The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M,Mature)Ch 98 1/27/15 Complete

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ArchAngel1973
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The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M - Mature) Ch 40 - 11/16

Post by ArchAngel1973 »

Nibbles2 – Michael is seeing Dupree as… family, as disturbing as that is. That’s why he is so pissed off when he doesn’t seem to call. He takes that as rejection.

DeDe PR – Dupree has spent his life waiting for answers and Michael is one of them. He won’t let that opportunity go away.

Eva – Maria is used to deal with any incarnation of Michael.

Timelord31 – Thanks for reading.


Part 40

The hours passed by unnoticed as Charles sifted through information he had gathered over the years. He paused when one trembling hand retrieved an article clipped from the local paper many years ago. It was faded, yellow around the edges, and brittle with age, but the woman in the picture would forever be remembered with crystal clear clarity.

The newspaper photographer hadn't done her justice, he thought, and his fingers shook as they brushed over her features. Even now he could remember her excitement the day the article had been released in the society pages and immediately on the heels of that memory came the one of her expression the day she had begged him to let her in, to let her help him deal with his obsession.

He had been blinded by his obsession, unable to let her or anyone else help him, and he had taken her pleas as criticism. He had turned on her, blaming her for trying to confuse him and keeping him from finding the evidence he needed so badly; he had refused to see reason and he had turned his back on her and never spoken to her again.

That had been nearly five years after their engagement had been announced and looking back on it now he was able to recall the difference that those five years had made. His obsession had all but drained every spark of life out of her and she had held on to the belief that he loved her more than his truth that had taken over every aspect of his life. For five years she had harbored that hope and he knew she had tried to the best of her ability to help him.

She had tried to contact him over the years but he had spurned every attempt she made, letting his obsession for the truth blind him. Over the years he had changed from an intense young man in love with life and his fiancé and ready to conquer the world, into a cold, hateful, obsessed man, bitter about everything and living in seclusion.

He slid the article aside to look at the one below it and his vision blurred as moisture filled his eyes. Another article, this one much smaller and almost clinical in nature, had been clipped from the obituary section of the newspaper. How was it possible to sum up the life of such a vibrant woman with just a few dozen words?

She had never married, never had children, and she had gone to her grave still loving him. He had received a letter from her, mailed by her lawyer after her death, but at the time he had read it and carelessly tossed it aside, putting it away with all of the other bits and pieces of information he had collected about her over the years.

In the letter she had wished him well and expressed her hope that he would find peace. Near the end she had urged him to meet with her lawyer and something inside that he had thought long-dead had insisted that he not deny her that one thing. He had complied with her wish and learned that her final wish was for him to be buried in the plot next to hers when his time came to an end. When the lawyer had told him she had purchased the plots together he hadn't understood, but the man had simply smiled and given him another note from her. He had stormed out of the law office and gone home with the express intent of getting so drunk he wouldn't remember the day or that last note.

Unfortunately, it had been the first thing on his fuzzy brain the next day when he had emerged from his alcohol-induced state. She had been an optimist; she had romanticized things, insisted that good could be found in everything, and he had callously destroyed her and left her to live her life alone. Her reason for buying the plot next to hers and asking him to accept it had been completely illogical as far as he was concerned. But, now that he thought about it, that was so her. She was a strange one and always had been, even in death; she had hoped that he would find peace in life, but if not, she was certain that he would find it in the afterlife and they could be together for eternity.

Regrets were a bitch to live with, he thought as he stared at the papers strewn out across the desk. Oh, he had proof now… confirmation that he wasn't insane… and he had no one to share it with. On the one hand he felt vindicated and on the other hand he felt… empty. His entire life had been dedicated to chasing a truth that he was never meant to find - that truth had been meant to find him, and in a way he never could've imagined. There was no way to deny that the young man shared his DNA; there were too many similarities to be ignored. His facial features, his eyes, his physical build, and his attitude, that was all him.

It hadn't been difficult to see the tension between the couple; it was obvious that they weren't together, but given the slightest encouragement at the right moment they'd be all over each other. The young man was driven though, and he was the love-'em-and-leave-'em type, he wasn't interested in anything else, and he was too stubborn to consider the possibilities.

Charles gently brushed his fingertips over the article again. He had to talk to Michael again. He couldn't change his past, he couldn't fix his mistakes, but maybe he could help his… What? Son? Grandson? He didn't know, but maybe he could help him avoid some of those dangerous pitfalls he himself had been too blind to see.

*****

Michael knocked on Maria's door the next morning, impatient to get on the road and put as many miles as possible between him and Charles Dupree. He shoved his way in just as soon as the door was unlocked and his dark gaze raked over Maria's body, annoyed when he realized that she wasn't dressed to leave.

"I told you we were gonna leave this mornin'," he snapped, dropping his bag on the floor and prowling around the room.

Maria had been peacefully sleeping before he had so rudely interrupted her rest by pounding on the door at… she glanced at the clock on the nightstand and then glared at him. "Michael, it's barely seven o'clock."

"And?"

"And, I'm going back to bed." She ignored his irritated denial and brushed past him, crawling back in the bed and snuggling up under the covers.

"This isn't up for discussion, Maria."

"Good." She burrowed down deeper under the heavy comforter and settled back into the warm spot she had vacated when her uninvited guest had announced his presence.

Sometimes Michael really questioned why he let her get away with things like this. He was showered, packed, and ready to go, but was he going anywhere? No. No, he was being ignored while she went back to sleep. He seriously considered grabbing the blankets and jerking them off of her, but changed his mind when he decided that it wasn't worth the hell she'd put him through later.

Instead he settled down on the other side of the bed and snatched up a couple of pillows, stacking them behind him and flopping back. Even with all of his moving around Maria didn't stir or move so much as an inch. So much for getting an early start, he thought, but he wasn't as annoyed as he had been a few minutes earlier. Maybe he'd just rest his eyes for a few minutes and then attempt to get her out of bed again.

*****

A couple of hours later the ringing telephone woke him up and he blinked as he tried to bring his bleary gaze into focus. He pushed himself up into a sitting position when he realized that Maria wasn't in bed any longer and he heard the shower running. It was shut off as he reached for the phone, jerking the receiver up and bringing it up to his ear. "What?" he growled.

"Is this Michael Guerin?"

His sleepy brain didn't register who the voice belonged to. "Who wants to know?"

"Charles Dupree, you little ingrate," the old man muttered.

"What d'you want?"

"I need to see the two of you again."

"Michael, who're you talking to?" Maria asked as she stepped out of the bathroom dressed in a fluffy white bathrobe.

"No one," he said, glancing at her before turning his attention back to the man on the other end of the phone. "We're not interested; we're leavin' within the hour, so you're outta - "

Maria snatched the phone out of his hand when she realized who he was talking to. "Charles, I'm so glad you called," she said in greeting. She glared at Michael and shook her head when he motioned for her to end the call. "No, no, we'd be happy to come out and visit with you this afternoon."

"I'm not gonna go see him again, Maria."

"Yes, you are." She dropped the receiver back on the hook and turned to look at him.

Michael frowned and shook his head. "No, I'm not." His attention was momentarily diverted when he noticed the plate of donuts on the table. "Where'd you get donuts?"

"I ordered them from room service; I figured you'd want something to munch on when you woke up."

"They're the kind with the raspberry fillin' inside?" he asked, already making his way towards the table.

Maria rolled her eyes as she went back into the dressing area to dry her hair and finish getting ready. She didn't know why he had even asked. He was getting spoiled and she knew it was her fault; he wouldn't even eat donuts anymore unless they were glazed, dusted with powdered sugar, and had raspberry filling in the center.

Michael had worked his way through three donuts and was contemplating a fourth when she came back into the room. "We should be in Santa Fe by early evening, so - "

"We're not heading out to Santa Fe until we've met with Charles."

"Maria, I don't wanna see him again. It's a waste of time!" He started to pace, already getting worked up again.

"Hey, look, how about a compromise, huh? We go see Charles and in exchange - "

He pounced on that. "We have sex?" He hadn't had sex in longer than he cared to think about. Please, God, let her say yes!

Maria almost laughed at his enthusiastic tone; she had just known he was going to ask that. "Good try, but, no."

"For fuck's sake, Maria," he huffed irritably. "Can I at least get a backrub out of it?"

"I'll agree to that. As tense as you are, you need it."

"No shirt… skin to skin contact."

"Yes, if it'll get you to go and visit with Charles, I'll agree to that." She grinned at his self-satisfied smirk. "It will not lead to sex though, so you might as well rein your imagination in." As soon as he scowled she knew that was exactly where his mind had been.

"Like I care," he said, shrugging carelessly. "I'm gonna hit the bar with Indigo when we get to Santa Fe anyway; trust me, there are plenty of women there who'll be ready and willin' to give me what I want. You don't get to ruin my plans to get laid this time," he said, enjoying having the upper hand for once. "You're not invited to go out with us."

Maria seethed internally at his offhanded comment. We'll just see about that, she thought with a frown. "We should get going."

Michael grinned and grabbed another donut. "Let's go."

*****

Maria glanced between the two silent men after several minutes passed without a single word being spoken. It was just her luck to find herself in the position of trying to get the two most stubborn men on the planet to carry on a conversation.

"Maybe this would be easier if the two of you were alone for a while," she said finally.

"Alone?" Charles parroted.

"Why?"

Of course Michael was immediately suspicious of her motives. "I just thought it'd be a little easier for you guys to talk if I'm not around."

Huh-uh, no way was she gonna abandon him and leave him stuck with this ancient replica of himself. He had never been comfortable with people in general, but old people just really made him uncomfortable. He had never had any expectation of reaching old age anyway, so what was the point of spending time with them and learning about their lives or their past experiences? "This was your idea, Maria; you're not bailin' on me."

Maria sighed. Was Michael resisting because he was afraid that he might come to respect Charles, the man who was in some way, his father? Was he trying to avoid forming any attachment to him? Well, if that was the case, he had better think again. If she was here to help Michael learn to care about humans, to save humanity from annihilation at Khivar's hands at some point in the future, then he was going to start with Charles Dupree. "I'm not bailing on you, but we're not accomplishing anything by sitting here without speaking."

"The girl's right," Charles said as he levered himself to his feet. "Why don't the two of us take a walk?"

"I don't take orders from you, old man," Michael snarled.

Maria's tone took on a harsh edge as her anger with him moved up a notch and she practically roared, "Michael!"

Michael turned to look at her, his rigid posture showing that he was just as angry as she was. "What? I've made it this far without him - "

Charles Dupree had watched them argue back and forth, but the young man's declaration had him seeing red and his voice was filled with venom when he spoke. "Just like the rest of your race, aren't you? Take what you need and throw the rest away. Nothin' but a bunch of manipulative, vicious - "

"Hey, don't lump me in with the rest of the aliens," Michael interrupted. "I'm not the one that did that stuff to you."

The two men glared at each other for several long seconds before Maria nudged the hybrid and he turned on her.

"What?"

"Go talk to him," she growled.

"Why the fuck do I need to go…" His voice trailed off as he looked into her green eyes and he growled under his breath when he saw the trust shining in them… trust that he would make the right choice.

