Fallen In Love (M/L, Teen/Mature, AN, 2/11/09) (WIP)

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CandyDreamQueen
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Fallen In Love (M/L, Teen/Mature, AN, 2/11/09) (WIP)

Post by CandyDreamQueen »

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Banner: CandyDreamQueen
Title: Fallen in Love
Author: Candice AKA CandyDreamQueen, candedreamer@yahoo.com
Beta: Tears_of_Mercury
Disclaimer: Roswell is the property of Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, The WB, and UPN, now known as The CW. All those people are not me. No infringement is intended. But Charley, Dukey, and Angel are all mine.
Rating: TEEN to Mature (will give warning)
Category: AU/with Aliens (well sort of)
Pairing: M/L
Summary: As a Light Guardian of earth, a divine protector of the human race, Max has watched over mankind since the beginning of time. The actions of humans have always fascinated him. He has even often wondered what it would be like to become human himself. Therefore, when he and his Dark Guardian brother are offered the chance to become humans for one week, Max finds that he is unable to pass up the opportunity…but falling in love was never part of the plan.
AN: This story contains some similarities to the movie City of Angels, but is not based on it. Thank you to Tears_of_Mercury for betaing for me.


FIRST
– Watching Them –
Max stood silently with his back pressed firmly against the tree, watching them as they played in the grass. It was a beautiful spring day here on earth. He liked it when the humans could enjoy the day. Nice weather seemed to make them happy, and if the humans were happy, so was he.

Happiness was his job. As one of the hundreds of Light Guardians of earth, his entire reason for existing was to insure that humans experienced at least the smallest sense of delight in life.

Light Guardians were the mediums that brought similes to the faces of six billion people on the planet. They were responsible for times of happiness and times of peace. What they created, the humans saw as miracle. The contentment of mankind hinged on their being.

Nevertheless, as there was a yin for every yang, because his kind existed, so did his opposite. The Dark Guardians. They were those that were charged with creating chaos and destruction throughout the world. They were the bringers of disaster and pain, as well as the creators of tragedy and misfortune. Though they could not physically hurt humans themselves, Dark Guardians were masters of manipulation and it was no difficult task for them to get humans to cause each other harm. Dark Guardians were the catalyst for holocausts of death.

Neither being could exist without the other, and mankind could not exist without both. Together the Light Guardians and Dark Guardians created the balance in which humans unknowingly lived their lives.

No dark or light guardian had the power to make everyone completely happy or miserable. There were the occasional inevitable exceptions. Max prided himself on making sure that the balance of power was always, at least for the most part, tipped slightly in favor of the Light Guardians.

Humans had shown countless times throughout their relatively long stint on this planet that they managed to survive much better in the harmony of contentment than the confusion of turmoil. So here he was, watching over them.

This was one of the places on earth that he liked the most. “The Park”, they called it. It was always a place of high energy and good spirits. That made it easy for him to feed a strong wave of peaceful emotions into the area. Those emotions had a good chance of staying with the humans wherever else they happened to go. Because of this Max frequented the park often.

“What a voyeur you are. Always watching them.”

The voice spoke suddenly behind Max, but he wasn’t surprised by it. Neither was he startled by the sight of the dark figure dressed completely from head to toe in black that stepped from around the other side of the tree.

Max smiled pleasantly. “Hello brother,” he greeted his twin.

However, his brother Zan did not return his smile or his greeting.

Max hadn’t really expected him to. He wasn’t even sure if a Dark Guardian could smile. He’d never seen one do it before - at least not anything aside from the occasional cruel grin of maliciousness.

“I knew I could find you wasting time here,” Zan replied with a frown. He snarled in disgust when a small boy chased after a red rubber ball that rolled right past his foot. Zan kicked the ball, sending it flying even father away from the boy, who had no idea his ball was being manipulated by the invisible Dark Guardian.

Now Max frowned. “Was that really necessary?”

Zan shrugged. “Children are annoying.”

“I’m sure you were more of an annoyance to him than he was to you.”

Again Zan shrugged. “Semantics.”

Max ignored the non-response. “What are you doing here? I thought you said that the sight of people enjoying themselves nauseated you.” Zan had actually said more than that, but Max wasn’t going to repeat the rest.

“Yes, well, as much as I hate it, I’m here to make sure you don’t overdo it, so I’ll be wrecking a bit of havoc.”

That was something Max didn’t like the sound of. “You are? Why? This is a contented zone, mostly immune to your havoc.”

Zan looked at a stray green leaf that had floated onto his shoulder. He flicked it away with all the repugnance he would have used to wipe up a drop of bird poop. “Well, you’ve been polluting the area enough with all your lollypop and gumdrop happiness. The balance is too far gone, so I get to have a little fun.”

Calmly, Max folded his arms across his white shirt. “You know, brother, I can’t say that we really appreciate your type of fun here.” Even as he said it, Max knew there was nothing he could do to stop his brother. Zan was right; the area was too peaceful for a Dark Guardian to just let it be.

“I don’t make the rules, I just live to see them broken,” Zan said, walking away from Max and heading over to a picnicking family sitting on a blanket beneath a tree.

Max followed him wearily. “What are you going to do?”

“You’ll see,” he answered.

As he reached their blanket, Zan leaned casually against the trunk of the tree the family had been using for shade against the sun. Though none of the humans were aware of it, Max could clearly see the ripple of dark power that passed from Zan’s body up the tree.

After that, everything else seemed to happen all at once.

Not knowing exactly what his brother had been up to, neither Max nor the unsuspecting family were aware of the beehive that was perched on a stray branch right above their heads. Max wasn’t completely sure if the beehive had originally been right out in the open like that, or if it was yet another convenient manipulation put into place by his brother. Either way, the second the hive hit the picnic blanket, all pandemonium broke loose.

The bees, angry from having been disturbed, flew from inside of the hive at an unavoidable speed, swarming around everyone in the immediate area. The humans called out in sharp shouts and yelled yelps as bee stings found flesh and pierced with all the might of their angry stingers.

Thankfully, the family had sense enough to abandon their picnic area. Bees however, were notorious for giving chase, and soon all the happy humans that had been enjoying the end of the wonderful spring day were now fleeing the area as if the black plague had just been released onto them.

Max sighed as he watched the families scramble back to their vehicles. He really wished there was something he could do to help, but clearing the park and stinging a few humans was far from dealing the truly devastating damage his brother could have unleashed upon them. It was a good thing that they were under his protection.

He looked over at Zan, who appeared gallingly pleased with himself. “That was unnecessarily unkind of you.”

Zan smirked with satisfaction as he continued to lounge back against the tree trunk. “You’re lucky. It could have been worse.”

That was true, but it also could have been better. “You could have at least spared the children,” Max pointed out.

“I didn’t sting the children. The bees did.” Zan chuckled softly to himself and pointed in the direction of one of the cars. “Got that little rubber ball boy good.”

Max looked over at the minivan where the crying rubber ball boy’s desperate mother was carrying him into the car. “That’s not funny,” he said, and started to go towards them, but Zan placed a halting hand on his shoulder.

“No, it’s not really,” Zan admitted, then followed up with, “But if you think about it, it really is.”

Max stopped himself from going any further, resigned to let it go. The boy would be fine. As dangerous as a Dark Guardian could be, the park was still too much of a peaceful zone for his brother’s powers to have taken any effect that was more serious than a few bee stings. He was thankful for that.

“I suppose this area won’t be seeing too much activity for a while.” What a shame and a waste of such a nice place.

Zan smiled. “That will give me time to make it more to my liking. A few park bench bums ought to liven the place up. Maybe some trash in the pond? Oh, I know, playground equipment injuries! That will really keep the arrows away.”

Max rolled his eyes. “You’re not funny.”

“I’m not attempting to beeee,” Zan said, stressing the word.

As a being of light, Max didn’t really have the ability to feel anger. He imagined if he could feel any negative emotions, anger was the one he would be feeling right now. “Aside from ruining a perfectly good afternoon, was there something else that you wanted?”

Zan nodded. “Actually there was. You’ve been people watching a lot more lately. I’m curious: what exactly is the big deal?”

“You know how I feel about humans.” Max left his brother’s side and went to retrieve the rubber ball that had been abandoned by the little boy. The moment he touched it, the ball disappeared from existence.

“Catch,” he said, tossing it towards Zan.

Zan made no move to catch the ball that came flying directly next to his head. He didn’t even flinch when it bounced off the trunk of the tree and back towards Max, who caught it back with one hand.

“Yes, yes, I know of your sick fascination with these insignificantly short-lived people. But what I don’t understand is why you are so obsessed with them. You can easily create peace and tranquility among humans without standing constant watch over them like some obedient guard dog.”

Max tossed the ball in the air once. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

Zan pushed away from the tree. “You’re right, I don’t understand. So what is it?”

Truthfully, Max had never considered what it was that drew him to humans so strongly. There were many guardians all throughout the world, all charged with creating joy and pain in human lives. Yet as far as he knew, he was the only one that seemed to harbor this watchful fascination over those lives.

Most guardians did their job and went on about their way. Not him. Max liked to watch the humans. He liked to see the full-blown outcome of his presence in their lives. He had never really known why that was.

Maybe there was something about being an unknown entity. Perhaps the idea that the humans had no idea that he was there, when he was influencing their lives, created his desire to become closer to them. Whatever the reason, he couldn’t remember a time in his existence when he hadn’t been enthralled by the human life. There was no way he could explain all that to his brother.

“I like humans,” he answered simply with another toss of the ball.

Zan rolled his eyes. “Yes, I gathered that.”

Max shrugged his shoulders and smiled pleasantly at his brother. He knew Zan hated that smile. “Well, then, why does there have to be anything else?”

“Lets just say I’ve been contemplating a few possibilities.”

“Possibilities?”

“Just some things I’ve been thinking about.”

“Possibilities that involve me?” Max asked, attempting to clarify Zan’s words.

Zan laughed at Max’s hesitance. “Don’t worry. They’re all good possibilities.”

“That’s not exactly comforting.” No, it wasn’t comforting at all. In fact, if he could feel fear, he was positive the idea that Zan was “considering possibilities” would be pretty scary.

“Don’t worry, brother. It’s all in the name of good,” Zan said reassuringly. But Max could tell his brother’s words lacked sincerity.

“The name of good?” he asked. Max shook his head. That would have been an even scarier thought. “I wasn’t aware that ‘good’ was in your vocabulary.”

Zan shrugged. “When it suites me.”

Max dropped the ball back onto the ground in the same exact spot he’d picked it up from, no longer warping its existence. To anyone passing by the ball would appear as simply someone’s forgotten plaything.

“So is this the name of my good or the name of your good?” Max asked.

“Oh ye of little faith.” Zan said. “Don’t you trust me?”

Max shrugged. “I’m not sure. There is no faith, and I’m not interested in playing your scheming games.”

Zan cocked a brow. “Even if it would be of great benefit to you?”

“I don’t exist to benefit myself. I exist to benefit humans,” Max answered easily.

“Hmm, you say that now.” Zan seemed to be talking more to himself than he was to Max.

“What are you up to?” Max asked.

Zan didn’t answer him. He ignored Max and walked over to the small pond. He bent down beside it and dipped his hand inside. When he lifted it out, he held it steadily and watched closely as water ran down his hand and trickled back into the pond.

“Do you wonder what it would be like to truly be a part of this world?” Zan didn’t turn around to see if Max had followed him over to the pond, but he knew his brother was standing behind him.

