’t moving.

He stopped the car, and jumped out without bothering with the door. He ran with all he had, the spasms of his heart outweighing the spasms of his legs. He dropped to his knees in front of her without even casting a glance at Isabel who was desperately hugging Max and sobbing.

“I am so sorry. I never thought… If anything happens to her… It’s all my fault.”

Her face was deathly pale, and her lips were dry and cracked. The sweat covering her face was the only thing that confirmed that she was alive. His fingers tentatively reached for her neck, and pressed on the point he yearned to kiss. He let out the breath he'd been holding. He wasn’t too late.

He gently brushed her hair away from her face, and couldn’t help but sigh at the feel of her skin under his palm again. He had dreamt about it non-stop since the last time, but this sure wasn’t what he had in mind. He leaned in to her ear and called her softly.

“Maria? Maria, baby you gotta wake up.”

There was no movement. No answer. No indication that showed him she could hear. He pulled her body to his arms and ignoring the confused looks of the others, carried her to the jeep.

Max opened his mouth to say something, offer help maybe, but Isabel stopped him. “Max, don’t.” she said as if she was tranced by the scene unfolding before her eyes. Forcing her body to hold a little longer, she followed Michael.

Ignoring the screaming of her body she turned in her seat and looked at the boy she had always considered as her brother. He was holding the unconscious girl in his arms with a delicacy she'd never seen in him before and was mumbling something she couldn’t hear in her ear. Then the most unbelievable thing happened, and he kissed her cheek. Softly. Lovingly. His lips lingering on her skin longer than they needed to. Isabel wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her eyes.

“So it was you?” she croaked out, grimacing when her throat protested.

“Who?” Max asked, stupefied by Michael’s actions.

“The a-sshole.” Isabel said calmly.

“What?” Michael’s head shot up, finally remembering the others in the car.

“You are the a-sshole that keeps breaking her heart.”

Michael didn’t say anything. What could he possibly say? How could he explain what he couldn’t name?

Shaking his head with confusion, Max started the car. With all the weird s-hit going on around them, he couldn’t help but think that maybe Michael was abducted by aliens or something. Surely it was more believable than what Isabel had implied.

After trying to wake her up for a while, Michael dared to try what he knew would always work. He could only hope that she wouldn’t slap him when she woke up.

Holding her body like a baby in his arms, he pressed his lips softly on hers. His heart constricted in his chest and his eyes closed. He'd missed her. He'd missed her taste. He softly licked her dry lips and tried to lure her out. He waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity, kissing her softly, trying to control the urge in him that forced him to kiss her deeper. Then just as he was about to give up, he felt her sigh in his mouth. Her lips started to move by themselves, and the tip of her tongue met his in a greeting caress.

He slowly pulled away and opened his eyes, unaware of the moisture gathered in them. Her eyes were still closed, her body was limp, but a whisper escaping her lips told him he hadn't been dreaming. “Michael…”

“Oh my god.” Isabel said, her hand flying to cover her mouth. What was more shocking she wasn’t sure. How they interacted with each other or how she had failed to notice it before…

Maria slowly opened her eyes and found two tear filled chocolate brown eyes looking back at her. “I died, didn’t I?” she whispered, her mind too blurred to think.

Michael shook his head and to Isabel’s surprise smiled. “Nope. You're alive.” Taking her hand in his, he guided her fingers to her neck, making her feel her pulse. “See?”

He took the bottle of water Isabel handed to him and brought it to her lips. She took a small sip and coughed. Isabel watched in awe as Michael stroked her back as she shook in his arms, then carefully made her drink some more water.

She was trying hard to not be too obvious about watching them, but it was impossible to turn back and look away. It was nothing like she'd ever seen before. They were so in tune with each other, so beautiful together, and so oblivious to it.

Maria started wriggling on his lap. “What? What is it?” Michael asked assuming the worst and panicking.

“Ah… It hurts. Get it off…” she said still wriggling and groaning.

“What hurts?”

“That damned bra.”

Michael smiled down at her. “I told you to not wear that thing.”

Michael put one hand under her shirt, on top of her bra.