"Michael."

"Fine, I'm goin'," he muttered as he stood up. "Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," she muttered under her breath.
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The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M - Mature) Ch 41 - 11/23

Post by ArchAngel1973 »

Timelord31 – Thanks for reading.

Nibbles2 – Dupree and Michael are too much alike! Michael is seeing who he is going to be one day, if he ends up alone.

Eva – Ha, that was funny! Man, the muppets show, that was such a long time ago.


Part 41

Michael followed Charles as he walked out of the house and headed towards… nothing. He didn't know why Maria was insisting that he needed to talk to the cranky old bastard. They had nothing in common so it made no sense for him to have to waste his time talking to his genetic donor.

"Tell me about yourself," Charles said after they had been walking for a while.

"What d'you wanna know?" he asked, his tone suspicious.

Charles shook his head as he wondered what kind of life his… son? Had lived that had made him so angry and wary of people. "Boy, you don't trust anyone, do you?"

This was all Maria's fault, once again. Here he was bein' forced to talk to this old guy that he didn't want anything to do with. Why did he always end up doin' what she wanted him to do? Michael tried to keep his calm as he answered through gritted teeth, "Not until they give me reason to, and you haven't given me any - "

"You're here, aren't you? You wouldn't even be alive without the use of my DNA!" Charles paced, his agitated movements hindered by his arthritic joints. He couldn't believe how hostile, difficult, and ungrateful this boy was!

Michael watched him, his expression indignant. "Hey, it's not like you volunteered it."

"You people didn't give me the chance to either accept or decline an invitation to be tortured and experimented on. They abducted me and performed their heinous tests without my consent." Why would anyone volunteer to what he had been put through? Charles asked himself as he rolled his eyes to the heavens above. He wasn't a masochist.

"Like you would've agreed." Michael shook his head as he stared off in the distance. This was a colossal waste of his time and it was seriously cutting into his plans to get to Santa Fe and get laid.

"Well, I guess we'll never know now, will we?"

"Like it matters."

Charles shook his head. "Why don't we just go back to my original question?"

The original question? Hmmm… what to say? Maybe his lonely childhood… or how about how he killed people for a living? Great discussion! But, he answered anyway. The guy wanted to know who he really was? Fine, then he was gonna learn the whole dirty, ugly truth. Old man wouldn't want anything to do with him once he knew the truth. "What d'you wanna know? That I grew up in an orphanage and had a really shitty childhood? Or maybe that when I turned 17 I joined a military unit and became one of the country's top assassins? What exactly do you wanna know?"

"So, you're a soldier," the old man mused thoughtfully.

"Does it matter?"

"It's just interesting that you chose a career path similar to what you did in your previous life." He scratched his stubbled chin as his gaze raked over the younger man, taking in his rigid posture and his cold demeanor. "I wonder how much genetic memory you actually retained when they cloned you."

Michael shrugged but his mind was following the same line of thought. He had never really given it much thought, but now he wondered if it was coincidence or something else altogether that had set him on the path he had taken. What had made him choose to follow his more violent instincts when his counterpart in Maria's universe had clearly chosen a different path? He didn't understand it and he wasn't sure he wanted to devote much time to thinking about it.

"I did a little research of my own this mornin'; it would appear that you've done well for yourself in spite of the fact that you basically came from nothing." Charles nodded in approval. "I can respect that since I'm a self-made man myself."

"Yeah, well, nobody ever gave me a damn thing. I learned early on that if you want somethin' in life you've gotta take it. There ain't a damn thing I own that I didn't bust my ass for."

"So, you don't use your powers to - "

Michael's gaze shot to the old man and his eyes narrowed warily. "What do you know about my abilities?"

"Again with the suspicion!" Charles exploded. "Why can't you just answer a simple question with a simple answer?"

"I don't have to take this from you."

He frowned when Michael turned, clearly intending to walk back to the house so he could get Maria and leave. It took a considerable effort to bring his temper under control and he forced his voice to remain level as he called the younger man back. "Look, I'm just curious, it's nothin' more than that. Your race seemed to communicate telepathically; I don't recall ever seein' them actually speakin'."

"They had other powers?" Michael asked, his tone grudging.

"Some had the ability to heal, some seemed to be able to enter the subconscious of others, and on a couple of occasions I saw them reconstructing things out of almost nothing." He shook his head. "Their powers seemed to vary; they didn't all share the same ones. I was just wonderin' if you had any of those powers."

Michael shrugged. "I can blow shit up," he muttered finally. "We've been workin' on my ability to focus on specific targets an' I'm getting better at it." He paused for a moment, realizing that he was eager to show off his ability. "Wanna see me blow somethin' up?"

Charles nodded, keeping silent when he saw the combination of pride and enthusiasm on Michael's face; he doubted that the younger man was even aware of it. He watched as lines of concentration formed around Michael's eyes, saw him shake his right hand out and flex it several times before he finally relaxed his stance and his gaze zeroed in on his target. He had a feeling that the man was a formidable opponent in battle and he could only imagine how deadly he was in combat situations.

"You seem to be able to focus on specific targets pretty well," he observed after watching the destruction of inanimate objects for a while.

"I'm getting better," Michael said with a shrug. "It's a little tricky when it involves things that're in motion, but even that's getting easier." He hooked his thumbs in his back pockets as he looked at the old man.

"Go on an' ask whatever you've got on your mind," Charles growled, uncomfortable with the scrutiny.

Where should he start? With his abduction maybe? How and when did they select Dupree? Why had he been chosen to be his donor? Maybe the old man didn't know the answer to that one. Well, at least he had inherited good genes, something that had helped when it came to taking a woman to bed… or wherever else happened to be convenient. "Do you remember the first time you were abducted?"

Charles automatically went on the defensive as soon as the question was voiced. "Not exactly the kinda thing a person's likely to forget, is it? You want the details? Or is it enough to simply say that I was workin' in an oil field late at night the first time they snatched my ass off of this planet?"

"How long were you gone?"

"I was returned within moments based on Earth time; based on my calculations they kept me for close to seven months the first time." He shook his head. "Either time moves at a different rate there or Maria's right and your race has the capability to alter or control the passage of time. Regardless of which is true, it felt like an eternity." He looked away for a few moments to compose himself as the memories assaulted him. "I won't talk about what they did… I just… I won't."

Michael nodded. "I wouldn't ask you to talk about that; captivity's a bitch and there's no reason to ever go into any kinda details. Were you taken on a ship?"

"Yeah, I was transported along with others to another planet."

Michael was surprised. Yeah, Dupree had mentioned bein' taken there the day before, but it seemed weird that his human donor had actually BEEN on Antar while he, Michael Guerin, hybrid extraordinaire, had never been there and would probably never set foot on his own planet. "You were taken to Antar?"

"I would imagine that's where they took us. I never saw anything beyond the walls of the building we were kept in; it was very sterile, very… cold." He shivered at the memory as a feeling of cold permeated his skin. "There were no windows and we were all kept in separate cells; we were never allowed to talk to each other. The aliens never spoke aloud…" He frowned. "The only sounds were the sounds of movement, the sounds of steel instruments being handled and placed back into their correct places… the sound of silence."

Michael observed the old man as he stared into the past. He had been captured before; he had gone through beatings by his captors and he had spent time in solitary confinement so he knew how that could affect a person's mind. The silence was sometimes the worst part of confinement and he had seen its maddening effect on people with weaker minds.

"I've always led a solitary life, and even more so after that first abduction. I became obsessed with findin' the answers, discovering why they had taken me and before I even realized it I had lost everyone that meant anything to me." He chuckled humorlessly. "Not that there were a lot of people to lose, but I managed to drive away the one person who I had ever given a damn about. I never was able to let many people in, but she got all the way in and knew me better than anyone else. I pushed her away and practically destroyed her when I did it; I was so obsessed with findin' the truth that I shut her out. I've lived most of my life with that regret; if I had been able to let go of the past, to put the obsession with my abduction to rest, I might've been able to salvage my relationship with her." He shook his head. "Don't make the same mistakes, boy. Carryin' the past around because it's comprised of all the mistakes you made and all the decisions that you regret… that's no way to live."

For the first time Michael didn't go on the attack as the old man handed out advice. He listened without responding; taking it in and when Charles fell silent once more he respected the silence and kept quiet.

*****

Maria wandered around Charles' home while the men were gone, eventually finding herself in the basement office. Her curious gaze moving over the dusty shelves packed with books about aliens, encounters, UFOs, and abductions. The wall was filled with maps of constellations and sighting locations, sketches of people and what she could only assume were aliens, and blurry photographs of UFOs.

She leaned closer to see the sheets of newspaper filled with a nearly illegible scrawl that only got more difficult to decipher as the years passed. She sat down in the chair behind the desk, her gaze moving over the things stacked haphazardly in several places. It looked like it had all been placed there in a hurry, as if no thought had been put into the order of the items.

Her fingers traced over an old photograph that was lying on top of a stack of notebooks, the image faded by age. It was still a shock to see how much he and Michael looked alike, she thought. The photograph had been taken when he was much younger and his image was identical to Michael at 25 years old. It had obviously been taken before his abduction; he looked happy in the picture, his arms around a woman who was looking up at him with an expression filled with love.

Her attention was drawn to a few pages scattered on what little clear space there was on the surface of the desk and she reached over to pick them up. The handwriting was feminine and the tone of the letter identified it as being written from a lover and she glanced at the photograph in her other hand before turning her attention back to the letter. For the briefest moment she felt a flash of guilt for reading it, but the words and feelings pulled her in and she quickly lost herself in it.

The woman had poured her heart out, putting all of her feelings down on paper as she said her final farewell to the man she had loved her entire life. Her final request had been for her beloved to accept the plot next to hers as his final resting place, believing that in death they would finally be able to find peace and that they would be able to be together. There were several places throughout the letter where the ink was smeared from drops of moisture… tears maybe, and she wondered if they belonged to Charles or the woman who had written the letter. The letter was signed by Aja and she assumed that it had been a pet name Charles had given to the woman. If her recollections were correct, Laurie had mentioned that her grandmother's name was Ada-Jane.

She carefully replaced the letter and photograph before looking around once more and then going back upstairs. There was no way to know how long the guys would be gone and she just hoped it wouldn't end with them getting into a fight. It wouldn't surprise her though, she mused. Both men had strong personalities and neither one was willing to give an inch.

Charles lived in a huge, rambling two-story house that he had purchased decades earlier and she wondered if he had bought it with the intention of marrying the woman in the photograph and filling the many bedrooms with children. Most of the rooms were empty, closed off to the rest of the house, and it created a very depressing atmosphere. The windows were all covered, shutting the rest of the world out and keeping him safely hidden from prying eyes.

She had a feeling that he had been a completely different person before the abduction had occurred and it made her sad to know that he hadn't been able to let the woman he loved help him find a way to deal with what had happened to him. She wondered if Michael - in her universe or this one - could've turned out like Charles if circumstances had been different.

Maria pushed the heavy curtains back from the doors that led out onto the back deck and she opened them up, walking out onto the deck and looking at the large pool. Charles must use the pool, she thought, noticing that it was well-maintained; the water gently lapping at the sides was clean and she could smell the chlorine in the water. It was still way too cold to use an outdoor pool in her opinion, but she knew there were some people who actually liked it like that.