Max tilted his head to the side as he watched his brother. “What an odd question.”

Zan shook his hand out over the water. “You know, if you think about it, by all outward appearances we don’t even exist.” He cupped his hands together and placed them in the pond, then scooped up a handful of water.

“Of course we exist,” Max said.

Zan sent a look over his shoulder at Max. “How do you know?”

“We prove it every day.” Max’s gaze shot over to the beehive that was still sitting in the middle of the picnic blanket. “You just did.”

Zan rose from his hunched over position, the water still cupped in his hand. Not a single drop dripped between his fingers as he brought it over to Max. “Look at this.”

Max looked inside the small pool cupped in Zan’s hands. “It’s just water.”

“Yet it contains more substance than either you or I ever will. It exists.” Zan released his hand and let the water splash onto the grass, just avoiding splashing water onto Max’s immaculate white shoes.

“What are you talking about? We exist.” There was a slight sense of reservation in Max’s tone. It wasn’t because he didn’t believe in their existence. He was just a little thrown by the direction this conversation was taking.

“Do we?” Zan questioned. “I’m not so sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, how sure can we be that we are really here? We can’t touch the world physically. How do we know that it is really us that influence humans? The humans don’t seem to have any inkling of our presence. Who’s to say that we are here? I can kick a ball or splash a puddle, but to the people that truly exist in this world, I’m nothing more than a strong gust of wind.

“No matter how much pain and suffering I cause, or happiness and joy you create, humans will always explain our presence away. Why should you, or I, or any of us believe that we are even really here?”

Max had to admit, it was a concept he had never thought of before. It was also one he didn’t like. Was Zan right? Was it the desire to prove that he truly existed that drove him to seek comfort in the human presence? Max had never questioned his own existence before, but now that he thought on it, he didn’t even recall his birth. He had always just…been.

He looked at Zan, who was looking at him expectantly, like he was waiting for Max to come to some realization. “Why are you suddenly saying all this?” Max asked him.

Zan made a face that Max couldn’t read. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. Wondering what it would be like to exist as the humans do. Don’t you?”

Yes, Max had. More often than he would care to admit. “It doesn’t matter. We are what we are, and humans are what they are. We have our place, and they have theirs.”

“Hmm,” Zan’s expression was still unreadable.

Max wondered what his brother was thinking. The entire conversation was very odd, even for Zan. “What are you thinking?”

Zan didn’t answer. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Where?” This time Max could read Zan’s face. He looked as if he were up to something that could not possibly be good.

“To see Him.” Zan answered.

Max couldn’t respond. What could his brother have possibly been thinking to suggest such a thing? No one went to see Him. No one spoke of Him.

“The fallen one?” Max asked.

Zan nodded.

Max shook his head. “No one sees the fallen one. It’s forbidden.”

Zan scoffed at him. “Nothing is forbidden.”

He shook his head again. Max couldn’t believe what his brother was saying. “It’s just not done.”

“And why do you think that is?”

It was an obviously leading question. “Because he is fallen,” Max said. The answer should have been as obvious to Zan as it was to him. Being fallen was the greatest disgrace for any of their kind, dark or light.

“He chose his path.” Zan made the declaration as if he knew more about the situation than most guardians.

“He did not,” Max insisted. “He was punished. Stripped of his guardianship.” Zan had to be bluffing. He couldn’t know anything. No one knew more than what all the guardians had been told about the circumstances of what had happened to the fallen one. He had been stripped of his powers, turned human, and none of their kind attempted to make contact with him.

Zan chuckled. “How naïve of you.”

“What do you mean?”

“None of us really know what happened to him. I’m betting there’s a reason we’re not meant to know.” Zan spoke as if he were attempting to explain a complicated concept to a small child.

“You speak of conspiracy,” Max said. Just as he spoke, a strong gust of wind blew between the two of them. It tossed the leaves on the trees and pushed waves across the small pond. It was as if the world were speaking, nodding its head in agreement with him.

“We’re not a perfect race, Max. We are the essence of extreme. Extremely good and extremely evil. There is no middle ground for us. We don’t have a balance. Only humans have that pleasure. What do you think it would be like to have that?”

“You are my balance. I’ve never wanted to be what you are. I’ve never wanted to feel what you feel. Pain, loss, suffering, anger.” Max shook his head. “You can keep them.” But a secret part of him did wonder what it would be like. What would it feel like to have negative emotions? What drove Zan’s kind to fashion the heinous acts they created?

Zan bent his head until Max could no longer see his face. He stood there for a moment, his arms straight, he his head bent in silence. He was so still that Max wondered if he was all right. Then Zan’s shoulders began to shake.

He was laughing. Zan was laughing at him.

Suddenly Zan’s head shot back up, and there was a wild and frightening look on his face. “We’re not whole, Max!” he yelled. “We’re nothing but half beings. Unable to comprehend the full spectrum of what it means to be alive! We-are-not-alive!”

Max had never seen his brother like this before. Zan was breathing hard, almost panting. He seemed more impassioned than Max had ever seen him. And for a Dark Guardian, there was only one type of passion: volatile passion.

The wind picked up, and the sky above them suddenly began to darken. Max looked up at it coolly. “Calm down, brother,” he soothed Zan. He was not sure if the other guardian was even listening to him. In fact, his brother had begun to pace just as a streak of lighting cut through the sky. It was immediately followed by a loud clap of thunder.

Zan didn’t break his pacing as he looked up at the sky as well. He laughed when a drop of water splashed on his face. “Calm down? Why? A little storm never hurt anyone.”

That was far from the truth, and they both knew it. They also knew that this sudden storm had the potential to become much more than little.

Although Zan had never been one of them, Max had a lot of experience with irate Dark Guardians, so he knew to continue speaking to his brother calmly. “You’re angry. This storm is too much.”

The rain didn’t let up. “I’m not angry, Max.” Zan laughed manically. “But then you don’t even know what anger is, so how would you be able to tell if I were?”

“I may not be able to feel anger, but I’m well aware of what it looks like.” And the sky was beginning to look a lot like angry.

Then, just as quickly as it had all started, the wind died down, the sun began pushing at the clouds, the rain slowed, and the lightning and thunder were no more.

Zan was now completely back to normal. His expression was even, no signs of frantic lines of laughter etched on his face.

“No, Max, I’m not angry,” he said. “But I am going to see the fallen one.” He reached out and placed both of his hands on his brother’s shoulders. “And you are coming with me.”

Max didn’t have time to make objections to his brother, because just as suddenly as Zan had brought on and stopped the angry storm, he made the two of them disappear into thin air.
TBC
Last edited by CandyDreamQueen on Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:34 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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Second: Becoming Them

Post by CandyDreamQueen »

Morning Dreamgirl
Natalie36
futuremrsmcdreamy
begonia9508
garcia88
pandas2001

Thanks you all so much for all the feedback. I’m going to try to update this tentatively every Saturday. That may change as my school schedule gets more hectic, but I think I’m pretty good for Saturdays for now. Even if that day does change, and I’ll let you know if it does, I will still try to update at least once a week.

<<<Candice>>>
SECOND

– Becoming Them –
High school biology teacher Liz Parker looked outside of her classroom window and watched the storm that had rolled in from nowhere roll right back out. One minute she’d been sitting at her desk grading her AP student’s Tuesday lab tests and the next thing she knew rain had been pelting against her window hard enough to break her concentration from her work.

Where the sky had once been bright blue it was now an angry shade of gray. Lighting streaked it with intense flashes of light, and the sound of thunder rolled through the room like a bowling ball crashing into ten pins.

Then, just like that, the rain had stopped.

Aside from being a weird phenomenon, there really wasn’t any reason Liz should have let the sudden storm distract her from grading her papers. Her students were expecting them back tomorrow. Still, no matter how hard she tried, she could no longer force herself to concentrate on doing her job.

She’d been thinking about him again - her grandfather. She didn’t know if he had gotten worse since the last time she’d seen him. That was because he almost never allowed her to come see him, and he flat out refused to go see a doctor or enter a home. Ever since her grandmother had passed five years ago, her grandfather’s mental stability had been deteriorating. She wasn’t sure if he could see what was happening, but whether he wanted to admitted it or not, he was slowly losing his mind, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Liz sat aside the stack of papers and leaned back heavily against her chair, watching the residual rainwater that ran down her window and pooled on the sill. It was after four already. She had originally made plans to go and see her grandfather after school, but when she’d called to tell him she was on her way, he’d refused her for the third time that week.

Charley Parker was the most stubborn man she knew. No one could force him to do anything he didn’t want to do, not even his beloved granddaughter. It was something she both loved and hated about the old fogy.

Just as Liz was about to become completely absorbed in her concerns for her grandfather, the doorknob to her classroom began to turn and Maria Deluca walked inside.

Maria was the choir director for the high school’s concert, chamber, and treble choirs. She taught beginning, intermediate, and advanced guitar; sponsored the music club; and coached the JV cheerleading squad. The woman was a busybody, to say the least. She was also one of Liz’s closest friends.

Maria looked surprised to see that Liz was still sitting at her desk well after she normally would have been gone. “Hey girl, I just came by to borrow your projector for class tomorrow. What are you still doing here? Weren’t you going to see your grandfather today?”

Liz shook her head. “No, Pap-pap wasn’t feeling up to it today, so I figured I’d stay here and try to get some work done.” She pointed to the stack of half graded tests sitting on her desk.

Maria walked into the room past the projector and took a seat at the table nearest to Liz’s desk. “Is everything okay?” She asked, her voice laced with concern.

Liz shook her head. “I don’t really know. The last time I saw him he’d taken down and broken all his mirrors because he claimed there were people inside of them.” Her grandfather had been frantic in his craze to remove all the mirrors from his room.

“I’ve only been able to talk to him on the phone. Every time I try to come see him, he won’t let me. He doesn’t sound any worse, but I can’t really be sure of how he’s doing unless I see him.” Every day she didn’t see him added another day’s worth of worry onto her shoulders.

Maria nodded in understanding. “Maybe you should just drop by without telling him. Force him to see you.”

She’d thought about doing that, and it seemed to be a good option, but not the smartest one. She loved her grandfather and she knew he loved her. She also knew that he was capable of being quite callous sometimes. If he were in a foul mood he would probably just leave her standing on his front porch. He might even go so far as to call the cops and have her arrested for lurking.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she said. “Pap-pap is stubborn and he values his privacy more than anything else.”

“So what are you going to do?” Maria asked.

Liz wasn’t sure, but she knew she would have to do something soon. “I don’t know. I guess for now I’m just going to have to keep trying to convince him to let me come see him.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

Liz was sure that if she didn’t somehow convince her grandfather that he needed help soon, things were going to get really bad. Much worse than they already were right now. She looked at Maria with sad eyes. “That’s not something I really want to think about.”
---
Max stumbled in the air as he materialized above foreign ground. His feet hovered half an inch above the wooden planks of the unfamiliar porch before floating slowly down to touch the floor. He took a minute to get his bearings, then took in his surroundings. On the porch there was a sleeping dog, a dead potted plant, and a rusted old porch swing that looked as if it would collapse if someone so much as breathed too hard next to it.

“Where are we?” he asked.

Zan, who had been eying the lazy dog with disdain, turned to face him. “Can’t you guess? This is the fallen one’s home.”

Max found it hard to believe that this was actually where the fallen one lived. The man may have been disgraced, but he was still an ex-guardian. This place was almost dilapidated, hardly the accommodations he would have expected. “He lives here?”