“Stop squirming.”

He closed his eyes and concentrated. He opened his eyes when he heard her sigh. The bra was gone.

Feeling the soft skin of her breasts meeting with his palm, he willed his heart to steady its rhythm. It wasn’t a good time for a hard on. But it had been so long…

He abruptly pulled his hand away. “Thanks.” Maria whispered as she closed her eyes. She was about to drift off when she felt the familiar tingling. Her body jumped slightly and she pushed Michael’s hand away from her cheek. “What are you doing?”

“You need energy.” He said, surprised at her reaction. He tried to touch her again, but she flinched and pulled away.

“No.”

“What? Why?”

“Max can…” she started, but seeing the utter hurt in his eyes, she changed her mind. “No. I don’t want any of you in my mind.”

“Why do you have to be so difficult?”

“ME? I am being difficult?” she shrieked, and unsuccessfully tried to get up from his lap.

“Will you stop it!” Michael shouted holding her down.

Isabel rolled her eyes. Now that was the Michael and Maria she knew.

“No, I will not stop it! LET ME GO!”

“You're not going anywhere!”

She stopped and narrowed her eyes, looking at him with fury. “You’re gonna let them see it?” she whispered sarcastically. “You… Helping a poor human girl? What would that do to your reputation?” She regretted it the moment the harsh words left her lips. She knew and understood why he wasn’t telling them. She knew he had never meant to hurt her. But she was hurting, and knowing the truth wasn’t making it any less painful.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her voice. “Look. I… just don’t want you to connect with me, okay?”

Her soft tone did nothing to calm him, instead it hurt more. “Then tell me what the hell do you want? You want me to tell them? Is that what that’s all about?” he shouted, letting out all the frustration he'd felt all week.

She just looked at him, with hope and confusion. She was missing him. Craving him. She had been on edge since she'd left him, and lately even started to question her choice. She wasn’t sure which one hurt more, being without him or lying to everyone to be with him… But connecting him… She knew that would be pushing it. Once she felt him, she was sure to stop thinking and go with the flow.

“You want me to tell them? I’ll tell them!” he said looking in her eyes with determination.

Then softly pushing her aside he looked to the front seat of the car. He found Isabel looking at him with wide eyes and Max watching them from the mirror. “Isabel. Max. I am in love with Maria.” He said in an emotionless voice, and not even bothering to wait to see their reactions, he pulled her back on his lap and met her surprised gaze.

“There I said it! Are you happy now?”

“I…” Tears burning her eyes, and one of her shaking hands covering her lips, she just stared at him. “You… just…”

The longer he waited the more uncomfortable he felt. He wasn’t sure what he'd been expecting when he blurted it out, but that definitely wasn’t it.

“You said…”

“Yeah I know.”

Tears finally fell down her cheeks. “Thank you.” she whispered. Then seeing that he was expecting her to make the next move, she captured his lips in a tender kiss.

Her hands found his cheeks and cupped his face, while his arms tightened around her waist, moulding their bodies together and letting his body feel the warmth he'd been craving.

Isabel blushed at the intensity of the kiss. She wasn’t seeing Maria's face, but Michael’s said it all. His eyes were closed and his expression was somewhere between being tortured and being on the verge of tears.

Pulling back from the kiss reluctantly, Maria's head dropped softly to his shoulder. She was sobbing but honestly didn’t care. She inhaled his scent deeply, and hugged him as tight as her arms could manage. Her body was exhausted, but her mind wasn’t listening.

“God I've missed you so much…” she cried to his neck softly.

Crushing her body to his chest, he sighed with relief. Now that he had her in his arms, he knew everything would turn out okay. “I know. I've missed you too.”

“Don’t leave me again, okay?” she said with a small voice, in a child like manner.

“You were the one that left, if I remember correctly.”

“Okay, then don’t make me leave you again.”

He chuckled at her reasoning. “Okay, I won’t.”

Isabel tried not to look at them as Michael cradled her body and soothed her back to sleep. She was having a sudden urge to go see Alex.

“Drop us at my apartment.”

Max was going to protest but Michael looked too worn, and he decided to not push it.