Unless… She shifted slightly and watched the surface of the water, nodding to herself when she saw the steam rising into the air before quickly disappearing. She should've known. The man was rich so of course he'd have a pool with capabilities built into it to maintain a set water temperature regardless of the weather. She glanced around, taking in the miles of nothing that surrounded the house, and she wondered if Charles would mind if she made use of his pool. Nah, she decided after several minutes of internal debating, he wouldn't mind.

*****

Michael entered the darkened house behind Charles and glanced around when he heard nothing but silence. His gaze turned suspicious as they moved further into the house and he turned to look at the old man. "Where's she at?"

"What?"

"Maria," he growled. "The woman cannot be close by and be this silent, trust me." He shook his head when Charles just looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "It's too quiet, old man; she's not in the house."

Charles paused and reached up to scratch his eyebrow with his right thumb. The house was too silent. He looked around and motioned toward the deck doors with his cane. "Maybe she's out back."

Michael brushed past the old man and jerked the double doors open, stepping out on the deck and looking around. His gaze located Maria with ease and he grinned when he saw that she had stripped down to her underwear. Okay, so maybe the pain and suffering he had been forced to endure for the past three hours was gonna be worth it. It was near the end of January and it was colder in Texas than it was in Los Angeles, but apparently that wasn't enough of a deterrent to keep Maria out of the pool.
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The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M - Mature) Ch 42 - 11/30

Post by ArchAngel1973 »

Timelord31 – Michael is more willing to listen to Dupree than you would think.

Nibbles2 – Maria has always been a good influence on Michael. He won’t regret talking to Dupree.

Eva – It’s true, both Michael and Dupree led a very lonely life and they are miserable. More Dupree than Michael because he is old and has seen the mistakes he has made so he wants Michael to open his eyes and not let the past prevent him from being happy.

DeDe PR – Michael will start to listen to Dupree. He is him, in a way. And he has learned some interesting facts about aliens, thanks to his human donor.


Part 42

Maria finished making another lap around the pool and she pushed her wet hair back behind her ears as she came to rest at the edge of the pool. Her gaze came to rest on the loungers that were lined up on both sides and she crossed her forearms on the concrete, paying no attention to how cold it was as she propped her chin on her arms.

In her minds' eye it was nighttime and she could easily see her Michael and herself comfortably stretched out on the loungers, wrapped up in fluffy white terry bathrobes as they watched Laurie swimming while discussing the shallowness that afflicted the rich. Neither of them had noticed the irony as Carmen had approached him from behind carrying the phone to him and offering it to him on a silver platter.

Michael had informed the woman that "it's kind of a Braveheart night, and tell the kitchen we'll be ready to dine at about 7". He had enjoyed playing the lord of the manor and he hadn't thought twice when the woman had merely acknowledged his wishes before placing the silver platter before him and announcing that the phone was for him.

He had carried on a brief conversation with Max, assuring him that he was in complete control; there were no crystals around, he was keeping an eye on things, and as Carmen had arrived once more - this time carrying a portable DVD player - he had informed Max that it was time to "take another patrol 'round the perimeter…".

Maria snickered at that memory as she pushed off to begin another lap around the perimeter of the pool. Michael had taken the DVD player and disconnected the call with Max, turning to call Carmen back before she was out of earshot. He had asked for iced tea, quickly indicating that Maria was included in that request, and then they had settled back to watch Braveheart.

They had played the roles of lord and lady of the manor to the hilt, enjoying the all-too-brief respite from the alien abyss that had a tendency to swallow them up and consume their lives. She missed her Spaceboy so much, and there were so many times when it was still like a physical ache, almost as if a limb had been removed and she could still feel it despite its absence. She caught movement from the corner of her eye and she sighed when she saw Michael crossing the deck while Charles remained in the open doorway.

"Hey, you about ready to go?" he called out as he walked down to stand next to the pool.

Maria squeezed her eyes shut as she reached the edge of the pool where he was standing. She glanced up at him and almost wished he was wearing his sunglasses so she couldn't see the hunger in his dark eyes.

He crouched down in front of her, his booted feet just inches from her arms where they were crossed on the edge of the pool. He braced his elbows on his knees and his nostrils flared when the cold air hit her breasts and her nipples hardened visibly beneath her bra. "Y'know, I could just sit here all day."

"You'd be sitting here by yourself." Her words were in direct contrast to what she was feeling and she had to admit that there was a part of her that was thrilled when he noticed her like that.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Really? Why don't you go ahead and get outta that pool and walk over to get your clothes then."

"So you can stare at me like some pervert?"

Michael shrugged and held his hand out to her. "C'mon, I'm hungry and Santa Fe's still hours away." He rolled his eyes when she glanced at his hand and raised an eyebrow. "What? You're soakin' wet, practically naked, and it doesn't matter cuz I've already seen you completely naked and I have a damn good memory." He nodded in satisfaction when she slid her hand into his and he started to stand up so he could pull her up and out of the water.

Maria leaned back and braced her feet against the side of the pool when he began to lever himself up and before he realized what she was doing she pushed back and then ducked out of the way to avoid him when he landed in the water.

"Maria! Goddammit!" he sputtered as he broke through the surface. "Now I'm soakin' wet!"

"I know." She grinned unrepentantly and carefully kept her distance. "But now you'll be able to watch me go get my clothes without it being a problem for you."

"And how do you figure that?"

"The second you step out of this pool that cold air's gonna hit you and what you consider the most important part of your body will have no interest in me no matter how many sexual thoughts your dirty little mind has."

Michael refused to be bested by her. "And what're you gonna do while you're waitin' for me to get outta the pool? It's nice an' warm in here an' I'm not in any hurry…"

Maria's expression became wary when he moved, circling her, and maneuvering her to the center of the pool without her even realizing it.

From the other side of the doors Charles watched the couple in the pool and he smiled briefly as he realized they reminded him of him and Aja. Not wanting to linger on those thoughts he went to collect a couple of towels and carried them outside, dropping them on one of the loungers next to the pool.

Michael turned to look at the old man and frowned when Maria took the opportunity to swim away from him. His felt his blood pressure skyrocket when she neared the ladder and Charles shook one of the towels out, obviously intending to meet her when she stepped out of the water. He swam over to the side closest to him and braced his hands flat on the concrete as he hauled himself out of the water and hurried to snatch the towel out of the man's hands. "Get lost, you old pervert," he snarled.

"I was just gonna help - "

He eyed Dupree coldly. He didn't trust the old guy for a single second; he just wanted to get a look at Maria's body. 80 years old or not, he was still a man and he wasn't gonna turn down the opportunity to admire a hot female body! "She doesn't need your help."

"Michael, he was just being nice," Maria interjected.

Without breaking eye contact with his human donor, Michael snapped, "No, he was hopin' to see you naked."

"Oh, good grief," she muttered, climbing out of the pool. She was wrapped up in the big towel before both feet were on the concrete. "Why don't you just piss on some bushes or something to mark your territory." She leaned around Michael to glare at Charles when he snickered. "That goes for both of you." She shook her head and held the towel around herself as she walked over to the lounger to pick up her things. "Charles, would you mind if I use your shower?"

"No, not at all," he said, and then smiled just to irritate the younger man.

"Michael, you'll need to shower as well - and, no, before you even think it, I do not mean with me - so, go get a change of clothes out of your bags. We need to get on the road pretty soon if you wanna make Santa Fe at a decent hour."

Charles chuckled when she disappeared inside and Michael hurried to do as she had suggested. He had a feeling the boy had no idea just how quickly he jumped when she told him to do something. He probably thought he was doing what he wanted, when he wanted, and the way he wanted, but the fact was that she was the one pulling the strings.

*****

Maria was slouched down in the passengers' seat, her sock feet crossed over the heater vent next to the window. Michael had been annoyed when they had gone to leave and he had realized that it was too cold to spend the next eight hours on a motorcycle. She was sure that the attendant at the car rental place had been happy to see them leave; Michael had pitched a royal fit when the woman had informed him that without a prior reservation the cost was going to be more than he had expected, and if he didn't want to pay that rate he could rent something else. He had verbally flayed the poor woman when she had suggested that perhaps he would prefer to rent a compact car since it would be cheaper.

She mentally snorted at that thought; Michael wouldn't rent a compact car if it was the last working vehicle on the planet. Although she had to agree with him that a compact wouldn't have been nearly as comfortable for an eight-hour drive. The SUV was luxurious with leather seats that were incredibly soft, a sunroof, every possible extra feature that could be thought of, and a stereo system that was way too expensive.

"I'm gonna stop up here at one of the fast food places before we get on the road," he said, breaking the silence. "You gotta preference?"

Maria looked at the fast food restaurants that lined both sides of the main street, certain that she could feel her arteries clogging just from being this close to them. "No, not really; whatever's gonna be easier for you to eat while you're driving."

Michael glanced at her, suspicious of her agreeable tone. "No argument about me eatin' junk food?"

"You've had a rough couple of days, so I suppose a little comfort food is in order. Besides, I know you're eager to get to Santa Fe so you can spend some time with Indigo before we head back to L.A." She glanced down at the map lying in the console between them and she picked it up, unfolding it and stretching it out over her legs.

"So, if I want a thick, greasy, double cheeseburger, with onions, pickles, mustard, and ketchup, you're not gonna say a single thing about it?"

Maria cringed at that. "No, although I'd prefer it if you would at least get something that has lettuce and tomatoes on it."

"And I still get my backrub, right?"

"Um-hmm." Her tone was distracted as her finger traced along the map.

"Sweet." Satisfied that he wasn't losing anything in the deal Michael chose a place that wouldn't completely offend her and he pulled into the drive-thru. He turned to look at her, intending to ask her what she wanted but her expression was so intent as she stared at the map that he just ordered for her. At the pickup window he shifted to pull his wallet out of his back pocket and paid the teenager waiting there.

Maria felt her heart rate speed up as she stared at the point on the map just above her fingernail. "Michael, can we take a different route?"

"What?" He leaned over to look at what she was pointing at. "You wanna go through Pecos? That's gonna take at least another hour to…" He looked at her and shook his head. "Fine, but this backrub had better be worth all this trouble." He took their order from the kid at the window and then inventoried the contents in the two bags, making sure it was right before putting the vehicle into drive. He set the bags in between them and reached over to take the map from her, folding it over and quickly memorizing the new route. "I don't know what the fuck's so interesting in Pecos of all places, but, I guess we'll still get to Santa Fe in plenty of time for me an' Indigo to go out." He shook his head as he folded the map back up into its original form. "You wanna break out the food?"

Maria picked up the first bag, noticing the logo and realizing that he hadn't stopped at the most unhealthy fast food restaurant; he had actually chosen a place that served food that wasn't completely without nutritional value. She wasn't interested in putting him in a bad mood so she didn't comment on his choice; instead she pulled the thick roast beef sandwich out and unwrapped it before reaching in for the packets of hot sauce. It didn't have lettuce or tomatoes on it, but at least it wasn't a greasy cheeseburger. Once she had coated the roast beef with several packets of hot sauce and slathered the bun with the horseradish sauce from another packet, she put it all back together and handed it to him.