“Where did you think he would live? Beverley Hills 90210? Yes, he lives here.”

“Sarcasm is not necessary.” Max walked over to the plant and pinched one of the flowers between his fingers. It crumpled in his hand. “Is he a recluse?” he asked.

Zan shrugged. “How would I know that?”

“You seem to know everything else there is to know about him.” He sat the crumpled pieces of flower in the soil and covered it up, burying the poor thing.

“Not quite everything,” Zan said. Just as Max had, he examined the ramshackle front porch. “I would assume by the state of his house that he’s not exactly a socialite.”

“Again, sarcasm not needed.” Wiping his hands off, Max walked over to the front door. To his surprise, it was slightly opened. He turned around to look at Zan curiously, but his brother appeared to be at as much of a loss as he was.

“You don’t think he’s being burglarized, do you?”

Zan sneered in disgust. “Obviously not, the most valuable thing this place has to offer is that dead plant. Besides, I’m sure Fido would roll over and play alive if someone were to actually come near.”

Max looked over at the dog that was still sound asleep, completely oblivious to their presence. Animals were just as unaware of guardians as humans were, so it didn’t surprise him that the dog hadn’t woken up at their arrival. Anyway, Zan was probably right; a Dark Guardian would know better than anyone if any ill deeds were taking place inside of the house.

“Perhaps he was expecting us,” Zan offered, pushing past Max and entering the house.

Max followed him cautiously. “He can’t even see us. How would he know to expect us?” Even if he had been expecting them, whether the door was opened or closed wouldn’t stop them from entering wherever they pleased.

Zan didn’t answer Max right away. He walked into the house as if he owned the place, looking around the rooms, obviously searching for something. “He can see us.”

Max frowned. “How?” he asked. And how did Zan know all of this?

Zan ignored him. “See if you can find a mirror.”

“A mirror? Why?” Now he was even more confused.

Groaning loudly in the back of his throat, Zan snapped at his brother. “Would you please stop asking me all these questions and just do what I ask of you?”

Max sighed. Zan was in a mood so it was best to humor him until he could find out any more information. “Fine, but I want to know what is going on.”

Zan waved him off. “Sure, sure, I’ll explain everything later. Just start looking.”

Max nodded and began searching the rooms for a mirror. It felt strange to be inside of a house. He had never invaded a human’s private domain before. As a personal rule, homes and other private places were off limits to him. Besides, he didn’t really need to physically be with a person to do his job, just somewhere in the vicinity. Walking around openly in a human’s home like this, regardless of what that human used to be, felt like an invasion.

“Ahh, found it,” Zan said triumphantly lifting up a cracked mirror.

“It’s broken,” Max observed.

Zan shrugged indifferently. “It’ll serve our purpose.”

“Yes, our purpose,” Max said. “And what exactly is that again?”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop asking questions?”

“You did.”

“Then stop asking questions,” Zan said. He turned the mirror in his arms and pointed it at Max. “Just look.”

Max examined his reflection in the broken glass. His image was slightly distorted by the crack that ran the width of the mirror, but he could still see himself clearly for the most part. He’d never really looked into many mirrors before. He’d never had a reason to. Sure, he knew what he looked like – one could not exist for as long as he had without running into one’s reflection. But he couldn’t say that he’d ever paid much attention to it. Vanity was another emotion he didn’t feel.

Max tilted his head from side to side and lifted his arms up and down, making mundane actions just to see his refection follow the same movements. It was a very interesting object, this mirror.

“Fascinating,” he said, watching his reflection.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re very beautiful. Come on.” Zan tucked the mirror underneath his arm and headed towards a narrow stairway that was just off the living room. Max followed him. He wasn’t sure how, but Zan obviously knew where he was going. Max was beginning to think that this was not his brother’s first time being in this house.

At the top of the stairs there were three rooms. Two of them appeared to be locked up tight with large padlocks on the doors. A padlock wouldn’t hinder either of them if they wanted to enter, but Max thought it was a pretty strange thing to have on the doors in your home. The third door was wide open. Max and Zan could hear the sound of people talking inside. Did the fallen one not live alone, Max wondered?

“It’s just the televisions,” Zan said, answering Max’s unspoken question. “There’s no one here but him.”

Again Max wondered how Zan could possibly know that, but he kept his question to himself. Zan walked boldly down the hall past the two locked doors and straight for the open one. Again, he stepped inside as if he were completely familiar with the place.

They should not have been there. Max knew that. Nevertheless, he couldn’t deny the tinge of curiosity he felt deep inside of him. It was that curiosity that made him follow Zan into the room.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to see upon entering, but it was nothing like what he did see. The place was completely cluttered. There were strange things – strange because they were so oddly arranged – all around the room. Max assumed it was supposed to be a bedroom. There was a bed sitting in the corner with a few pillows thrown across it. But there was also a large dining room table, and a lawnmower sitting in the middle of the floor, so he couldn’t really be sure what the room was supposed to be.

Three chairs sat in the remaining corners of the room, each pointing at its respective corner. A television appeared to be mounted on the wall. A small blue cooler sat beside the bed, and an opened closet door revealed a room full of what appeared to be stacks of newspapers. Some of them were so old they were turning yellow.

As he took in all the strange and out of place objects that decorated the room, one thing became abundantly clear to Max. The fallen one was completely insane.

If the room didn’t prove it, the man himself did. It took a moment for Max to even notice him, he blended so well with the out-of-placeness the room exuded, but when he did finally see the man sitting on top of what he guessed used to be a rocking chair but had no arms or back, Max could only stare at him.

He was a very old man. He had extremely long hair that was tied back in a silver ponytail. His beard was as colorless as his hair, but oddly enough, his eyebrows remained a dark shade of brown. Because of the dark and light contrast, he was a man who appeared to be perpetually frowning.

On his face he wore a pair of small circular framed glasses that had no lenses. They slid down underneath his eyes as he looked up at the television. Max noticed that every time he changed the channel his eyes blinked dramatically, as if he were somehow controlling the television with his mind instead of the remote control in his hand.

His clothes were old, having the faded look of being washed too many times, but they were neat. He wore a blue and white checkered shirt. His pants were a drab brown, and on his feet he wore a pair of solid white tennis shoes.

Although he was well kept for the most part, he was far from glamorous. Nonetheless, his appearance wasn’t much different from most of the humans Max had come across in his life. And just like every other person on the planet, he was completely unaware of Max and Zan’s presences.

Zan didn’t seem to be as surprised by the state of the room, or the state of the man that owned it. He ignored the room and the man as if they were the most normal sight he had ever seen, and walked over to stand in front of an empty space on the wall directly behind the man. Bringing the mirror out from underneath his arm, Zan placed it in the spot it seemed to fit like it had always been there. Max watched in confusion as his brother stood in front of the mirror and smiled callously at his own reflection.

“You know, you shouldn’t leave your door open. You never know just who might wander in.”

Max’s brow furrowed in confusion. It was obvious that Zan was not speaking to him. In fact, he was still looking directly into the mirror.

The man spun around on the half rocking chair and faced the mirror, which he knew had not previously been there. He looked at the mirror for a long time then let out a foul curse. If Max didn’t know any better, he would think the man was looking directly at Zan’s reflection.

“You again? Didn’t I tell you to go away?” His voice was as raspy and old as his appearance.

Zan continued to smile. “Did you think this crack would keep me away? Or removing the mirrors from your bedroom? Please.”

The man shrugged. “It was worth a shot.” He stood up from his seat and stretched his legs, then sat back down. “I see you brought your evil twin with you.”

Evil twin? Max was standing right beside the man, but his gaze was focused on Max’s reflection in the mirror. It was clear now; the man could see both him and Zan. It was also evident by their conversation that this was not the first time Zan and the man had met.

“Actually, I’m the evil twin.” Zan said proudly.

“Whatever, just tell him to back away,” he said, waving his arms at the air around him. Of course, he couldn’t feel Max, but that didn’t stop him from swatting at his reflection.

“He can hear you just fine,” Zan said.

“Good, then he can hear me tell him to wipe that stupid look off his face and back the hell up!” Max jumped back naturally when the man grabbed a golf club off the floor and swung it in his direction. The club couldn’t hurt him, but it was still startling to suddenly have a rod swung at your head.

Max immediately walked away from the man and went to stand beside Zan. “How is this possible?”

“It’s hard to explain,” Zan said. He was still looking at the man though. “There are many things that are possible in this world, aren’t there, Charlington?”

“You’re annoying,” Charlington grumbled. “Annoying things should be shot.”

Zan rolled his eyes, “Like it would do anything.”

“It would make me feel an awful lot better.” Charlington looked at the golf club in his hands. “I knew I should have shattered that thing. Who needs mirrors at this price?”

“Aww, Char, I thought we were friends?” Zan said mockingly.

“Yeah, we’re best buddies. Get the hell out of my house.”

Zan tsked at him. “You know, you’ve developed an awful swearing habit in your human existence.”

“I’m sorry, I meant get the fuck out of my house.”

Max watched the exchange between the two of them, completely lost as to what was going on. He still couldn’t believe that this man, Charlington, could see them.

“Not until you give me what I want,” Zan was saying. Max wasn’t sure what Zan wanted from this man, but he was going to find out.

“Excuse me, I hate to interrupt, but would someone please tell me what’s going on here?”

Charlington looked at Max’s reflection in the mirror. “He doesn’t know? You didn’t tell him?” he laughed heartily, “Oh that’s rich.”

“Shut up,” Zan commanded Charlington. He turned to Max. “Shut up,” he repeated.

“No, I want to know what is going on. What is this place?” Max motioned around the room. “Is he really the fallen one?” he pointed to Charlington. “How can he see us? What do you want from him? How does it involve me?”

Charlington was still laughing. Max however did not think the situation was the least bit funny. “Please tell me,” he said to Zan.

“Fine,” Zan said, “I’ll answer your stupid questions.” He looked around the room with a sneer. “We are in the psychotic domain he calls a house.” He nodded in Charlington’s direction. “Yes, he is the fallen one.” Next he tapped his hand on the mirror. “He can see us through a complicated loophole I don’t feel like explaining that involves mirrors and the fact that he used to be a guardian.” And finally Zan pointed at Max. “This involves you because it involves me.”

Charlington finally stopped laughing. He wiped away an imaginary tear from his eye. “Way to gloss over the details Angel-boy.”

Zan glared at Charlington. “I am not an angel.”

“Whatever.” Charlington laid his golf club back down on the floor. “Point is, I’m still not going to help you.”

“Oh yes you are,”

“No, I’m really not.”

“I’m not one to mess with, old man,” Zan warned.

This time Charlington glared at him. “And I’m not afraid of you, little boy,” he said. “I was a guardian longer than the two of you combined. And I’ve been human long enough to learn a few things your one-dimensional minds will never comprehend.”

Zan was getting angry again, Max could see that clearly. It was time for him to play buffer. “I’m sorry, sir. We mean no disrespect,” he said before Zan could respond to Charlington’s taunt. “But tell me, what is it that my brother wants from you?”

Charlington was still glaring at Zan’s reflection, and for a moment Max wondered if the ex-guardian was going to answer him; but then he turned his gaze to Max, and the anger was gone.

Reaching inside his pants pocket, Charlington pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “He wants me to make him human,” he said, then lit the cigarette.