When they arrived at Michael's apartment, he picked Maria up and climbed out of the jeep. “Thanks for the ride Maxwell.” He was about to walk away when he remembered Maria's mother. “Uh… Iz, can you call Maria’s mom and tell her she’ll stay with you?”

Isabel saw Max preparing to protest with the corner of her eye, and threw him a don’t-you-dare glare. “Sure.” she said and smiled to Michael reassuringly.

She watched them till they were out of sight, and Max was surprised to see her wiping away tears when she turned back. Sighing loudly, “He’ll make a great father one day.” she stated, shocking Max to death.

“Can you drop me at Alex’s?”

- - -

Maria felt the sun before she even could open her eyes. It felt good to wake up to the warmth. She stretched her arms and body, feeling surprisingly relaxed. Then she opened her eyes to meet the new day with a smile on her face.

The first thing she saw was a ceiling. A ceiling, but not hers.

Her heart skipped a beat. Which part of those blurry images had been a dream? She hoped the answer to be none.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.” she replied softly, turning her head on the pillow to face him.

He had the sweetest expression. Her favourite. Something between a lost kid and a happy alien. His look was the most heart wrenching, completed with his naked chest and tousled hair.

“I was going to make you breakfast… but I… kinda… forgot.”

She chuckled at his guilty tone. “That’s okay.”

“You feelin’ okay?”

“Yeah. I'm good.”

Michael’s hand was aching to reach for her and caress her lips, her face… But being tender in an awkward situation wasn’t really his thing. He wasn’t expecting her to make a move to right things since he was the one that screwed up, but he was frightened.

“You told them.” she said softly, her eyes shyly avoiding his.

She was talking, that was good. But he was getting fidgety with the lack of physical contact. It was easier when they touched. Things seemed so much better.

“Yeah. I should have done it a long time ago.”

“Is it that easy?” she asked with a pained expression. Her heart wanted to claim her happiness, but her mind found it too good to be true.

“Yes it is.” he said calmly, reassuringly, trying hard to not reflect his inner struggle to her. Why the hell wasn’t she touching him?

“You… you know… shouldn’t have done it just because I asked you to. That’s not right. Not fair…” She had that look he knew too well. The look that was etched in his brain. She was about to cry.

She should have touched him, dammit! He knew he would screw this up. He wasn’t capable of tender. He was going to scare her, but it wasn’t a possibility to not touch her anymore. He tilted her chin and captured her lips, fiercely tasting her, having his fix. Breathing hard, he pulled back before he fell in too deep.

Placing his head on her pillow, he waited for her reaction, his face only a breath away from hers, their noses touching. And to his surprise, she smiled.

Letting himself hope that maybe, just maybe, this time he was doing things right, he offered her his reason. “It was right. Whatever you want. Whatever you need.”

The raw honesty in his voice and eyes, reached out and touched her aching heart. Letting herself believe –it was hard not to-, she touched his lips softly with hers. She closed her eyes and tasted him. It was there… Magic.

To Michael’s relief, her hand lingered on his cheek, soothing his fluttering heart. She opened her eyes and Michael felt his heart skip a beat at her look. She was looking at him like that again. Like she once did… Like he was more than just Michael.

She smiled sweetly. “No… You see, if we’re a couple, it’s not about what I need anymore. What you need matters too.”

He touched her face with his fingertips, unconsciously mirroring her moves. “ This is all I need.”

“What, a blond and extremely sexy girl in your bed?” She looked down at her body. “Half naked?”

He smirked at the familiar mischief in her eyes. His Maria was back. He pulled her close and moulded their bodies just like he used to do… Like he yearned to do… “Yes, there’s that, of course…” he said in a mocking serious tone, but continued looking in her eyes dead serious. “…but I missed this too. I missed feeling you. I need you.”

Choosing to be the non-verbal one in their relationship for once, Maria hugged him close and buried her face in his neck. She couldn’t stop the burning tears trickling down her cheeks. “I’ll never leave you again. I promise. Whatever happens, I‘ll be here. Whenever you need me.”