She pulled the second sandwich out of the bag and unwrapped it, smiling when she saw that he had ordered the ham and Swiss for her, and he had remembered to add tomatoes and onions. She checked the bag again and found the packets of mayonnaise mixed in with the rest of the condiments.

Michael transferred the sandwich to his left hand and used his right hand to burrow into the second bag, grabbing the carton of seasoned French fries and sticking it between his legs. He reached out to turn the stereo on, tuning it to a jazz station and then shifting around to get comfortable.

"How was your talk with Charles?" Maria asked after a while.

He shrugged. "It was a talk." He nodded at the bag closest to her. "Can I have my other sandwich?"

Maria accepted that he wasn't ready to talk about his time with Charles and decided that it was the wrong time to pry. She handed the sandwich to him after spicing it up a bit and she remained silent as they drove through west Texas. As the miles flew by and their destination grew closer she could feel the excitement building within her as he turned onto 285 North.

He followed the lonely stretch of highway, absently wishing that he had ordered a hot apple pie or some chocolate chip cookies when he had stopped for food. He glanced at the signs for the upcoming exit and his left hand shifted down so that his fingertips were resting on the turn signal.

They were several miles past Pecos when she reached out and grabbed his shoulder. "Take the next exit," she said insistently. She paid no attention when Michael glanced at her, his expression clearly indicating that he thought she had lost her mind.

Michael shook his head, but he took the exit and frowned as he looked around at the tiny town that wasn't much more than a dot on the map. It's just up ahead on the left side of the road. "Why're we stoppin' here?" he asked, ignoring the little voice that whispered a quiet reminder that he had already known that this was the exit. He came to a stop at a four-way stop and his gaze scanned the roadside ahead of them.

"There's a hotel up ahead on the left-hand side." She motioned for him to keep going when he made no move to continue past the stop sign. "What're you doing?"

"There's nothin' up ahead but - "

"No, it sits back from the road." Her hand clenched in the material of his shirt and she shook him. "Go!" God, why was he being so difficult right now?

She settled down when he pressed on the accelerator and he drove along the two-lane road, wondering what exactly she was looking for because there was no hotel anywhere on the stretch of road that led through the little town.

Maria stared in disbelief as they passed through the town and she realized that the crappy little motel where one of the most pivotal moments in her relationship with her Michael had occurred didn't exist. She slumped back in her seat, acutely feeling the loss of yet another piece of her history.

Michael glanced at her when he caught her reaching up to wipe her hands over her eyes. "You're upset about a motel that doesn't exist?" he asked, not understanding. He didn't want to think about how or why he had instinctively known where to look even if he hadn't necessarily known what he was looking for. "Why?"

She didn't intend to answer, she really didn't, but when he turned the volume on the stereo down as if he were actually interested in what she had to say the floodgates burst open. She was suddenly telling him about how her Michael had kidnapped her and stolen her car in a time and place that seemed so far away now.

"So, he got outta the car and went around to unlatch the hood, and all the time he's got this irritated look on his face." She laughed at the memory of the disgruntled expression he had worn while fighting to release the latch. "He tried to fix the problem and he practically fried the engine, which pretty much left us stuck in the middle of nowhere."

Michael glanced in the rearview mirror; the town had been out of sight for a while, but now he knew what she had been looking for when she had asked him to detour from his original route. "So, in your universe there was a hotel back there," he guessed.

"Yeah." She went on to tell him about their conversation and how it had been the moment when they had truly connected for the first time.

Michael listened to her talk and his right hand clenched tightly around the steering wheel when he heard her wistful tone. She was lost in memories of another time, another life, and another version of him. She was so attached to anything and everything that was in any possible way related to the other man… even a stupid motel!

"Okay, would you just stop?" he snapped.

Maria just stared at him, shocked into silence more by his outburst than by his words.

"You're goin' on an' on about this like your life's over, Maria! You loved him; I get that, okay? But, do you even realize that you're still alive?"

"I think I'll just take a nap," she said, shifting so that she was facing the window. For a short while she had been able to escape into her past and remember a time that held so much meaning for her.

Michael turned the stereo back up, but refrained from turning it up loud enough that it would drown out his thoughts. He had nothing to turn his attention towards, nowhere to redirect his… he gritted his teeth so hard his head started to hurt. Jealousy, it was jealousy that he was feeling and he didn't like it one bit. There was a reason why he avoided emotions or personal involvement with people, and jealousy was an indication that he had real feelings, deep feelings for the woman who was now ignoring him. That scared him and he didn't like that anymore than he liked the rest of it.

Maybe it was only natural for him to be jealous of any other guy that Maria loved, even if that other guy was himself in a different universe. He forced his thoughts in a different direction, refusing to think about it any longer. He latched onto his plans for the evening and after a few minutes he reached up to grab his cell phone off of the dashboard and called Indigo.
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ArchAngel1973
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The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M - Mature) Ch 43 - 12/7

Post by ArchAngel1973 »

Eva – Well, no matter who Michael is, jealousy is part of him, especially where Maria is concerned.

Mary mary – Let’s just say that when they FINALLY come around, something big will happen.

DeDe PR – It’s a problem for Michael, to be the other Michael’s double. It’s already difficult for a guy to get the girl he is falling in love with to forget her first love but when said first love is like his twin… ouch, it’s mission impossible.


Part 43

Maria awoke when they pulled off of the paved road to navigate the gravel driveway leading up to Indigo's house. She blinked against the darkness, seeing the porch lights coming into view. She shifted and pushed her feet against the dashboard, levering herself up into a sitting position and glancing down when she realized the irritable hybrid in the seat beside her had covered her up with his jacket. For just a moment she buried her nose in the collar of the jacket, inhaling the combined scents of leather, cologne, and Michael.

"Look who finally decided to wake up," Michael said.

Maria tried and failed to control the shiver that raced down her spine when the darkened, enclosed interior of the vehicle made his quiet growl seem intimate. "What time is it?" she asked, hoping to take her mind off of his voice.

"Little after nine." He grinned as he parked next to Indigo's vehicle in the driveway. "We're just in time for me to grab a shower before goin' out." He was out of the truck before she could say a single word in protest.

"Guerin, you're killin' me!" Indigo shouted as he ambled down the driveway. "I told you I'd be ready to hit the bricks at nine, not half past!"

"What'd you expect me to do about the construction off the Interstate 50 miles out of Santa Fe? You didn't tell me the fuckin' detour was gonna take me nearly an hour out of my way." Michael grabbed their bags out of the back and threw Maria's at her when she joined them. "Just give me time to grab a quick shower and we can go." He glared at Maria as he voiced his next question. "We're goin' somewhere with plenty of women, right? Because I need to get laid and I'm not in the mood for small talk."

Indigo glanced between Michael and Maria, wondering about the hostility that was so evident as they stared at each other.

"You're not going out to get laid," she snarled. "Do you have any idea what you could catch by being so promiscuous?"

"I'd like to catch a case of sexual satisfaction," he snapped as he slammed the back of the SUV and turned to look down at her. "So, unless you plan to fuck me sometime in the next few minutes I'd suggest you quit bitchin' and stay outta my way!" He nodded and stalked past her when she simply stared at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an argument.

Indigo ran after Michael, catching up to him when he reached the front door. "Hey, man, what's goin' on with you two?"

"What's goin' on?" he repeated. "I'll tell you what's goin' on; the arctic princess back there thinks she's gonna stop me from goin' out and getting laid."

He was confused and it showed as he looked between them again. "So, you guys need separate rooms? Or one room?"

"Two rooms, Indigo, two."

"So, the two of you aren't…"

"No, we're not fuckin'," he muttered. "Not that it matters, because I'm gonna find the hottest woman out there and I'm gonna fuck her until neither of us can move." He made sure to raise his voice so that it would carry back to Maria.

"I can hear you just fine since I'm right behind you," she yelled. She grimaced at his vulgar rant and turned her attention to their host instead of engaging Michael any further.

"I'm takin' a shower and then I'm goin' out with Indigo." He shook his head. "You can stay here and do whatever completely non-sexual thing you wanna do."

Indigo shook his head and motioned towards the hall behind him. "Why don't I just show you guys where your rooms are and then while you're getting ready I can show Maria where everything is so if she gets bored - "

"Trust me, Indigo, I won't get bored with Michael around to keep me company."

The big man decided he didn't want to get involved in the dispute between them so he just moved past them and showed them where their rooms were. He was in the kitchen a little while later, checking the refrigerator to make sure he had everything he needed to make breakfast the next morning when Michael entered the room.

"Look, she's gonna try to keep me from goin' anywhere, so - "

Indigo couldn't help but wonder why, if there wasn't anything sexual or romantic between them, Maria would go through all the trouble of preventing Michael from having sex. It just didn't make any sense. "Why?"

"What?" Why what? He had expressed himself clearly; Maria didn't want him to have sex with other women, end of story.

Indigo just barely refrained from hitting him. The guy could be so fucking obtuse and his one-word answers were beginning to get on his nerves. He repeated his question, completely this time, so that even thick-headed Michael Guerin would get it. "Why's she gonna stop you from goin' out?"

"No," Michael denied, "I said she's gonna try to keep me from goin' anywhere."

Indigo hid a smile. That was the sign of a jealous girl… a girl in love. "Woman sounds pretty adamant that she's not interested in you."

Indigo's conclusion sent Michael on the warpath, his face red with anger and his arms flying around wildly as he went off. "Yeah, too adamant. She can run around sayin' she doesn't want me all she wants, but when it comes down to it, she doesn't want any other woman to have me either. She's just waitin' for us to get ready to go out so she can find some way to ruin my night, so I want you to take your car and leave… well, don't really leave, just wait at the end of the driveway."

Indigo stared at the other man in disbelief. "You're serious? We're gonna play this juvenile game like we're a couple of teenagers sneakin' outta the house?"

Huh-uh, he was NOT behaving like a child; he was a man on a mission. "If that's what it takes to get laid, then yeah, that's what I'm gonna do." Michael glared at Maria when she stepped into the kitchen. "You're not stoppin' me from goin' out tonight." He shook his head and nodded at Indigo. "Why don't you go on and we'll meet up where we talked about earlier."

Maria frowned. "You're going by yourself?"

Did she think he was stupid? Incapable of doing something as simple as walking around in a different city other than the one he called home? "Why? You think I can't find my way to the best strip club in the city?"

Maria watched him contemptuously. She knew what he intended to do; go out and have sex. Sex was always on his mind, anyway. "No, I think it's suspicious that you're suddenly planning to catch up with Indigo later when you were planning to - "

"It's bad enough that you fuck up my plans to get laid; there's no reason to subject Indigo to your shit as well." He pulled the keys out of his jacket pocket and jingled them in her face. "I can always catch up with him later."

"And on that note, I'm outta here." Indigo ducked out of the room, certain that neither of them was even aware of him or his exit.

Maria felt her face heat up. He was not going to humiliate her by bringing some whore here. Nevermind that they weren't together, couldn't he see that being his double's girlfriend, it was hurting her to see him with other women? "Don't think that you can bring some woman back here just because we're not at home."