Max looked at Zan. So that was what this was all about. That was what his brother had been talking about earlier. Zan knew a way to become human. “To become human?”

“Yes, well, he’s not being very cooperative,” Zan gritted through his teeth.

Charlington took a puff of his cigarette. “I told you the last time you were here that I wouldn’t do it. That hasn’t changed since you’ve been gone.”

“You told me I needed him to accomplish my goal.” Zan sent him a pointed look. “Why would you do that if you weren’t going to do what I want?”

“Aw kid, I just like fucking with you.” Charlington laughed and took another long drag on his cigarette.

“You know, lung cancer kills.” Zan said evilly.

Charlington shrugged. “Not afraid to die. Is that the best you’ve got? If I don’t help you, you’ll kill me? Sorry kid, I’ve been dead inside for five years. Making it official won’t make any difference to me.”

The corners of Zan’s mouth turned up in an evil grin. “Who said anything about killing you?”

Charlington stopped mid puff.

“You may not care much about your own life, but I’m sure you care an awful lot about someone else’s.”

Charlington narrowed his eyes at the Dark Guardian. “You wouldn’t.”

“You don’t think so? I guess you’ve been human for a little too long if you don’t think I would do everything in my power to make sure that she suffered.”

“Zan, that’s enough,” Max said, but the two of them were ignoring him.

“If you do anything to her, you’ll wish you had killed me.” Charlington said.

Zan didn’t pay the threat much heed. “This is all very avoidable. All you have to do is what I’ve asked. Then we won’t have a problem.” Knowing he had won, Zan folded his arms across his chest and waited.

The two stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Zan appeared very smug, while Charlington looked as if he were about to explode. Max watched them intently, wondering what would happen next.

“If I do this, you leave her alone. You got that?”

“Sure, sure.” Zan said.

Charlington looked at Max. “You’re a Light Guardian, right?”

“Yes,” Max nodded.

“You can’t do anything to stop him, huh?” Charlington asked, but deep down he already knew the answer.

Max shook his head. “I can counter his actions, but I can’t stop them.” Light Guardians could give out the good, but they could not take away the bad. The same thing worked in reverse for the Dark Guardians.

“Yeah, I remember that little bullshit of a rule.”

“Are you going to do it or not?” Zan cut in impatiently.

Charlington let out a deep sigh. In that moment he appeared truly old. He was compliant, but he did not look happy. “The two of you get one week. One week to be human, and then you get the hell out of my life for good. You got that?”

Max frowned. “The two of us?”

Charlington nodded. “Yeah, the two of you. That’s how this works. One of you can’t become human without the other. ‘Respect the balance’ and all that.”

So this is what Zan needed him for. He looked at his brother, who would not meet his gaze. “So then I’ll become human too?”

“That’s the idea,” Charlington said. He was looking at Zan as well. “You know, you really should have gone over all this with Angel-boy before you commenced to blackmailing me.”

Zan shrugged uncaringly. “In hindsight, perhaps. It’s too late now, though. I’ll fill him in after you make me human.”

“Demanding much, aren’t we?”

“Wait a minute,” Max interrupted. “Don’t I get a say in this? What if I don’t want to become human?”

“Too bad,” Zan said.

Charlington laughed humorlessly, “You’re a real jackass, you know that? He’s your fucking brother, but I bet you’ve never even considered him as one have you?”

“Of course I have. The same way you must have considered your guardian brother when you became human.”

Charlington stepped towards the mirror. “What did you say to me?”

Zan didn’t appear the least bit intimidated. “Oh come on, Char. An eye for an eye. Respect the balance. Your guardian brother must have really enjoyed being stripped of his guardianship because of something you did.”

“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“No? Then your brother didn’t become human when you were stripped of your powers?”

Charlington didn’t say anything, but his silence was answer enough.

Zan laughed. “I thought so.”

“Let’s just get this done with so you can get the hell out of my house.”

“Gladly.”

Charlington looked at Max. “Your asshole brother will have to fill you in on the details later,” he said. “I’m done answering questions.” Then without another word, he placed his hands flat against the mirror and closed his eyes.

The process began almost immediately. It was a strange sight. One minute Max and Zan’s reflections were both clearly visible in the mirror, but as Charlington kept his hands there longer, their reflections began to fade.

Max looked down at himself. As far as he could tell, he was still perfectly corporeal, but his reflection was becoming dimmer and dimmer. He patted his chest in alarm. He felt solid as well. Still, his reflection was fading out of existence… or into existence.

His form may not have been changing, but he definitely felt different inside. He felt…tingly all over. It was like his body was humming. There was a definite pulse inside him where there hadn’t been before. It felt strange. He looked into the mirror at his reflection. It was hardly even there anymore. Charlington’s eyes were still closed, as were Zan’s. The look on both their faces was serene. Max’s breath was starting to come in fast. He felt…achy…almost…panicky. He’d never felt anything like this before. His eyes shot around the room wildly. He felt like he was losing it.

“Close your eyes, Max,” Zan said to him. He had not opened his own eyes, so Max was unsure of how his brother knew that he was freaking out.

Max shut his eyes tight, clenching them together. He could still feel the buzzing in his body. It was moving all around him, traveling up his arms and legs, through his torso, around his head. It was too much. His eyes shot open and he fell to his knees.

“Zan,” he rasped, his breath coming unevenly, “…I can’t… it’s too… I can’t…”

“Just close your eyes!” Zan shouted with obvious strain. “Don’t let yourself feel it.”

Max shook his head. There was no way he could block this feeling. “What…what is this?”

“Shut up and keep your eyes closed,” Zan groaned.

“I don’t… I don’t think… I don’t think I can.”

“You’d better.”

“Will both of you shut up?” Charlington interrupted. “This isn’t exactly a piece of cake to do.” He voice was strained as well.

Max tried to get back to his feet, but fell back on his knees when he felt a sharp sensation shoot through his head. “Ahhh,” he cried out and reached for his head. What was this feeling? Was this pain?

“Ignore it.” Zan ordered harshly. His voice cracked slightly. He must have been feeling the same thing.

“It hurts,” Max groaned.

“Really?” Zan asked sarcastically. His eyes opened for a second but then immediately closed right back. “Mine…feels…delightful.”

“Sarcasm…still…not…needed.”

“I said shut up!” Charlington shouted. “We’re almost done, so stop weeping like a bunch of babies.”

Max and Zan remained silent for the rest of the transformation. They didn’t speak, but they groaned moaned and grunted to their hearts’ content. When it was finally over, Charlington removed his hands from the mirror, effectively removing the painful hold he had over their bodies. Max and Zan both let out ear piercing screams at the shock of having the painful sensations coursing though their bodies suddenly stop. When the screaming finally ended, both guardians slumped to the ground in a dead faint.
TBC
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Re: Fallen In Love (M/L, Teen/Mature, Two, 10/04/08)

Post by CandyDreamQueen »

garcia88
begonia9508


Thank you both for the feedback. :wink:
THIRD

- Meeting Them -
Max was conscious, but he couldn’t move his body. He didn’t know how long he’d been lying in the middle of the floor, but it felt like it had been an eternity. For someone that was ageless, that was saying something. In actuality he was sure it had only really been a few minutes. His entire body felt strange. It hurt. Up until a little while ago he had never felt pain before. Now there was no mistaking the sore achy feeling that resonated inside of him. It was not a very pleasant feeling.

He tried to sit up again and this time managed to brace his hands against the floor. They were wobbly, but they held him up. He shook his head and blinked his eyes, trying to clear away the fog that was still with him. He felt a little dizzy. Was this how humans felt all the time? He sure hoped not. He didn’t want to have to cope with feeling like this for an entire week.

“Don’t worry, it’ll pass.” Charlington was standing over him. He reached out his hand and held it out to Max. Max took it and allowed himself to be pulled into a sitting position.

“It’s a mother, I know, but it’s only temporary.”

That was a relief to hear. Max definitely didn’t like this first aspect of becoming human. Pain was not an agreeable sensation. But the feeling was already starting to go away; a sign that Charlington’s words were true. The pain would pass.

Max noticed that Charlington and he were the only ones in the room. “Where’s Zan?”

Charlington smiled wickedly. “Bathroom. Seems your evil twin’s got a weak stomach. Shame, that.” He didn’t sound very remorseful.

“He’ll be alright?”

Charlington laughed. “Sure. Just as soon as his stomach catches up with the rest of his body.”

Max was sure that wasn’t a good sign. He didn’t know exactly what Charlington meant by “stomach catches up to the rest of his body,” but he could guess it wasn’t a good thing. His worry deepened when he started to feel a strange sensation in the pit of his own stomach.

“Here,” Charlington handed him a small clear package.

Max took it and looked at the front label. “Saltines,” he read.

“They’re crackers. They’ll keep you from ending up like your brother.”

Max examined the package. He had never eaten human food before. He’d never eaten anything before. Guardians didn’t need things like food and water to survive. They thrived on positive and negative emotions. This would be yet another completely new experience for him. He opened the clear package and took out one of the square objects.

Charlington watched him with a huge grin on his face. “Go ahead, it won’t hurt you.”

With only slight hesitation, Max put the saltine in his mouth. He chewed several times, crunching the hard cracker between his teeth. It tasted… well, kind of strange. He didn’t like the way it made his mouth feel. A dry taste lingered in the back of his throat and on the tip of his tongue. It wasn’t bad. It was just… weird. But only a few minutes after swallowing the cracker, his stomach was beginning to feel a bit more settled.

“Better?” Charlington asked.

Max nodded. He looked down at the second cracker in his hand, then offered it to Charlington.

“No thanks,” he chuckled. “You go crazy.”

One saltine was quite enough, but Max supposed his stomach would appreciate a second cracker a lot more than his mouth would dislike the taste. He placed the second saltine in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed.

As Max finished off his cracker, the bedroom door opened, and Zan stood in the doorway. His hand was placed flat against his stomach, and there was an intensely fierce scowl on his face. He was obviously not in a good mood.

“A little warning would have been nice,” Zan said, directing his glower and his anger at Charlington specifically. “I feel like I just emptied out everything in my body. And there was nothing in my body to begin with.”

Charlington shrugged. “You’re the one that was in such a big rush. It’s not my fault you were too ‘me, me, me, now, now, now’ to let me explain the side effects of the change.”

Zan continued to scowl. “You know, I really hate you,” he groaned.

Charlington blew him a kiss. “Yeah, and you’re just my favorite person in the whole world.”

“Shut up, old man.”

“How’s your stomach, little boy?”

Already Max was growing tired of the two of them arguing. “Please stop,” he begged, but they both ignored him.

“My stomach is about as intact as your sanity,” Zan said.

“Whatever, Angel-boy. Why don’t you go get better reacquainted with the toilet bowl? I’m sure you’ll be spending a lot of time together.”

“Why don’t you come get reacquainted with my fist?”

Charlington laughed, “You think you can take me? Not on your best day.”

Zan took a step forward. “You want to come over here and say that?”

“Oh please, what are you going to do, throw up on me?”

“I said stop it!” Max shouted.

Zan and Charlington looked at him, surprise written clearly across their faces. Max was surprised himself. In all of his existence he had never shouted before. He wasn’t even sure what the desire to scream felt like. He’d never lifted his voice to anything above a normal speaking level, so he had no clue what had come over him.

“I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean,” he started to apologize.

Charlington waved him off. “You’re human now, kid. Shouting is what we spend about a good seventy-five percent of our time doing. We’d never get anything done without it.”