She kissed his neck, tasting his sweat and her own tears there. Her mouth moved hungrily when she heard his content sigh. The thought of him alone, hurting was worse than any nightmare she'd ever had. She knew he would never admit it again, probably would even deny it in the future, but he needed her. They needed each other.

Pulling her body on top of his, his hands found the hem of her t-shirt and raised it over her head urgently. He traced the contours of her naked body in awe. His large hands roaming the ivory, smooth skin delicately, slightly shaking with anticipation. She growled impatiently under his heated gaze and found his slightly parted lips, bringing her chest flush against his.

Her taut nipples burned holes in his chest as she fiercely licked his lips and delved into his mouth with her tongue. He tried to consume her. Somewhere deep in his mind he was thinking if he could taste her long enough he could maybe keep a part of her in him. That way he would never be Marialess.

His mouth trailed a path of liquid fire down her neck to her breasts, her ragged breathing pushing him deeper into a world that only consisted of him and her. Her back arched impossibly and she was moaning wildly as he ravished her breasts. He loved the feeling of her soft skin in her mouth, but nothing could compare to the sound of her moans. He could lose himself just by listening to her. She never cared if someone would hear. She was always so free and out of control. Screaming his name when she felt like it, moaning and groaning her need in unintelligible words. So open… So Maria…

He lapped and nipped at her as her hands stroked his hair and pulled him closer. Then he heard her tender voice full of need, and tumbled down to a place in himself he never thought he would. Somewhere too close to his heart.

“Michael… Baby?”

His body shook with silent sobs, and he buried his face in her chest, mating their skin in a desperate need to get closer.

“Ssshh… It’s okay…” Soothing him with her soft touches and words, she gently placed his body back on the bed. Brushing his tears away, she watched his face. His eyes closed in concentration as he tried to control his emotions. His hands tightened around her and he whispered. “I almost lost you.”

She felt completely serene all of a sudden. Completely at ease. Completely… complete.

Kissing his cheek softly, she got up from the bed and under his surprised gaze slowly removed her panties. They were in the way…

Then she walked to the other side of the bed, and opened a drawer. She picked a condom from the box, but just as she was closing it she changed her mind and pulled out two more and threw them on the bed.

Looking him directly in the eye, she pulled his boxers down and put the condom on him, smiling as she remembered the first time she did this. Seemed so far away now…

Straddling his hips, she slowly lowered herself on him, encasing him in her and hissing at the familiar tightness. His hands found the curve of her hips and she rode him slowly, looking deep in his eyes to make him understand. Make him believe.

She was panting hard, and the intensity of the feeling was too much to handle after their time apart. But there were things that needed to be said, and she needed to say them now.

“I love you… I have… loved you… since that night… at the motel…” Her words were being cut off by the occasional groan and moan she couldn’t suppress, but she refused to give up.

Leaning in and cupping his face in her hands, she made sure to spell the words out for him, leave no place for a doubt. “You will never lose me.”

Stopping their movements for a moment, she rested her cheek against his and whispered in his ear. “Ever!”

Too tired to move, but desperately aching for him, she sucked his earlobe in her mouth. “Till death do us apart…” she said not really thinking about the implications of the words, just being honest and instinctive.

Michael growled deep in his throat and flipped them over. Thrusting deep into her over and over urgently, he found himself replaying the words in his head. It was scary how much he needed them to be true…

Feeling the deep fire threatening to erupt in him, he realised he'd never really told her the words. He’d never had the courage.

Looking down at her writhing body under him, he gently reached to brush her hair out of her face. Then when she met his eyes with her sparkling green orbs, they left his lips easily and without hesitation.

“I love you so much it scares me… I can't let you go… I won't… Ever.”

It was his husky voice and his hungry look that pushed her over the edge more than his words. She came with a cry of his name. She arched off the bed and spasmed, imprisoning him in her body, bringing his release with hers.

Michael’s limp body fell on top of hers and they held on to each other for dear life. As his cloudy mind started to drift off to sleep with the scent of his lover, Michael knew one thing for sure. It was going to take a force no less than death to take her away from him. She was his lover, his home, his everything…

She was his happily ever after.

The End

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