"Well, that'd just be a waste of time, wouldn't it?" Michael snarled as he stalked back along the hall and shrugged out of his jacket. "Because I sure as fuck wouldn't get laid with you close by." He jerked his tee shirt off over his head and threw it on the bed along with his jacket. "Some lucky bitch is gonna get fucked tonight and I don't have to bring her back here to do it." He stalked across the room, crowding her until she had no choice but to back up or come into full body contact with him. "Matter of fact I'll probably save time and the money that a hotel room would cost and just fuck her in the parkin' lot." He forced the smirk down at the look of disgust on her face; he knew what she was gonna say and his next comment would piss her off, hopefully to the point that she'd leave him alone for a while.

"You do know you're completely repulsive."

Enough with the insults! He was who he was, and it was past time that she accepted it. "I'd rather be repulsive than repressed."

"I am not repressed!" She was gritting her teeth and angry sparks were shooting out from her eyes.

Ha! Yeah, and he was the Pope! "Prove it."

"What?"

He shrugged and walked back into his room, kicking his boots off and stripping his pants off as he went into the bathroom to start the shower. "You've been stayin' with me for close to four months now," he said as he came back and walked around the bed to lean back against the footboard, "and you've managed to go without sex the whole time. So, either your boy didn't know what to do between a woman's legs and you really don't feel like you're missin' out on anything, or you're doin' a damn good job of ignorin' a major case of sexual frustration."

He thought her Michael didn't know what to do with a woman? That bastard! Did he really think of himself as the best Michael Guerin around, regardless of universe, or what? Her Michael had been a god in bed! Okay, it wasn't like she had any other experience to compare him to, but she knew it was true. "Why do you insist on insulting him?"

"Why do you insist on memorializing him?" he snapped. "Why're you so determined to stop livin' without him around?"

"What? I'm not - " Maria shook her head in denial of his words. She hadn't stopped living; she just didn't want to cheat on Michael while she was trying to get things back to the way they were supposed to be. Her Michael would be back in her arms, one way of the other, or the Granolith wouldn't have sent her there. That was what she believed and she had no reason to not trust the Granolith. It knew what she wanted and it had sent her to this universe for a reason - to accomplish her mission and then ciao, back home with her Michael. A little voice inside rose to whisper that her theory was only her personal interpretation of the Granolith's action; it wasn't exactly what the Granolith had told her in its speech, but she refused to listen to the voice and she quickly silenced it. She would never accept that her Michael was gone for good.

Michael nodded vigorously and a superior smile settled on his face. "Yes, you are. You want me - and while I know I can be a conceited, arrogant bastard, that statement has nothin' to do with either of those things. It's a fact; I've seen the way you look at me…" he shook his head, "and the way you won't look at me sometimes."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she denied.

Shit, he was so fed up with her denial! What was it gonna take to wake her up? The woman had to be the most stubborn female on Earth, and of course, she had to be thrown into his life. It was all his double's fault; out of all the women on the planet why'd he have to go and fall for that girl? That Maria girl? "You're a fuckin' liar."

"I'm not - "

"Try lookin' below my neck." He nodded and smirked when she swallowed with difficulty. He wasn't the slightest bit ashamed to be standing there in nothing but a pair of boxers that did nothing to hide the fact that he was once again hard as a rock. He had accepted the fact that he was gonna be in a perpetual state of arousal whenever she was around; there was nothing he could do about it and he saw no reason to pretend that he wasn't affected by her presence. "You won't do it because you know - "

Maria shook her head wildly, refusing to play his game. He was trying once again to get her into bed and he didn't care about her feelings at all. She would not be another of his little sex puppets. "I won't do it because it would only encourage you and make you think you're right."

Michael took a step in her direction, growling, "I know I'm right and I don't need you to say or do a goddamned thing to prove it!"

Maria didn't want him to win this round. He really did think he was God's gift to womankind! "Have you ever thought that there might be women on this planet who don't want to sleep with you?"

"Not really." His tone was insolent. "But we're not talkin' about other women, we're talkin' about you." He crossed the room and he saw the anger flare to life in her eyes when she was forced to back up again. "You can deny it all you want to but you're only lyin' to yourself because deep down inside where you hide everything you don't wanna deal with, you know you wanna do a helluva lot more than just sleep with me."

She was opening her mouth to protest when she hit the edge of the bed and the brief moment of surprise gave him the opportunity he had been waiting for. Before she knew what had happened she found herself flat on her back, staring up at him as he loomed over her with barely a breath separating them.

"You're flushed, your heart's pounding, your breathing's erratic, and your body's trembling… tell me again how you don't want me."

"Get off of me, Michael," she grated out.

"Last chance to stop me before I go out and find some other woman to fuck." He met her gaze directly. "Because I will, Maria, and you'll be the farthest thing from my mind while I'm fuckin' her."

Maria ignored the sharp pain in her chest that accompanied his crass words. No, she wasn't going to cry or let herself be hurt over this ape and his unbelievable attitude. She wouldn't give him the pleasure. "I'd certainly hope so."

"Fine," he muttered as he levered himself off of her to stand upright, "but don't get pissy with me later because you had your chance to - "

Maria just wanted this argument over and she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Get out, Michael!"

He slammed the door behind him and seconds later she heard his door slam as well. He had no idea how difficult it was for her to turn him away, she thought as she brushed away tears of anger and frustration. It was getting harder with every passing day to ignore him and his advances; he wasn't the only one who had needs.

She was a woman after all, and up until her Michael's death, she had been involved in a serious and sexual relationship. Their relationship had always been very intense and sexually-charged, so the lack of sex for the past few months was frustrating to say the least. And it didn't help that she was stuck with a version of Michael that was quite possibly even more sexual than hers had been.

There was no point in lying to herself - she did want him and it was getting harder to tell him no. It didn't matter if he was showing his gentle, caring side or if he was being his usual arrogant self; she wanted him regardless and that scared her. She could've rationalized it if it were just a matter of transference - if he had been so much like her Michael that she could've let herself pretend that he was the other man she had been so in love with.

She shook her head as she stared at the ceiling. She had known from the beginning that he wasn't her Michael and after the time she had spent with him she knew there was no way to ever mix the two of them up. Obviously there was a physical resemblance but even that wasn't enough for her to confuse him with her Michael. He was older for one thing, more experienced in nearly every area, and there were physical differences that, God help her, she really wanted to explore.

It wasn't bad enough that she had to deal with wanting him physically and sexually. That would've been difficult enough on its own, but the problem was compounded by the fact that she had started to develop feelings for him.

As if the physical and sexual attraction weren't enough of a betrayal, she thought, feeling the waves of guilt crashing over her again. There was no way to deny that she had feelings for him; she cared about him, she worried about him when he was away on missions, she was jealous of any woman who crossed his path, and she had even started to enjoy some of the more colorful aspects of his personality.

She scrambled to sit up when the bedroom door was flung open with enough force that it slammed against the wall.

"What the fuck did you do with the keys?"

This was not one of those colorful aspects that she enjoyed, she mused as she glared at him. "I don't have your keys."

"You're lyin'," he growled as he moved around the room searching every surface in sight.

Maria followed him with her eyes and she knew if he went out looking like he did he wouldn't be back until morning. He rarely wore jeans and the ones he did wear around the house on occasion were old, baggy, and had holes ripped in the knees. The jeans he was wearing now fit him like a second skin and they outlined every muscle, curve, and bulge he possessed. The black tee shirt fit the same way and he had completed the ensemble with his leather jacket; he looked dangerous and he was radiating sexuality. There was no way anyone would miss the fact that he was on the prowl.

She had to find a way to distract him and keep him from leaving. "You're not gonna find the keys in here," she blurted out.

"Why? You got 'em on you?"

"What? No."

Michael turned to look at her and his gaze raked over her. "Stand up."

Maria bristled at his authoritative tone and she shook her head. "Why would I - " She didn't have enough time to finish her protest before he grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. "What do you think you're doing?"

Michael glared at her. "I WANT MY KEYS!"

Yeah, and people in hell wanted ice water! People didn't always get what they wanted and it was past time for him to learn that the rule applied to everyone, including him! Maria held her arms straight out at her sides. "Where exactly do you think I hid them?"

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

She could see the intent in his dark eyes as they traveled over her body. "I threw them out in the front yard."

Michael wasn't fast enough to control the surprise that skated across his features at her abrupt admission. It was a lie and he knew it. She didn't have his keys; he had just gone off about that to throw her off track and buy the time he needed to get out of the house. This was working out even better than he had expected it to.

As soon as he ran from the room, his curses echoing off of the walls in the hallway as he made his way to the front door, she hurried over to his room to find the keys. She didn't know what he had done with his keys but if she could find them before he realized that he was on a wild goose chase then she could prevent him from going out and getting laid by some woman who was undoubtedly a complete tramp.

She was checking the pockets of his discarded cargo pants when she heard the horn blaring from the front of the house. As soon as she heard the car door slam shut she realized that she had been played and she threw his pants down on the floor as she stalked out of his room and crossed the hall into her own.

"Asshole!" she shouted to the empty house. She couldn't believe that she had fallen for that act. She should've known he was up to something; he had pocketed his keys after sticking them in her face, she had watched him do it. She paced around the room, working herself up into a fit of anger; she was mad at him, herself, and the situation she was in.
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The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M - Mature) Ch 44 - 12/14

Post by ArchAngel1973 »

Eva – Denial, yeah, they are the masters of that!

Mary mary – They don’t have anyone really there to help them with their relationship. No close friends like there would be in the show. So they deal the best they can, all by themselves. In the end, having close friends is a good thing! They are there to listen and give advices.

DeDe PR – Make Michael jealous? He is already jealous!


Part 44

Indigo glanced at Michael as they sat across from each other at the club; he wasn't sure how to start a conversation with the brooding man. Michael had been laughing as he jumped into the car at the end of the driveway and he had acted like he had just pulled off the prank of the century during the ride into the city. But before the first hour had passed his mood had turned pensive and he was showing a marked lack of interest in the sea of beautiful women available for the taking.

He finally decided that if the man wanted to talk about whatever was bothering him he would have to be the one to bring it up. Instead, Indigo turned his attention to the Asian stripper who had been watching him from the stage for quite a while now.

Michael stared across the room, his gaze going right through the nearly-naked, gyrating bodies of some of the city's best looking women. His thoughts were on a completely different woman, sitting alone in a house on the outskirts of the city, pissed off at him and probably still devising a plan to get back at him for his earlier trick. He didn't really understand why it bothered him that she was angry with him, but he couldn't shake the feeling.

He glanced down at his lap and he wondered when he had stopped being concerned about his lack of excitement around the opposite sex. His dick had lost interest in any woman that wasn't Maria and for some reason he wasn't as upset as he thought he should be about that. All he had to do was be in the same vicinity as her and his body reacted like it hadn't been around a woman in years; but here, surrounded by women that would gladly have sex with him there wasn't the slightest hint of interest stirring below his belt.

He glanced up when Indigo nudged his arm and pulled him from his thoughts. "What's up?"