Max was aware that humans sometimes had a tendency to become very shrill in their expression of unpleasant emotions, but he wasn’t human by nature. Shouting was atypical to his character. “Yes, I know, but I’ve never… that is…”

“Max,” Zan cut him off. “Get over it.”

Max looked down, feeling ashamed of his behavior.

Charlington glared at Zan. “Way to go, jackass.”

“What? How are we going to blend into this world if he flips out every time he expresses some sort of human emotion?” Zan looked down at Max. “Welcome to the human world. It isn’t all happy-happy, joy-joy like you’re used to. You’d better learn that quickly.”

Charlington snorted in disgust. “The human world isn’t all about being a cynical ass-munch either.”

Zan looked at Charlington. “You know, you’ve got a real potty mouth for a geezer.”

Charlington shrugged. “Yeah, well, I’m old. I can say whatever the hell I want.”

“Maybe you should work on not doing that,” Zan suggested.

“Maybe you should work on shutting the hell up.”

Zan smirked. “Don’t make me get the soap, old man. I have no problem attacking the elderly.”

“And I would have no problem schooling your ass if you tried it.”

Before the argument could get any further out of hand, Zan and Charlington were interrupted by the sound of a loud crash, followed shortly by a high-pitched whining.

“What was that?” Zan asked, looking around the room suspiciously.

“Calm down, Paranoia Princess. It’s probably just The Duke coming in from his nap,” Charlington explained.

“The Duke?” Zan and Max asked at the same time.

“My German Shepherd. He’s almost as blind as a bat, that dog. Always crashing into things, but he’s good company.”

Zan scoffed. “Too bad he can’t say the same about you.”

“Alright, I’ve had enough of-”

“Grandpa Charley!” a woman’s voice suddenly called out.

All three men froze. That definitely wasn’t the sound a blind dog made. Without a word, Charlington left the room, pushing rudely past Zan, and rushed over to the top of the stairs. He looked down, paused, swore viciously, then returned to the bedroom with Max and Zan. He closed the door firmly behind him.

“Who is that?” Max asked. Charlington didn’t seem like the type to get a lot of visitors. Now was not a good time to start playing gracious host. Although, Max doubted Charlington would have done so at any other time.

“It’s my granddaughter,” Charlington answered.

Zan laughed. “I told you not to leave your door opened.”
---
Liz stood in front of her grandfather’s house, wondering if she should just turn around and go back home. She’d originally thought that just showing up at his home unannounced was a bad idea. He would probably just kick her out, or worse, not even let her in at all. Even so, she could no longer sit at home doing nothing but worry about him. If he kicked her out she’d deal with it. If he didn’t let her in, so be it. At least she would have the satisfaction of knowing that she’d tried. Her grandma Claudia would never have forgiven her if she didn’t.

So here she was at the rickety disaster of a house Pap-pap had lived in with her grandma for over forty years and refused to move out of. She prayed that he didn’t slam the door in her face the second he opened it – if he opened the door.

When she finally mustered up the courage to step onto the porch, Liz was immediately attacked by a large slobbery beast. “Hi, Dukey,” she said, rubbing the large German Shepherd’s head affectionately. She laughed when he began slobbering all over her hand. He was such a sweet little dog… well, more like a sweet big dog, really.

“Pap-pap home, Dukey?” she asked, kneeling down and rubbing the rest of his big furry body. She was pretty sure her grandpa was in. He rarely went anywhere anymore, and when he did leave the house he hardly ever left The Duke by himself.

Liz rose and went over to the door. She started to knock, but saw that it was already opened. So much for worrying that her grandfather wouldn’t open his door to her. He was all but inviting the entire world in. She knew Pap-pap had a bad habit of leaving his door open for The Duke to go out and come in as he pleased. She had reprimanded him about it on more than one occasion. You never knew who just might wander inside.

Liz sighed exasperatedly. “Come on Dukey.” She pushed the door all the way open and led the dog into the house, then followed him inside and closed the door behind her, making sure it was firmly locked.

Dukey, who was mostly blind and highly excitable, immediately ran into the living room table, sending her grandma’s favorite large crystal blow toppling to the floor. It shattered instantaneously.

“Dukey!” Liz shouted, “Look what you did!” She crouched down and began picking up the pieces of the bowel. The Duke started to whine.

“Don’t tell me, tell Pap-pap. He’s going to be mighty angry with you.” She stood up and placed the broken pieces in the wastebasket. Dukey followed behind her, whining all the way.

Liz chuckled warmly at his pitiful state and gave the dog an affectionate pat on the head. “Don’t worry,” she soothed to him. “I’ll make sure Pap-pap doesn’t give you too hard of a time.”

Dukey barked.

“You’re welcome.” Liz kissed the top of his head, giving him double reassurance.

“So where’s Pap-pap?” she asked, knowing she would not receive an answer from her companion. “Grandpa Charley!” she called out, checking to see if he was in any of the downstairs rooms. There was no answer. He must have been in his room and was unable to hear her. Her grandfather listened to television so loudly she was surprised he hadn’t exploded his eardrums.

“Come on, boy,” she whistled to Dukey as she went over to the stairway. She started to climb the stairs, headed in the direction of her grandfather’s bedroom.
---
“Shut up, Zan.” Max said, then covered his mouth with one hand after realizing what words had just slipped out. This was the second time he’d said something rude.

Zan smirked at him. “See, you’re becoming more human by the second.”

“I see,” Max said. “Just like you’re becoming more annoying by the second.”

“Both of you shut up and listen to me,” Charlington interrupted them. “My granddaughter is on her way up, so pretend to be normal. Jeez, she already thinks I’ve lost it.”

“When did we establish that you found it?” Zan asked.

Charlington glared at him.

“Just ignore him,” Max said. “Please continue.”

Charlington nodded. “I don’t want her to think anything weird is going on, so just play along. She’s a bright girl and she’ll be suspicious of you guys being here.”

Zan leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “Maybe that’s a sign that you should throw more parties like this.”

This time Max glared at him. “Not helping,” he said.

“Just follow my lead,” Charlington said. He looked at Zan. “And you, don’t say a damn thing to her. In fact, don’t even look at her.”

“Me?” Zan asked, his voice dripping with mock innocence. “What makes you think I would say something inappropriate?”

“I didn’t tell you not to say anything inappropriate. I told you not to say anything at all.”

“Don’t worry, old man. I’ll be on my best behavior. Since we have a deal and all.” Zan looked down at Max, who was still sitting on the bedroom floor. “But you might want to help him up,” he said. “I think your granddaughter might wonder why there’s a guy sitting on your bedroom floor that looks like he’s about to puke all over your shoes?”

“Shit!” Charlington cursed. Quickly, he grabbed one of the three chairs from the corner of the room, then hooked his arms underneath Max’s shoulders and started to pull him into the chair.

Max brushed him off. “I’ve got it,” he said, managing to get to his knees on his own. He rose on wobbly legs, then sat down heavily in the chair.

“Try to look less like you’re going to keel over,” Zan suggested.

No one had time to respond to that smart-ass comment because Charlington’s granddaughter was already on the second floor. “Grandpa Charley?” they all heard again. This time the voice was closer.

“Game time.” Zan rubbed his hands together excitedly.

“You,” Charlington pointed to him. “Zip it.” He went to the door and stuck his head out. “In here, Lizzy.” He met her at the door, blocking her from entering the room. “What are you doing here?”

Liz smiled at her grandfather and wrapped her arms around him in a fierce hug. He hugged her back just as strongly. Charlington hadn’t realized how long it had been since he’d seen his granddaughter, but if felt good to have his arms around her. The two of them weren’t estranged, but he had not allowed himself to see a lot of her since Zan had first come to him, pestering him about being turned into a human.

Liz hadn’t believed him when he’d told her that he’d taken down his mirrors because he could see pests inside of them. It was the only time he’d ever given anyone in his family any indication that he was, or had ever been anything other than human. She hadn’t believed him. He doubted she would believe him now, either.

Without warning, The Duke came charging past them, right into Charlington’s bedroom. He collided with the dining room table first, but after regaining his doglike composure, began sniffing at the air curiously until he sniffed his way over to Zan. Dukey sniffed around the Dark Guardian for a few seconds then started barking loudly.

“What’s got him so excited?” Liz asked her grandfather.

“Back off Fluffy,” Zan warned, trying unsuccessfully to shoo the dog away. Dukey just continued sniffing around his legs.

“Who’s that? Is someone here?” Liz walked past Charley and entered the room. She didn’t know what surprised her more: that Dukey was practically climbing on top of a man dressed in all black, who was leaning against her grandfather’s wall; or the fact that there was a strange man inside her grandfather’s bedroom to begin with. Then she noticed the other man, identical to the first, but dressed in white, sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. Make that two strange men.

“What’s going on?” It wasn’t the most polite response she could have given, but it was the first thing that came to her mind. Who were these two men, and what were they doing in Pap-pap’s house?

“Lizzy, these are acquaintances of mine,” Charley said, following her into the room. “They’re, uh… grandsons of an old friend. They came by to visit me.”

“Oh,” was all Liz could say. “Well, hello.”

The one sitting down smiled at her. “Hello,” he said politely.

“Get this thing off of me,” the other one said, trying to push Dukey away. The dog had placed both of his front paws on the man’s chest and was now sniffing at his head.

Liz frowned but Charley and the man in white both just laughed. She walked embarrassedly over to the man in black and pulled on Dukey’s collar. “I’m so sorry about that,” she apologized. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

Dukey may have allowed himself to be pulled off of Zan, but it was only so he could plop down right in front of him and continue looking up, his tongue hanging doggishly out of his mouth.

“I think he likes you.” The man in white was grinning at his twin.

The man in black scowled at the dog.

Dukey barked.

“Please,” Charley said. “My dog has better sense than that.”

Liz watched them all curiously. This was unexpected. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your names.” She didn’t think it was a difficult question, but all three of them looked at each other strangely.

Charley answered for the two of them. “This is Max,” he said, pointing to the one dressed in white. “And that’s Za…” He had started to say Zan, but stopped himself. That was just a weird name. Who in their right mind would name their kid Zan? “uh…Sam,” he said instead.

Zan lifted a brow.

“Light,” Charley finished smiling complacently at Zan. “The Light brothers.”

“Okay.” Liz couldn’t recall any of her grandfather’s friends named Light. “Well, it’s nice to meet you both,” she said politely. “I’m Elizabeth. Liz. Charley’s granddaughter.”

“It’s nice to meet you, as well.” Max said.

Zan didn’t say anything.

Charley elbowed him.

“Ouch,” Zan glared at him.

Charley glared right back. “Forgive him. His manners are as dim as his brain.”

“What? Aren’t you the one who told me not to say anything?”

“Doesn’t mean you have to be a jack-hole.”

Max ignored the Zan and Charlington, knowing they were preparing to argue. He was already getting used to their strange relationship. However, what he was not used to was the woman standing across the room from him, or the effect she was causing inside of him. He was staring at her. He knew it was impolite, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. There was something about her that drew his eyes. It was like he couldn’t turn away.

She wasn’t looking at him, and he decided that that was a good thing. Surely she would have thought something was wrong with him if she caught him looking at her this way. Maybe there was something wrong with him. He’d done a lot of human watching in his time as a guardian. He didn’t tend to see too many humans watching each other. Maybe that was why he couldn’t stop staring. Maybe he was too used to watching humans. Or maybe it was something else. Max looked away quickly, and shook his head.