"I'm outta here." He nodded at the Asian woman who was motioning for him to make his way backstage. "Looks like I found my entertainment for the evening." He tossed his car keys on the table in front of Michael. "Take the car and I'll find my way home in the mornin'."

Michael shook his head. "Three women aren't enough for you?"

Indigo's grin slipped at the serious question. "I'm not married to 'em, Guerin. They understand the arrangement and they're good with it." He frowned, wondering if the man had any idea what he was saying. "You guys need to be back in L.A. at any certain time tomorrow?"

"No later than mid-afternoon so Maria'll have a couple hours to unwind and relax a little bit before she's gotta head in to start her shift."

Indigo nodded. Did Guerin have any idea just how telling that answer was? "I'll make sure I'm home by noon at the latest then."

Michael nodded absently and turned back to his musings. He hung around at the club for several more hours, turning down a few offers from women that he barely even looked at before he finally just gave up and left.

*****

Michael drove around for a while after leaving the club; he had no specific destination in mind, he was just trying to make sense of what was happening to the life that had been so carefully ordered up until Maria's appearance in his life. Since the moment she had entered his life, literally knocking him off of his feet and shattering his perfectly ordered and maintained existence, he had been struggling to hold onto some semblance of control.

Control. He snorted at that. There was no such thing where that crazy Maria girl was concerned, it was nothing more than an illusion and she had done her level best to make him realize that. It wasn't an easy thing for someone like him to acknowledge or accept. He was a man who liked control in every aspect of his life; he knew that was most likely linked to his childhood and he was sure if he had opened up to the Company shrink the one time they had forced him to go see her, she would've had a field day with him.

Yeah, like he ever would've told that uptight woman anything about himself, he thought as he pulled over on the side of the road on a deserted stretch of highway and got out of the car. He had gotten out of that one with an active duty release after the single session. Not because she really thought that he was free of the anger issues he had been accused of having though; no, his release had been signed because she had been a completely different woman after an hour-long session with him. He smirked at the memory. He'd bet his entire savings account that she had never looked at her couch the same way after that session.

The smirk slowly faded when he realized that the feeling of smug satisfaction that had always accompanied that memory wasn't there. He sighed as he sat on the trunk of the car, booted feet hooked on the bumper so he could prop his elbows on his knees. He dropped his head forward and rubbed the back of his neck before running his hands through his hair. When had his past sexual conquests become nothing more than just memories? Shit, why didn't it bother him that he wasn't sexually interested in other women? That should bother him, right? He hadn't had a single sexual encounter or one-night stand in months and he couldn't even remember the last time he'd had a physical reaction to any woman who wasn't Maria.

He hadn't even gone out with the intention of getting laid in quite a while. He had been in Cairo for nearly a month and a half with no one around to stop him from seeking an evening with a beautiful woman and he hadn't once felt inclined to do so. To be completely honest he had only gone out tonight because Maria had pissed him off and made him jealous of a dead man.

He shifted uncomfortably and leaned back, palms flat against the cold trunk as he stared up at the sky. The only reason he was even wearing a pair of jeans that were so tight his dick would probably never forgive him was because he had wanted her to be jealous and pissed off too. He was pretty sure he had succeeded on both counts but it would've been a helluva lot better if she had refused to let him go by dragging him into her bed and putting an end to the sexual tension and frustration for both of them.

He had never really given much thought to things like fate, but as his gaze slid across the millions of stars scattered across the dark sky he realized his mind was going in that direction. What if fate really existed? His entire body suddenly tensed up and his eyes widened in shock. What if Maria was his fate? Was there some higher power above that had created this particular girl for him?

He didn't doubt her claims that his double had loved her, that he had fallen so hard for her that it had changed his whole life. It had taken him a long time to get to a place where he could accept that the kind of love she described actually existed, but she had finally convinced him. She didn't know that, of course, and if anyone ever accused him of believing it he'd deny it to their face.

What really scared him - and he could count the things that scared him on one hand and still have fingers left unaccounted for - was that he was falling for that crazy, infuriating, sexy, annoying Maria girl. He could feel it and it terrified him. He had never believed that things like happiness or love existed; they were just as elusive as the mysterious Loch Ness Monster. Sure, everyone knew about it, but seriously, who really believed it existed?

Had the Granolith sent her to his universe knowing that her double had perished years before? It didn't explain how she had found him that day in Santa Fe; she had been following a feeling, some sort of instinct that had led her to him. "Holy fuck," he muttered. It was just like that feeling that had led him to her that night in the park.

What if that had always been the plan devised by some higher power? Maybe it wasn't possible for either of them to be whole without the other. What if the bond, or connection, between them was so strong that it couldn't be denied? Maybe they would find their way to each other in every universe despite the roadblocks that stood in their way. Hell, he thought, she had crossed space and time, and against all odds she had found him.

He turned his head to the side when the wind picked up for a few moments, tossing tiny grains of sand through the air. That was his cue to leave, he decided as he dropped down off of the trunk. He paused with one hand on the door as he looked up into the night sky once more, his mind turning over the possibilities.

*****

Maria was lying in bed staring at the ceiling and drumming her fingers on her stomach as she contemplated her revenge. Her initial anger had finally started to settle after a couple of hours and now she was seething with controlled rage. She had no idea how long she had been lying in the dark when she heard a car pull into the driveway.

She listened, teeth gritted in anticipation of some slutty woman's voice. The front door opened and closed with barely a sound and a few seconds later the hall light was switched on and a small wedge of light fell across her floor through the barely-open doorway. She heard the refrigerator door open and then the distinct sound of a bottle cap hitting the floor. She bit back a smile when she heard the muffled curse that followed, indicating that Michael had tossed it towards the trash can and missed. She felt giddy with the knowledge that he had come back alone and she had to force down the impulse to go and confront him just to see if the scent of some slutty woman's cheap perfume was clinging to him.

After a few minutes of indecision she shook her head and shifted around to get more comfortable. There was no reason to start another fight so soon after the one they had gotten into earlier. Her gaze shot to the door when she heard his footsteps in the hallway and after several moments of silence the door began to move inward and she quickly closed her eyes.

*****

Michael paused in the hallway outside of Maria's room and his fingertips rested against the doorframe as he listened for anything that would indicate she was still awake. He took a drink from the bottle in his left hand and shoved his hesitation away as he reached out and pushed the door open.

He remained silent as he entered the room and walked around the bed. He could see her body outlined beneath the covers and he wished she were facing the hall so he could see her face clearly. He sat on the edge of the bed, his right hip brushing against her knees where they were pulled up towards her chest and he studied her features in the near-darkness.

Her expression was completely opposite of the one she had been wearing when he had stormed out of the house earlier. When he had left hours ago she had been angry with him and her face had expressed that feeling to perfection. Now her features were relaxed and she looked peaceful as she slept, her breathing slow and even.

Actually, he thought, tipping his head to the left to stare at her, her breathing sounded a little too even. He frowned and leaned back for a moment before he reached out to place his hand on the bed near the edge, and he suddenly felt self-conscious as she remained still. Fuck! She was awake! Otherwise she would've… His brief moment of panic subsided when she suddenly shifted and one of her hands journeyed across the distance separating them to wrap around his hand.

That calm, peaceful feeling that always accompanied her touch in these moments settled over him and he relaxed once more. Without realizing it his thumb began to stroke over the flesh of her knuckles in a soothing pattern and after a few minutes he stood up and bent over to place her hand under the covers. He stood back and watched her for a little while longer before quietly leaving the room and pulling the door closed behind him.
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ArchAngel1973
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The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M - Mature) Ch 45 - 12/21

Post by ArchAngel1973 »

Mary mary – They’ll figure it out. The question is, when?

Eva – Michael had to think about the changes in his life since Maria entered it and what it meant, or why she was here. And the answer is, she is there for him. So maybe there was a plan all along?

Nibbles2 – It was bound to happen. Michael couldn’t remain blind to what Maria’s presence meant to him and his life.

Candygazer – Thanks for delurking for us. We didn’t want to rush the relationship between Maria and this new Michael, OUR canon Michael didn’t deserve to be forgotten just like that. And well, he isn’t!


Author’s Note: Hi, just letting everyone know that we’re taking a brief hiatus from posting to give us a little vacation. We’ll return in three weeks to begin posting again.



Part 45

Maria made herself right at home in Indigo's kitchen the next morning and after browsing through his well-stocked pantry and refrigerator she started making breakfast. She was pretty sure Michael hadn't eaten since the day before when they had left San Angelo and the knowledge that he hadn't spent the night having sex with some random woman had put her in a generous mood.

Part of her really wanted to know why he hadn't hooked up with someone the night before; he wasn't a man who could be overlooked on a normal day and he had gone out dressed to kill. Which meant that it had been his decision to come back to the house alone because there was no way he hadn't been propositioned, she thought. She had no intention of asking, of course, because that would just put him in a bad mood and she didn't feel like she was ready to deal with that just yet.

An even bigger part of her wanted to know what had brought him to her room when he had come back. It wasn't the first time he had done it and on the rare occasion when she was just awake enough to realize he was there she had watched him, but she had never revealed that she knew he was there. She had no idea how he would react if he knew she was aware of his nocturnal visits, but she had a feeling he would get defensive and argumentative.

He always seemed to be searching for something but she could only assume that he hadn't yet found it because he kept coming back. Something had been different the night before though, and she couldn't pinpoint what it was. She had been so busy trying to keep her breathing under control that she had nearly given herself away. She had felt him tense up and pull away and it had taken a couple of minutes before she had realized what he was waiting for.

She rolled her eyes as she finished chopping the vegetables and carried the cutting board over to scrape them into the pan with the thin strips of steak. She could just imagine what his reaction would've been after their earlier fight.

"Good God, woman, if I'd known you could cook like this I never would've let Guerin run off with you when we first met."

Maria turned to smile at Indigo, shaking her head in warning when he reached for a piece of the bacon that was piled high on a plate on the counter.

"I'd leave it alone, Indigo," Michael advised as he joined them and crossed to the refrigerator. He was reaching for a beer when Maria smoothly intercepted him and handed him a glass of orange juice.

Indigo's eyebrows nearly shot off of his forehead when the other man didn't say a single word in protest. He hurried to cover his shock by grabbing the morning paper he had carried in and pretending to glance over the headlines while really watching his guests. He folded the paper over and was reaching for a piece of bacon when Maria suddenly turned around and popped the hell out of his knuckles.

"Do not touch that bacon until breakfast is on the table," Maria warned.

Michael roared with laughter when Indigo's mouth dropped open in shock and the big man cradled his stinging hand to his chest. "Dumb fuck," he muttered with just the slightest hint of affection in his tone. "I told you to leave it alone."

Indigo retreated to the table on the other side of the room, his nose buried in his paper as he pouted over being told no. His wounded ego was quickly forgotten as his gaze was once more drawn to his guests and he watched their interaction with each other. He still couldn't get over just how at ease Michael was around her; in all the years he had known the other man he had never seen him so comfortable with another person.

Maria cracked several eggs into a mixing bowl and placed it on the counter that Michael was sitting on, and when she moved to check the steak and vegetables sautéing in the frying pan he picked up the bowl and started to whisk the eggs.