“So are the two of you just visiting?” Charlington’s granddaughter was asking. Max supposed she had somehow gotten her grandfather and Zan… or Sam, to stop arguing.

“Yeah, we’re just making sure the old fart hasn’t kicked the bucket yet,” Zan answered insensitively.

Max shook his head disapprovingly at his brother. “I apologize for him. You see, your grandfather and he-”

“Don’t get along?” she offered with a smile. “I kind of got that.”

“Well, he’s alive. I’m outta here.” Zan waved and started to leave the room, but Charlington reached for his arm.

“Not so fast. We’re not done here.”

“I got what I wanted from you, old man,” Zan spoke low enough for only Charlington to hear.

“You think I’m gonna just let you loose on the world? Think again kid.”

“Take your hands off me, old man.”

Charlington turned around and smiled at Max and Liz. “Heh-heh, excuse us for a second.” He began pushing Zan out of the door. “The two of us need to have a little chat. We’ll be right back.” Dukey ran for the door and immediately followed them out, leaving Max and Liz in the room by themselves.
TBC
Last edited by CandyDreamQueen on Fri Mar 27, 2009 5:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Fallen In Love (M/L, Teen/Mature, Four, 10/18/08)

Post by CandyDreamQueen »

begonia9508
garcia88
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Thank you all so much for reading and feedbacking.

I know, It’s super early Saturday morning, but I’m posting this early because I’m going shopping with my sister for most of the day and I don’t know what time I’ll be home. And even if I do get home early I know I’ll be super tired and probably go immediately to sleep. So here is today’s chapter at an ungodly hour to be up.

<<<Candice>>>
FOURTH
- Touching Them -
Well, this was awkward.

Liz didn’t know what to say as she stood across the room from Max. She had never met him or his brother before. But in the few minutes she had spent with introductions, she could already see that although they shared the same face, these men were two very different people. That was clear in everything from their opposite clothing to their night and day attitudes. The one Charley had left with, Sam – he was clearly not a people person. But Max seemed nice enough. He smiled easily, unlike his brother.

She would say this, though: both men were absolutely gorgeous. They were probably the two most attractive men she had ever laid eyes on. Yet they worked it so differently. Sam was sexy in a dark, broody, and somewhat angry kind of way, while Max exuded a sweet softness that was more appealing, and much more approachable. Not that she was thinking of approaching him; not romantically anyway. She hardly knew him. She didn’t know him. It was just an interesting observation, that was all.

“Liz?” Max asked, drawing her from her thoughts.

“Yes?” she answered.

“What are you thinking?”

“W-what?” she stumbled. She hadn’t been expecting him to ask that question.

Max smiled as he had been smiling since they were introduced. “What are you thinking? Your eyes were focused, and you were looking at me very attentively.”

She looked away from him, feeling embarrassed at having been caught staring so obviously. “Was I? I didn’t notice.”

He shrugged indifferently. “It’s okay. I was doing the same thing.”

She looked back up at him. “You were staring at me?”

“You didn’t notice?” he asked. Somehow he managed look surprised, and yet still be smiling.

She shook her head.

“Yes, I was staring at you,” he said. “I was thinking of you.”

Liz was even more embarrassed now, but it didn’t stop her from asking. “Really? What were you thinking about me?”

“I was thinking that you are a beautiful human.” There was no inflection of awkwardness in his tone, and he didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed at having said the words out loud.

A beautiful human? No one had ever called her that before. Heck, no one had ever said anything remotely like that to her. Was he flirting with her? She couldn’t tell. There was nothing romantic about the way he said it. It was just honest, sincere sounding, like he truly believed it. It made her truly believe him.

“Thank you,” she whispered, not knowing what else to say.

He nodded. “You’re welcome.”

And yes, he was still smiling.

Liz definitely liked him better than his brother. “So, how long have you known my grandfather?” she asked in an attempt to shift the focus of the conversation.

He looked away uncomfortably. “Not long, actually. Za… uh, Sam has known Charlington a lot longer than I have.”

“Really?” That was interesting. “They don’t seem all that close.”

He laughed. It was a low, quiet sound, like he was sharing an inside joke with himself. “They have a lot more in common than you think.”

Liz found that hard to believe. But she had to admit, Sam and her grandfather did seem to have a sort of argumentatively affectionate relationship. Maybe their animosity was just part of their way of showing that they truly cared for one another. It was highly unlikely, but not an impossibility. “Pap-pap doesn’t have any grandsons,” she mused.

“Pap-pap?” Max questioned.

Liz laughed. “Sorry. That’s what I call him. It’s just a little nickname.”

“It’s sweet.”

She shrugged. “He likes it.”

“I’m sure he would never allow anyone other than you to use it.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” Feeling a bit more comfortable with him, Liz took one of the chairs out of the corner of the room. “Can I sit?” she asked.

He nodded. “Please do.”

She placed her chair in front of his, and then took a seat. “I have to admit, I’m a little surprised that you and your brother are here. Pap-pap’s not very big on company. He’s been kind of reserved since Grandma died.”

Max frowned. “Is that so?”

Liz nodded. “They were very close. He loved her a lot.”

“When did she pass?”

“Five years ago. You didn’t know her?”

Max shook his head. “I never met her.”

Liz smiled. For a second she could almost see an imaginary picture of her Grandma Claudia’s smiling face. “Well, she was a wonderful woman.”

“She had to be if she could put up with Charlington,” Max joked.

Liz nodded. “I think she would have liked you.” She glanced at the doorway and lifted a brow, “But your brother, I’m not so sure.”

“She would have liked him.” Max proclaimed.

“How do you know?”

He shrugged. “Well, he’s a lot like Charlington, and she had it in her to love him.”

Liz thought about that. Max was right. Her grandmother had always been a sucker for a wounded soul. If that was the category Sam fit into, she was sure her grandmother would have liked him very much. “I think you’re right.”

Max did his little smile again. Liz had never seen someone appear so content just by simply smiling. His face seemed to be created of nothing but happiness and joy, like he was meant to smile. Which was a ridiculous notion. No one was meant to be happy. Happiness just… happened.

“Do you love someone like that?” Max said.

“Like what?” she asked. She’d been so caught up in his smile that she had completely lost track of the conversation.

“Like your grandmother loved Charlington?” he asked.

There he went, asking yet another question she was unprepared for. He was annoyingly good at that. “I love my grandfather,” she said hesitantly, not really wanting to say more.

Max nodded. “I know. Like a granddaughter loves a grandfather, right?”

Liz nodded.

“But is there someone that you love the way your grandmother and grandfather loved each other? Is there someone it would tear your world apart to be away from?” Max wasn’t sure why, but for some reason it seemed extremely important that he know this information about her.

Liz was a bit taken aback. He seemed so generously curious. She began to blush. “I think that’s a little personal.”

Max frowned. He supposed his last question had passed the boundaries of what was acceptable for human questioning. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Liz felt bad as she watched his expression change from one of curiosity to discomfort. She supposed there was no real harm in answering his question. “No, I don’t have anyone I love like that,” she answered.

“But you would like to,” he guessed, his discomfort disappearing as quickly as it had come.

“Well sure, I guess. Who wouldn’t want to find that kind of love?” Liz had always wanted to share the special kind of love her grandparents had known. It was the same kind of love her own parents had enjoyed. Why shouldn’t she want the same thing?

“I think most humans would want that,” Max said.

“Most humans?”

“It’s in your… human nature to want to care for someone, love them, cherish them, and be loved in return. I think that’s what I like about them the most.”

His phrasing was a little odd, Liz thought, but the sentiment was very nice. It was too bad not all of the world shared it with him. “I don’t know if most people think that way.”

“What do you mean?”

“A lot of people are selfish. Not everyone can put someone else ahead of themselves. I guess that’s why some relationships don’t work out.”

Max looked at her. The Light Guardian part of him would have liked to believe that most humans weren’t the way she described them, but he wasn’t that naïve. He knew better than anyone that humans were capable of great love and great selfishness. But judging from the way she spoke, it sounded as if Liz had first hand experience with human selfishness. Charlington’s granddaughter had obviously been the hurt party in a relationship before.

“You’re not like that.” Max said observantly.

Liz laughed. “How do you know what I’m like?”

Max didn’t know why she laughed. As a Light Guardian, he had a natural ability to see people. Good people, bad people. That ability didn’t seem to have gone away with his newfound human status. It was just as easy for him to see the good inside her as it would have been had he still possessed his Light Guardian powers.

Max’s expression was dead serious as he answered her. “I can see you.”

Liz stopped smiling. No one had ever looked at her so keenly. His eyes practically pierced right through her. “What… what do you mean?”

Max brought his chair closer to hers and held his hands out palms up, a silent invitation for her to place her own hands in his. After very little hesitation, she did. He didn’t take his eyes away from hers.

“You’re not so hard to read, Liz. You write your feelings clearly across your face.” He released one of her hands and ran a finger along the crease of her brow. “When you’re worried,” He caressed the top of her eyebrow. “Like you were when you first saw that my brother and I were here.” He let his finger trail down her face “When you’re happy,” He pushed in the slight dimple on her cheek “Like when your grandfather hugged you.” He traced his finger to the corner of her lips. “And when you’re calm,” He started to trace her entire lip, but stopped and let his fingers fall off her chin. “Like when you let me touch you.”

Liz didn’t know how to respond. His touch had been so soft, so shocking. And she had never been so comfortable letting someone touch her as she was with him. With him it just seemed like something so natural, almost instinctive. He made her feel like she’d felt him touch her a thousand times.

“How…” Liz had a little trouble finding her voice. She cleared her throat and tried again. “How can you see me so clearly?”

Max was still staring powerfully at her. “Because you let me see you so clearly.” He tilted his head to the side. “Is this not how you appear to everyone?”

She had no idea. “I don’t know.”

Max pondered that. “Then this is just for me?” he asked squeezing her hand. He didn’t give her time to respond. “I think I like that.”

She nodded, not even sure if she knew what he was talking about any longer. She felt so lost in him. “I think I like it, too.”

Max released her hand and leaned back in his chair. “How do you see me?” he asked.

“What?” she was still lost in the stupor of his words and touch.

“I would like to know how you see me,” he elaborated.

She shook her head. “I don’t know if I’m as good at reading people as you are.”

“You don’t have to be.” He took one of her hands again and placed it on his cheek. “Just look at me and tell me what you see.”

His skin was warm to her touch. His fingers seemed to barely touch hers as they aligned with her hand and pressed against his face. “I’ll try,” was all she could bring herself to say.

He nodded.

Liz felt a little nervous. Being a teacher she was accustomed to looking at many faces, but she had never examined a person quite this intimately before. Definitely not a virtual strange. Neither had she ever allowed someone to touch her this way. But he wasn’t just someone any longer. In just this short time, Max was quickly becoming a man that she was finding herself more and more attracted to by the moment. Even with those slight apprehensions she felt toward the situation, she didn’t turn away.

Looking deeply into his eyes, Liz tried to see the same things in him he had seen so clearly in her. He sat as still as a statue and let her look at him. From the look on his face she could tell he found absolutely nothing weird about the two of them sitting across from each other, her with her hand resting against his cheek, both of them looking deeply into the other’s eyes. After a few minutes, she started to laugh.

“This is really weird,” she said, but she didn’t take her eyes away from his.

“Why?” he asked, honestly finding nothing odd about it.