"Is this a batch with the hot sauce or without?" he asked, glancing at her.

"With," she answered, removing the pan from the burner and setting it aside. "I used more eggs since I know Indigo likes hot sauce on his - "

"How'd you know that?" Michael interrupted.

Maria turned to look at Michael, surprised by his angry tone. "What?"

"You said you know Indigo likes hot sauce on his eggs - how do you know that?" he clarified, trying to contain his feelings. The last thing he wanted to do was sound like a jealous boyfriend.

Maria rolled her eyes at the jealousy she could hear in his voice. "He was in L.A. while you were away on that last assignment and we had dinner together; we went to a café that served breakfast all day and that's what he ordered."

"You never said anything about seein' him," Michael muttered. What else was she hiding from him?

Maria rolled her eyes. Another typical Michael Guerin attitude, no matter which universe they were in - he was possessive; he just didn't like Maria getting along with other guys. In her universe, Max, Alex, and Kyle had been the only guys whom he had accepted and allowed to be around her. Max because he trusted him and knew that he was crazy about Liz, Alex because… well, because he loved Isabel, and Kyle because it was obvious that there was nothing there. Michael hadn't felt threatened by any of them, but any other guy… oh, boy! And this Michael was taking the same path. "Well, if you remember, you were a little under the weather when you got back from Cairo, Michael. Besides, why does it matter? He's your friend and you trust him; it never occurred to me that it'd bother you if we had dinner together."

Michael shook his head in denial, shrugging as he went back to beating the eggs. "It doesn't bother me. I just like to know what's goin' on in my absence."

Yeah, right! "Okay, well, now you know." She handed him a bottle of hot sauce and motioned to the bowl he held in his lap. "Finish beating those eggs."

Indigo shook his head and turned his attention back to the newspaper lying on the table in front of him. It didn't take long before his gaze slid back to them though, and he watched as they moved around each other with practiced ease.

Maria put the finishing touches on the first omelet and slid it onto the plate Michael held, nodding over her shoulder to indicate that it was for Indigo. She added more hot sauce to the remaining egg mixture, waiting for the oil to heat up before she poured it into the pan. She made sure to pile on the ingredients for Michael's omelet, adding extra cheese and folding it over before sliding it onto the waiting plate. She topped it off with more of the steak and vegetables, and added a side of hash browns and bacon before handing it to the man waiting expectantly close by.

Michael accepted the plate from her and he paused before turning to go to the table. "Thanks, y'know, for…" He held the plate up and shrugged uncomfortably before escaping to the table.

Maria quickly covered her shock and focused on making her own breakfast. Saying thank you wasn't a phrase that she could recall being a part of Michael's vocabulary one single time since they had first met; it was unexpected and not entirely unpleasant. She just wasn't sure how to respond to it.

Indigo noticed they did the same thing when they finally settled down at the table and he found himself observing them and paying very little attention to the steak omelet that had been placed before him. Michael reached for the jar of salsa and she was a step ahead of him, uncapping it and handing it to him before his hand had made it much further than the edge of his plate. She finished her juice and Michael went to get the pitcher from the refrigerator to refill her glass without her ever saying a word. She buttered his toast, he snagged a strip of bacon off of her plate, and the small interchanges continued throughout the meal.

"You got any new assignments comin' up?" he asked finally. He forced himself to focus on the plate in front of him as the other man responded to his question.

Maria watched Michael as he talked to his friend, trying to understand what was going on with him. Something big had happened to him, something that she could… feel, but she couldn't figure out what it was; he was talking to Indigo but it was obvious - to her at least - that his mind was elsewhere. She knew he didn't have any assignments lined up so she didn't bother following their conversation as she studied him without being too obvious about it.

*****

Maria settled into the seat next to Michael and reached down to fasten her seatbelt. The plan had been to fly back to L.A. with Indigo but one of his lady friends had called him with some sort of personal emergency and he had taken off in the middle of breakfast. Her companion's mood had taken a bad turn at that but he hadn't expressed any interest in discussing it so she had backed off, cleaning up the mess from their meal and leaving him alone while he called to make arrangements to catch a flight out of Albuquerque.

She glanced down when he fastened his own seatbelt, pulling it much tighter than was necessary, before his hand landed on the armrest between them. He had taken the aisle seat, claiming that it was the more defensible position should trouble arise, but his white-knuckled grip easily explained his refusal to take the window seat. "Why didn't you just tell me you have a problem with flying?" she dared to ask.

"I don't have a problem with it," he snarled. He pressed himself as far back into the seat as he could go and stared at the ceiling when the plane began to taxi down the runway.

"Michael, it's nothing to be ashamed of. But if you had told me, we could've just drove back to L.A. and you wouldn't have had to - "

"I just don't like commercial flights, okay? The pilots are civilians." His voice was practically dripping with disdain. "What do they know about emergency situations?"

He was afraid of flying? Her Michael hadn't had that fear that she knew of, but then again, they had never taken a flight anywhere either. They had always done their traveling by road. Hmmm, maybe it came from the crash… some leftover memory, maybe? Even if he didn't consciously remember it, he knew he had survived the crash that had killed nearly all of the other aliens onboard the ship. Maria made an effort to comfort him, not liking the fact that he was in any kind of distress. "Well, I'm pretty sure they're trained to handle - "

"They're civilians," he hissed through gritted teeth.

Okay, she wasn't gonna win this one, Maria thought. She needed to distract him before he tore the armrests off of the seats. "I could call Gabriel when we get home and tell him I can't make it in tonight. We could watch a movie or something and then later maybe I could make a cake or something."

"I liked that key lime pie you made a while back," he muttered. He could feel his heart pounding as the plane leveled out and his gaze left the ceiling when Maria leaned closer to him and her right arm settled on the armrest against his. The feeling of calm washed over him and he looked at her when she made a sound of agreement while caressing his arm. "What'd you think of Dupree?" he asked after a few minutes.

Maria sighed. She had gotten some vibes from the old man, vibes that she hadn't liked. There was just so much sadness and anger in him. "I think he's very lonely. He's spent his whole life chasing after the truth and in the process he lost everything that was precious to him. I feel sorry for him." She shook her head. "To spend so much of your life alone because you're too obsessed to care until it's too late… that's just very sad." She paused for a few minutes. She wondered how she would feel if she had been cloned and she met the person who had made that possible, albeit unwillingly. Or, what if she had met another Maria from a parallel universe? That would be a life changing event! She shook her head and brought herself back to Michael's problem. "What'd you think of him?"

Michael was silent for a while and his gaze was drawn to her fingers when they started to rub the back of his rigid hand in a soft, soothing manner. "They didn't have any right to do what they did to him. I know they were doin' what was necessary to ensure their survival, but, to just take someone and hold them captive… to do medical experiments on them… to keep them locked away for months at a time while cutting them off from any kind of human contact… that's cruel and it's the kinda thing that could drive someone with a weaker mind insane."

Maria stared at him, realizing that he was speaking from experience and that thought made her incredibly sad. She wouldn't ask him about it though, that was the kind of thing that was incredibly personal and unless he brought it up she knew it was best to leave it alone. She and Liz had talked many times about Max's capture by Pierce and she knew it had taken a long time before he had even been able to talk to Liz about it, to tell her what they had done to him. Trying to get Michael to talk about it would only be asking for trouble; he would feel like she was prying and he would get defensive and angry, so it was best to let him bring it up - if he ever chose to do so, which she doubted.

She glanced at her watch. They only had about half an hour of the flight left, so she needed to keep him talking. He hadn't really answered her question about what he thought of the old man, but maybe he wasn't ready for that just yet. "You guys were gone for quite a while this morning… any opinions, or conclusions you wanna share?"

Any conclusions? He still wasn't sure what to think about Dupree and the whole crazy situation that had led to him meeting his human donor. It wasn't exactly the kinda thing that happened every day. He needed more time to be at ease with the fact that he was related to the old man, that he was in some way his father. It was so… crazy! It was insane, was what it was. Completely out of some freaky TV show! "He was… different than I expected, I guess." He shrugged. "It was just weird to meet someone that was so much like me. Y'know, he brought up an interesting fact while we were talkin' an' I was kinda wonderin' what you'd think about it." He reached up to scratch his eyebrow with his thumb.

"What's that?" Maria asked, happy that he was confiding in her and eager to help him.

Michael hesitated. He knew that Maria still wasn't completely comfortable with his job so that made it something of a sensitive subject. He wasn't even sure he was ready to discuss it, much less on a commercial flight that could crash and burn at any moment since there were civilian idiots at the controls. He turned to tell her to forget that he had said anything but he saw how focused she was as she watched him, her face practically glowing with a happiness that he didn't understand. He swore under his breath; he couldn't turn her down now. "I chose a career in the military field and I'm very good at what I do… I'm not braggin' myself up or anything, it's just a fact." He shrugged when she motioned for him to continue. "D'you think it's a coincidence that I chose that career? I mean, you said that Michael had no interest in that type of work and yet, it's the field that fits me best."

"It is a field that fits you well, Michael," she assured him, still absently rubbing his hand. "He wouldn't have done well in the field that you've chosen…" She hesitated before saying more, not wanting to piss him off with yet another comparison, but not knowing how else to say it. "But you have to remember that there are a lot of differences between the two of you."

Somehow, this worried him. It shouldn't, but it did, because it could mean that he was more alien than her Michael. Was he closer to that killer dupe that she had mentioned? The one who had killed his brother, his king? "You think it's possible that I have more of Rath's personality than he did?"

Maria searched his eyes, reading the worry that was clearly visible in the dark depths. It had to be frightening for him to know about aliens, to have all the answers and to realize that many of the aliens weren't good guys. He never saw himself as the bad guy, just someone doing his job by hunting down the bad guys and dealing with them. There was a difference. And now he felt like that was in question because he was afraid of being too much like his old self? She didn't know much about the original Rath, but she didn't think that he had been someone to be ashamed of. Courtney had said that he'd had his own followers and that he would've rather died than ever betray his king. He was very faithful, something that both her Michael and this Michael had in common. "No, I think that you didn't have the influences he did growing up; you didn't have the same experiences that shape us as we become adults, and because of that you chose two very different paths in life."

That didn't really help Michael very much. If he had chosen this path because it fit him, it meant that he was more alien than his double and he had been able to fight this darker side of himself. "Meanin' he chose the respectable path and I chose the path of a killer."

"No, I'm not saying that at all, Michael." She shifted to face him more fully and she reached out to grasp his chin, forcing his gaze to hers. "Listen to me, okay? He killed Pierce to save the rest of us and it tormented him for a very long time; he never got over that, he carried it with him regardless of how much time had passed. It's very possible that I'm the reason he couldn't kill Pierce and then bury any emotions it evoked; our relationship allowed him to open up and let himself feel." Maria remembered very well how scared Michael had been that he would hurt her once he had realized that he could kill her with little more than the wave of his hand.