“Because, I’m just staring at you, and it’s weird.” And she was touching him. And he was touching her. And she was liking it. And she was pretty sure he was liking it too. And they were both probably liking it a lot more than they should have. And she was liking him. And she hoped he was liking her. And it was just an awful lot of “liking” for a girl to take in at a first meeting.

“What do you see?” Max asked.

Way too much, she thought. But she said, “I don’t know.”

“You have to see something,” he coaxed.

She sighed. “I see…you, I guess.”

“And what is me?”

“What is you?” she mocked.

He laughed. “What do you see in me? What do I look like?” He brushed her hand lightly against his cheek. “What do I feel like?”

“I see… you look… you feel…” Like nothing she had ever felt before. Abruptly Liz stood up and released him. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

Max frowned as he looked up at her. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said.

“You didn’t,” she denied.

But he knew he had. “I did, and I’m sorry.” Max stood up, and was happy to find that his legs supported him. “Perhaps we should start over.” He stuck his hand out to her in the way he had seen many humans do in greeting before. “I’m Max.”

Liz stared at his hand, but couldn’t stop herself from taking it. “I’m Liz,” she said, feeling kind of silly and a little stupid for overreacting.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Liz.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Max.”

They both smiled.
---
“You don’t have to push. I do know how to walk.” Zan walked down the stairs grudgingly with Charlington right behind him. He didn’t appreciate being led around like a stray dog. He also didn’t appreciate the actual dog that wouldn’t seem to stop following him around.

“And what is with this whole ‘Sam’ thing?” he asked.

“Because here in the world of humans, Zan is a weird ass name,” Charlington answered.

“Oh yeah, and there are millions of humans named Charlington.”

“No, that’s why I go by Charley. It’s all part of the blending, kid. Which by the way, you and your brother are going to have to start calling me Charley. No one calls me Charlington anymore. Not since I was… no one calls me that.”

“I don’t know. I think I like ‘old man’.”

Charley rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and I like double cheeseburgers and real ice cream milkshakes, but I know what’s good for me. You should think about that the next time you get the urge to call me ‘old man’.” He ushered Zan into the living room. “Alright, this is good,” he said. “Have a seat so we can get this all straightened out -right here, right now.”

Zan plopped down on the sofa and placed his feet up on the coffee table. He didn’t hide his agitation when Dukey hopped up on the couch beside him and laid his head down on Zan’s thigh. “Will you tell your blind beast to stop stalking me?”

Charley ignored him. He was looking at the coffee table where Zan’s feet were sitting. “What happened to my crystal bowl?”

Dukey whined and hid his head behind Zan’s back. “Oh would you knock it off, Snoopy?” Zan said, shifting in annoyance because of the dog.

Charley looked at the space where his bowl used to be, then eyed The Duke suspiciously. The dog was cowering guiltily behind Zan’s back. He’d deal with him later. Right now he had other more annoying… uh – important issues to deal with. He turned to look at Zan, then swept the guardian’s feet onto the floor. “Respect my table,” he said.

Zan glared at Charley, but didn’t put his feet back up.

“So, as I was saying upstairs. You’re not going to just go gallivanting around like some sixteen-year-old on spring break for the next week.”

Zan arched a brow. “And who is going to stop me?”

“I am. Let’s not forget, I made you human. I’m responsible for you, and I can have your ass back partying with Alice in looking glass land, lickety-split.”

“You said a week.”

“I may have said a week, but there are rules that go with that week. And guess what, Angel-boy? I’m the rule maker.”

“I told you, I am not an angel,” Zan said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, and I told you I like fucking with you. Deal with it.”

Zan clenched his fist together. “I really wish I could hurt you.”

Charley looked bored and clapped his fingers against his thumb in the universal sign of yap-yap-yapping. “Yeah, yeah, we’ve already passed that part of the dialogue. Now we’re at the part where you sit down, shut up, and listen to me talk. So try to keep up.”

Zan folded his arms across his chest and heaved a sigh.

Dukey barked.

“Good boy,” Charlington said, but it wasn’t clear if he was talking to Zan or the dog. “As much as I hate the idea of having to baby-sit you and your brother, I can’t just have the two of you running around all willy-nilly. So here are the rules. During the day you go and do whatever the hell you like. I could give less than two shits, as long as you stay outta trouble. But at night, you and your pristine brother report your angel asses back here to me. Report in at least once. That way I’ll know you two haven’t gotten your dumb asses killed. You got that?”

“Whatever,” Zan said.

“No, not ‘whatever’. The correct response is ‘Yes Charley, I don’t think that’s unfair of you at all.’ You try it.”

“Whatever,” Zan said again. “Can I go now?”

Shaking his head, Charlington reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. It was like living with a damn teenager again. “Dumb ass guardian, thinks he knows every damn thing there is to know about being human after all of five fucking minutes.” Charley was mumbling to himself none too quietly as he rummaged through his wallet. “Here,” he said, handing a wad of cash to Zan.

Zan examined it curiously and flipped it through his hands. “Nice.”

“Don’t spend it all in one place, dumb ass. If you get arrested you’re going to have to spend the rest of your week in jail, because there is no way I’m bailing you out. And remember, PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU.”

Zan waved him off as he stood up from the sofa and headed for the front door, Dukey following close on his heals. “Yeah sure, I got it.”

Dukey pranced around Zan’s legs looking anxiously up at him. Zan looked down at the dog that was practically drooling at his feet. He sighed heavily and then opened the door. “Come on then,” he said, motioning the thing out of the house. Dukey almost ran smack into the porch post, but he stopped himself just in time. He turned around and waited patiently for Zan to join him on the front porch.

“Don’t lose my dog!” Charlington called out to them, just as Zan closed the door behind himself.
---
Max and Liz came downstairs just as they heard Charlington call out for Zan not to lose The Duke. Charley was standing in the living room glaring at the front door. Max supposed he and Zan had finished their conversation. “Where did Sam go?” he asked, using the alias that Charlington had given his brother.

Charlington turned to look at the two of them. “He’s taking The Duke for a walk and doing whatever moody punks do in their spare time. He’ll be back.” At least he had better be.

Liz smiled. “Wow, Dukey must really like him.”

Charlington shook his head. “Dog always did have poor sight.”

“Sam must be pretty fond of him as well. He usually stays away from animals,” Max said.

“Who wouldn’t love Dukey?” Liz asked.

Charley didn’t seem to find the relationship between his dog and the current bane of his existence quite as fascinating as Max and Liz did. “Well I just know he better bring my dog back in once piece.”

“Pap-pap, you’re worrying about nothing,” Liz assured him. “If Dukey likes him he can’t be all that bad.” Liz wasn’t sure she completely believed that. She said it mostly to reassure Pap-pap. However, Max didn’t seem to think his brother was a bad guy either. Her grandfather must have known the same. He wouldn’t have allowed Dukey to go with him at all if he didn’t believe that.

Liz wrapped her arms around Charley and kissed him on the cheek. “I guess I’d better get going. I still have a lot of tests to grade.”

“Tests?” Max asked.

“Yes,” she nodded. “I teach high school biology.”

“Wow,” Max said in earnest awe.

Liz blushed. “It’s really not all that exciting.”

“But you teach children things they did not know before.”

“Well, my students aren’t exactly children.”

“Still, it is a very admirable profession.”

“Thank you,” she said.

Charley looked suspiciously between the two of them, then hugged Liz again. “Well then, you had better get going.” He kissed her on the cheek.

“I’ll come back to check on you tomorrow,” she promised.

“You don’t have to do that,” Charlington said. He loved his granddaughter, he really did, but the last thing he needed was to have her nosing around while he was stuck hosting Frick and Frack’s big adventure.

“Oh but Pap-pap, I want to.” Liz kissed him again, happy that she had made herself come over tonight, and even happier to see that her grandfather seemed to be doing much better. Although he still had his room set up in that…odd fashion, there had been no talk of men in mirrors, or any sign that Charley had ever believed that there was anything wrong with his mirror. In fact, she had noticed that the mirror he had taken down had been returned to his bedroom. Liz felt relived, although she would have to do something about that crack.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” she repeated. She turned to face Max. “Goodbye Max. It was, um… nice meeting you. I… I enjoyed it.”

“I enjoyed you.”

Liz blushed.

Max smiled.

Charley frowned.

She headed for the front door. “Tell your brother it was nice to meet him.”

“Yeah right,” Charley mumbled under his breath.

“I’ll tell him.” Max said.

Liz nodded. The two of them stood in silence, staring goofily at each other. Charley looked knowingly between them. “Oh brother.” He sighed and stepped forward, pushing Max out of the way and placing his hand on the open doorframe his granddaughter was standing inside of. “Goodbye Lizzy,” he said, ushering her out.

“Bye Pap-pap,” she said. Then finally, she left the house.

Charley closed the door behind her and locked it, then turned to back to Max. The Light Guardian was gawking at the door with an undeniably lovesick look on his face.

Well wasn’t this just great.

“Hey Max,” Charley called out for the Light Guardian’s attention.

Max regained awareness, seeming to just now notice that Liz was gone and that he had been staring stupidly at Charlington’s front door. “Yes Charlington?” he answered.

Charlington shook his head, chuckled softly, took a cigarette from the pack in his pocket, lit it, and took a long hard drag.

Then he smacked Max upside the head.

TBC
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Re: Fallen In Love (M/L, Teen/Mature, AN, 10/25/08)

Post by CandyDreamQueen »

Natalie36
destinyc
garcia88
begonia9508
Alien_Friend
Morning Dreamgirl
DreamerLaure

Thank you all for your kind words and feedback.

>>>Candice>>>
FIFTH

- Weighing Them –
Sleep:

To take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions, complete or partial, of consciousness. To be dormant, quiescent, or inactive. To cease being awake.

So said the textbook definition of the word.

However, to Max sleep was more than simply being in a state of unconsciousness. It was beguiling how quickly the human body could go from being alive, alert, and aware to entering into a world of dreams: a distorted reality where hours lapsed in what seemed mere seconds, and there was no room for the sense of reason.

A fascinating concept.

After Liz had left Charley had returned to the sanctuary of his room, leaving Max to his own devices. That was when Max had first started to feel it. At first he was not sure what ‘it’ was. He knew a lot about the theory of human emotions, but he had no knowledge of what physical effects they had on the human body. So when the feeling of weariness had first started to overcome him, it was something he had never felt before. Perhaps it was the lethargy of the change that caused Max to undergo the sensation of exhaustion. Whatever the cause, he’d sat down on Charlington’s sofa and allowed himself to drift into the world of dreams for the very first time.

The experience had been like nothing else. He vividly remembered the sensation of being completely relaxed as his body eased into the deep peace of slumber. Most importantly, he remembered his dreams. There had been several, but they all had one common theme. None of them made any sense whatsoever.

Once he’d stood on top of a cliff, looking off into a world where the sky was an ocean and the ocean was the sky. He’d stepped off that cliff with no fear and soared through a blue sky full of white clouds while large ocean creatures swam above his head. There’d been no transition from that dream to the next. One moment Max had been flying beside a killer wale; the next he’d found himself standing knee deep in a muddy pound.

Two fat frogs hopped from pad to pad, letting out loud croaks at each stop. Max followed them into the water, trudging uncaringly through the muddy pound as they led him on a playful chase. He finally managed to catch one of the frogs by scooping it between his palms. He opened his hand and looked down at the creature. Oddly enough, it was looking right back up at him.

“Wake up sleeping beauty,” the frog said. It stuck out its tongue to catch a fly that had been buzzing beside Max’s head.

Max eyed the frog, utterly confused by what he thought he’d just heard. “What did you say?”

“Ribbit!” the frog croaked, then jumped out of Max’s hands and back into the water.

After that everything went unexpectedly dark, and Max was covered in blackness. Suddenly he was no longer standing in a pond. He wasn’t sure where he was. He couldn’t see anything, and his hearing had become distorted as well. However just as quickly as it had overtaken him the darkness began to fade, and Max could gradually see that it was being penetrated by the slightest touch of light.

He heard the words spoken again. “I said wake up.” Only this time Max recognized the voice, and it was not a frog speaking.

Realizing that he was waking up and that it was Zan and not a frog that had been speaking to him, Max worked to remove the thing that had been tossed on top of his head. “What is the matter with you?” he asked, still disoriented from having been so rudely woken.

Dukey trotted happily over to Max and gave him a long waking lick across the face. Max groaned, but patted The Duke on the head in greeting. “Hello boy” he said to the dog. He was innerved by how strange his voice sounded after just waking.

Zan, who was standing over him, had a sinisterly crooked smile on his face. “Get dressed,” he said.

Max looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost midnight. “What are these?” he asked, holding up the items that had been tossed over his head.

“They’re clothes. Get dressed,” Zan ordered again.

Max rubbed his eyes tiredly, still in the process of waking up. He blinked a few times, then examined the clothes. “Where did they come from?”

“I stole them.”

“You stole them?”

“No, I didn’t steal them. Get dressed,” Zan said for the third time.

Max unfolded the clothes, revealing a pair of dark blue jean pants and a light blue collared shirt. The material felt different from his guardian clothes, but he’d seen lots of humans in similar garments, so he supposed they found it comfortable enough. He also noticed that Zan had changed clothes as well. Instead of his usual all black attire, his brother was now wearing a long-sleeved red shirt and black jeans. “Why do you keep telling me to get dressed?” Max asked. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with the clothes he was currently wearing.

Zan heaved a sigh and looked annoyed. “Because you’re wearing white after labor day,” he answered flippantly. “Why do you always ask so many questions?”

“Because you are so extremely forthright when it comes to explaining things,” Max said sardonically.

Zan lifted a brow. “Sarcasm?” he asked. “How very human of you.”

“Stop changing the subject.”

“I’m not changing the subject.”

Dukey looked back and forth between the two of them as they traded words like he would a tennis match on television. Giving his full attention to one brother as he spoke, and the other as he answered. Of course, the dog had no way of actually knowing what the two of them were saying, but he stared captivated between the two of them anyway.

Max sighed. “Zan, I think I’ve been pretty reasonable throughout this entire situation, wouldn’t you agree?”

Zan shrugged.

“Don’t you think it’s about time you started answering some of my questions honestly? It hasn’t exactly been easy being dragged into this the way I have been. And you did say you would explain everything.”

Zan was still annoyed. “What do you want to know?”

Max was surprised. He hadn’t expected his brother to comply so easily. “Who is Charlington? How did you find him? How did you know he had the power to make you human? How does he have this power? How long have you been planning this? How much do you-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Zan cut him off. He took a seat on the couch beside Max and crossed his ankles on the coffee table. “One question at a time, alright”

Max nodded. “How did you find Charlington?”

Zan shrugged. “It wasn’t exactly difficult to find him. If it were that hard to find the location of a place you’re supposed stay away from, how would you know where to stay away?”

Max supposed that made enough sense. “But how did you know to look for him in the first place? How did you know he could make you human?” That’s what Max had been trying to figure out since the start of all of this.

“Rumors,” Zan answered. Technically Max had asked more than one question, but both had the same answer, so he decided to let it go. “You can’t tell me you haven’t heard the rumors about becoming human.”

Max shook his head. “Light Guardians kind of make it a habit to avoid trivial gossip.”

“Heh, pity for you,” Zan said. All Dark Guardians knew that grapevines were some of the best ways to come across clandestine information. Even if most of that information was only rumor. The thing about rumors was that sometimes there was still enough truth to them to warrant investigation.

“So you got this information from the Dark Guardian gossip mill?” Max asked. “Why would you even believe it?”

Zan laughed at his brother. “See, and that is why you are so naive. Where do you think lies come from?”

“Troublemaking Dark Guardians?” Max guessed.

“The partial truth,” Zan corrected.

Max found that hard to believe. “The truth?” he asked skeptically.

Zan explained. “Look at it like this: if there are a thousand lies out there that say there’s a hermit guardian living in Timbuktu who has the power to change other guardians into humans with a mere blink of his eyes, there has to be some truth to it. If there wasn’t then where did the lie come from? That’s where I started. Here’s where I ended.”

“Here? With Charlington?” Max asked. Somehow Zan’s explanation just seemed too intricate.

“Once you pick away at the lie enough, all that’s left is the truth.”

“The truth being?”

“The truth being that there’s a human with the ability to transform guardians. And how would a human come across this power? Only if he were an ex-guardian. That led me to the Fallen One, which led me here. It was no more complicated than that.”

Max didn’t know about that. It all seemed pretty complicated to him. “So after you found Charlington, what did you do?”

“Found out if the rumors were true. Harassed him until he gave me the information I needed. Got you. Made him do it. Here we are.”

That was true. They were here. Charlington did have the power to make guardians human. Which meant that what Zan said must have held some truth to it. Didn’t it?

Zan stood up from the couch and walked over to the other side of the coffee table. “Well, then, if we’re done playing twenty questions, get up and get dressed.” Dukey followed him, staring up at Zan as if he too were waiting for Max.

Max looked up at him. “Why am I getting dressed?”

“We’re going out,” Zan answered.

“Where?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

Zan sighed. “Hell in a Hand Basket.”

“Excuse me?”

“We’re going to Hell in a Hand Basket,” he repeated.

Max didn’t like the sound of that. “Well maybe you are, but…”

Zan rolled his eyes. “Not literally, genius. It’s a bar I found. We’re going.”

Max cringed. “It doesn’t really sound like my kind of place.” He’d been to bars before, but not very many. They weren’t exactly number one on Light Guardians hangout lists, but Dark Guardians loved them. The only reason Max had ever set foot in such a place was because every now and then a Light Guardian needed to even out the balance. Most bars were to Dark Guardians as parks were to Light Guardians. They were highly susceptible to chaos.

“You are not going to spend this next week being a goody-two-shoes bringer of peace. That’s not what this is about.”

“What is this about?”

“It’s about being human, taking a walk on the wild side, and doing something you would never do as a Light Guardian.”

“I won’t like it,” Max said. As a Light Guardian, it simply wasn’t in his nature to enjoy debauchery.

“How do you know?” Zan asked.

“I’m a Light Guardian, not a frat boy.”

“Wrong, you’re a human now,” Zan corrected. “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil no longer applies to you.”

Max wasn’t convinced. “Well then the same applies to you.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning you’re not just all about depravity, dissipation, and dissolution anymore either. So why don’t you do something good for a change?”

Zan laughed, “You’re kidding.”

Max shook his head. “Not at all. If this week is really about me doing something I would never do as a Light Guardian, isn’t it safe to say that it’s also about you doing something you would never do as a Dark Guardian?”

“No,” Zan answered with absolutely no hesitation.

“Why not?” Max asked.

“Because.”

“‘Because’ is not an answer.”

Zan didn’t say anything else.

Max laughed. “I think that’s called a double standard, brother.”

“Bite me.”

Max frowned. “That’s not very nice of you.”

“I’m not a very nice person.”

“You’re not a person at all. Neither am I.” Max looked down at himself. “Even if we are human now, it won’t change what we really are inside. We might as well have Charlington change us back.”

“No!” Zan objected sharply.

Max looked at his brother. He knew Zan was upset, but it was the truth. Neither of them really knew what it was to be human. “Zan, I…”

“No!” Zan repeated, cutting Max off. “I am not one dimensional, and this is not a waste of time. I don’t want to hear you say it again. In fact, don’t even think it.”

Both men were quiet then. Max not knowing what to say, and Zan too angry to say anything else. Dukey continued to stair between the two of them. Even he could sense the hostility between the two of them.

“Well, since both of you are too stupid to figure out how this is supposed to work on your own, how about I help you out?” Max and Zan both looked up as Charlington came down the stairs. He did not look happy.

“What do you want?” Zan asked, his frustration evident in his tone.

“I thought you had gone to bed,” Max said.

“Who can sleep with you two ninnies down here yakking away like a bunch of gossip girls? It’s enough to drive a man insane,” Charlington complained.

“Please, I don’t think you have to worry about anyone driving you insane. You do a good enough job in that department all on your own.”

Charlington glared at Zan. “You know, I’m about five seconds away from kicking the hell out of you.”

Zan smirked. “Just try it old ma-”

“All right, enough,” Max interrupted. He turned to Charlington, ignoring the look Zan sent him. “You said you would help us. How?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, your evil twin is right. The whole point of this is to learn what it is to be human. News flash: humans aren’t good all the time. They do some pretty messed up things.”

Zan smiled victoriously. “Thank you.”

Charlington looked pointedly at Zan. “Neither do they go around trying to see how much shit they can fuck up.”

This time Max smiled victoriously. “Thank you.”

“They’re humans,” Charlington continued. “A delicate balance of good things and bad shit. That’s how it is.”

“So what does all that mean?” Max asked.

“It means both of you have to discover what it is to be human. Good things, bad shit, fucked up ways, friendly gestures. The whole shebang.”

“How do you suggest we do that?” Zan asked.

Charlington sighed. “Go to the bar.”

Max looked outraged.

Zan looked pleased.

“Go to the bar tonight. Get off your evil jollies or whatever, then tomorrow, you two do something Max wants to do.”

Zan looked outraged.

Max looked pleased.

“Sound fair?” Charlington asked.

Max nodded. “Fair enough.

“Whatever,” Zan said.

“Good. Now get the hell out of my house so I can get some sleep.” And with those oh-so-friendly words, Charlington turned around and headed back upstairs to his room. When he reached the top of the stairs he turned to look back down them. “Duke,” he whistled at the dog. “Come on up here boy.”

Dukey looked from Max to Charlington to Zan back to Charlington, obviously torn on what to do, but when Charley gave one more insistent whistle Dukey ran obediently up the stairs to his master.

Once Charlington and The Duke were gone, Zan looked down at Max. “You heard the man.” He picked up the shirt that Max had set on the sofa beside him and tossed it at him. “Get dressed. We’re going out.”
TBC
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CandyDreamQueen
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Post by CandyDreamQueen »

Hi Everyone

Sadly, I have not been doing very much work on my fics lately. :oops: After my hard drive died I was so pissed that I lost my last chapters , since they were so close to being completed, and I have not really had the incentive to rewrite them. I did start rewriting FIL, but I have not even started on rewriting the next chapter of DD. But it’s about time I get back to it. I know you all have been waiting so patiently, and I’m so sorry it had taken me so long to get back to them. But as a favor, I ask that you all give me until March to get my fics back on track.

Here’s a little update on my health situation. I may be having a Splenectomy sometime in the near future. God I hope not, but we’ll see. The thing is, as much as I don’t want to do it, if I do have my spleen removed it will most likely cure my ITP. It’s not my first choice. There are other options available to me, but they come with some side effects that I’m not quite sure if I like.

<<<Candice>>>
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