"So, it made him weak." He shook his head when he saw the hurt in her eyes at his bald statement. "That didn't come out right. As a soldier you've gotta be able to shut things out, to compartmentalize, and you've gotta be cold and calculating when the time calls for it. From what you've said about him, he couldn't have done that. I'm not tryin' to put him down or anything, it's just another difference between us." He shrugged. "I've got twenty-nine confirmed kills on my record, and I've never once felt so much as a moment of regret for any of them. It's just a job to me; there's no emotion involved and it doesn't even matter who the target is. I don't care about them or any family or loved ones that they leave behind… there's nothin' in me that feels the slightest bit of regret or guilt for killin' 'em."

Maria swallowed with difficulty as he discussed his job without any emotional inflection in his voice. This was one of the biggest differences between him and her Michael; she didn't hold it against him because he had never had anyone in his life to influence him any other way, but she didn't know how to approach it either.

Michael watched her, his dark gaze taking in every nuance of her facial expressions and he looked away when he saw the disappointment in her eyes. Why did it even matter what she thought of him anyway? Since when did he care what anyone, and especially Maria, thought about him?

Maria's eyes widened in surprise when he looked away and she realized that her thoughts must be written across her face clear enough for him to read them. She hadn't meant to hurt him, and she could see that was exactly what she had done. "Look, Michael, I don't pretend to understand what you do or how you do it without feeling anything… I have no point of reference for it; this is new territory for me." She gave him a small smile when he looked at her again. "I had a long talk with Indigo when you were in Cairo and it helped me to see your job in a different light. I don't look at you and see some murderer; I know the people you've killed in the line of duty were marked for death because they represented a threat in some form, but it's not an easy thing for me to accept and it's not something that's gonna happen overnight. There's a lot of your job that I do understand, like the times when you're protecting people, or the times when you're sent out to find people or things that are missing."

"You just don't understand how I can kill without remorse," Michael said, summing it up for her.

Maria winced at his blunt words, but yeah, it was true. She didn't want to cause him any pain, but she couldn't deny her own feelings. "No, I don't. I'm not judging you for it, either, though. Maybe, like you said, that's really the only way you can do that job."

Michael took a deep breath. Yeah, it was the only way and he had to find a way to make her understand that. Damn, that little voice inside his head was still there, popping up from time to time, pushing him to do things that he wasn't used to doing. It sucked to have a conscience, when he had never had one. Why did it have to show up now and talk to him, anyway? No guy in the field had to deal with that, so why him? And why now? Maria, of course, that was the only logical answer. "Emotions get you killed in the field, Maria. You let emotion get involved and you risk makin' a mistake that'll compromise your life or your mission… there's no point in doin' this kinda job if you're gonna be stupid about it."

"Why did you choose this line of work, Michael?" she asked. "What made you sign up for it?"

"At 17 I didn't really have any idea what I wanted to do with my life and the recruiter was very persuasive… travel around the world, earn a hefty paycheck, and eventually move up to a position where I could choose my own jobs." He shrugged. "I didn't have any family, I had no ties to anyone or anything, and there wasn't anyone who would've questioned it if I came up missin' or if I died on a mission. It just worked out well for me and the Company."

Maria could feel her heart constrict in her chest. It hurt to hear him talk like that, to verbally acknowledge that no one would miss him or be upset if he were to be killed in the line of duty. His coldness towards killing human beings was beginning to make sense. He had never cared for anyone and no one had ever cared for him, ever loved him, or ever waited at home for him. He was a stonewall, and even worse than her Michael had ever been. As a result, feelings like love, guilt, and remorse were strangers to him. "Have you ever been close to anyone? Formed any kind of lasting relationship or bond, anything?"

Michael thought about that for a little while… not that he really had that many "relations" to go through. "Indigo an' Stone, I guess. There's not really anyone else."

Maria nodded, sad that he had so few friends. "That makes sense; you're drawn to people who're like you because they understand what you do."

"Never really thought much about it, but that's probably true," he agreed. "Y'know, Dupree doesn't have anyone… well, he's got a maid, but it's not like there's much of a connection there. There's no one to miss him when he's gone… we've got that in common too."

"You honestly think Indigo and Stone wouldn't miss you if you were gone?" Maria didn't like thinking about Michael's death. She suddenly jerked, her breath catching in her throat at the realization that, for the first time, she hadn't thought about her Michael in connection to the word death; her thoughts had been for the Michael sitting beside her. She bit her lips, knowing very well what that meant… she had deeper feelings for this man than she had originally thought. The feeling of betrayal came back in a flash, tormenting her and it took an extreme effort to try and contain her tears. She didn't want to have feelings for another Michael! Hers was the only one for her, he was! She couldn't possibly love two men at the same time. Right? God, she really needed Liz! Liz would know what to say to her to help her make sense of this mess she'd gotten herself into.

Michael was lost in his own thoughts, missing Maria's emotional episode as he answered, "Well, they'd probably miss me for a while, but it's not like they wouldn't be able to go on with their lives before long. Dupree had a fiancé years ago… someone who would've missed him and he threw that relationship away. There's no one left for him now."

Maria forced herself to focus on him; it was easier than focusing on her conflicted feelings. "Michael, he's not you and you're not him; you're related, but you don't have to live to be almost 90 years old with no one you love around you. You've still got time to change that."

His hand gripped the armrest again when the plane suddenly jolted and his heart started to pound. "I fuckin' hate civilian pilots!"

Maria reached out to pry his fingers off of the armrest he was gripping. "Michael, hey, you can let go; we just landed."

Michael's eyes shot open and he leaned forward to look out through the window next to her. He slumped back in his seat and ran his right hand over his eyes. "I can't wait to get off of this plane and go home."

Once they had made it into the terminal and they hailed a cab to take them over to the airfield where he had left the truck when they had left for their flight a few days earlier. They had been able to fly out on a smaller plane piloted by an ex-military officer and Michael had been fine on that flight, so now she knew why he hadn't had a problem with flying back with Indigo in the pilot's seat. "Why don't we pick up something for dinner on our way home?" she suggested as they stepped out of the cab and made their way to the truck.

Michael tossed his bag in the backseat and glanced at her over the top of the truck. "Chinese okay?" he asked.

Ha, yeah, Michael and food… talk about a true love story! She couldn't help but smile at her thoughts. "Yeah, that sounds good. We should stop at that little place off of San Jacinto Avenue; they've got the best Kung Pao chicken out of all the restaurants we've tried so far. Oh, and they've got the dry garlic spareribs that you like, too."

"You still gonna call in tonight?" He nodded when she answered affirmatively. "We got the stuff for that pie?"

"We should stop and pick up some fresh limes; it tastes much better than using the stuff in the bottle."

Michael slid in behind the wheel and inserted the key into the ignition, starting the truck and checking over everything while she got settled into the passenger's seat. He wasn't about to admit it, but he was glad that she had decided to call in to work and stay home for the night. He couldn't explain it, but he felt the need to be near her in some capacity after the exhaustion and stress of the past few days.
Last edited by ArchAngel1973 on Tue Dec 22, 2009 5:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M - Mature) Ch 46 - 1/18

Post by ArchAngel1973 »

Mary mary – You’re confusing yourself? Imagine Maria, then! Her situation has gone from terrible to worse, in a way. She has feelings for both Michaels so where will that lead her, in the end?

Timelord31 – Thanks for reading.

DeDe PR – Maria feels guilty but that’s normal. She came to this universe to help save her Michael, only to fall for this universe’s Michael. This wasn’t her plan.

Alien_Friend – Ouah, such compliments in your review, thank you so much. It’s really nice to have new readers who fall for this universe we have created.
Mr. Dupree being a live in this new universe. Superb idea!! I really adored that one. I had never even thought about it and so it was exciting to watch you run with it. What Michael would feel having to meet this man?
We have always been fascinated with Charles Dupree, who has had such a tragic life. But he was dead in the original universe so there was no way we could have written about him. So that’s why we had him still alive, we wanted to hear his side of the story and to have him meeting Michael.
He needs her just as much as the original one does I think
That’s so true. This Michael is all tough and mean (especially in the beginning) because he didn’t grow up with Max and Isabel and because he didn’t meet Maria, therefore didn’t fall in love. Thanks to Maria, he evolved and showed that he had it in him to be this great character that we have come to love in the show. But it had to happen slowly and that’s why, in the beginning, Michael was such a bastard. He is quite unlovable at first, huh?


Author’s Note: After much debate we have decided to alternate TMWDB with our other fic TLC. We will post both fics this week and beginning next week we will post a new part of TLC followed by a new part of TMWDB the next week. While we post on this new schedule we will be posting on Mondays. Our hope is to return to our normal posting schedule soon and we will keep you updated on that front.



Part 46

After dinner Michael went to take a shower while Maria washed up the few dishes they had used for their takeout dinner. His thoughts were running wild as he switched the hair dryer off, finished drying his hair. He unplugged the device and put it away before running his hands through his hair and turning his head to the side to examine his reflection in the mirror. Maybe it was time for a haircut, he mused, realizing that it was longer and shaggier than he had ever let it get. He frowned. Had he even had a haircut since Maria had come to stay with him? No, he hadn't. It wasn't like he kept it very short, but he had never let it get like this. He shook his head and flipped the light switch off as he walked out into his room and threw himself down on his bed. He linked his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling as he went back to his previous thoughts.

There was no pattern to them, no order that made sense; they were just random thoughts about his double from that other universe, Maria, Dupree, and his job. He had spent most of dinner going over their conversation on the plane and he was still surprised by the sheer civility of it. She didn't understand his job, she couldn't comprehend how he did what he did and still managed to look at himself in the mirror each morning, but she hadn't judged him one single time.

Regardless of where his thoughts moved to, they always came back to the fact that she was trying to understand him. He didn't know what that meant exactly, but, he felt like maybe it was pretty important. She had touched him a lot while they were on the plane too, and she hadn't once pulled away from him. They were making progress if she was beginning to reach a point where she could touch him without looking like she had just committed some horrible crime. He nodded to himself, not even realizing that for the first time he hadn't attempted to sexualize her touches in his own mind.

He glanced towards the doorway when the sounds of people talking caught his attention and he wondered what Maria had found to watch on TV. He hauled himself out of bed and went to check it out. Just in case he was missing something good, he rationalized to himself.

The only light was provided by the television and a single lamp, but he easily made out Maria's form sitting at her end of the couch. He paused just inside the room and glanced at his chair for a few moments before skirting around it and making his way over to the couch.

Maria's face expressed surprise when he ignored his precious chair and dropped down on the couch, quickly stretching out and placing his head in her lap and propping his feet up on the opposite arm. Her gaze skimmed over him, taking in the long, bare legs exposed below his cargo shorts, and the strong, muscled shoulders visible courtesy of his tank top. He had just gotten out of the shower and he smelled better than any man had a right to; a combination of soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, and that heady scent that was uniquely Michael.

"What're we watchin'?" he mumbled after a few minutes.

"A documentary about the Caribbean; Michael and I always wanted to go there. We traveled after graduation… well, not so much traveled as ran from the government, but we did get to see some pretty cool places. It was difficult to enjoy seeing new places and all these natural wonders when we knew that there were people who would've been happy to take us into custody and kill us without a second thought. Well, they would've been happy to kill me off; I wasn't really of any interest to them - " Her gaze shot to the man lying beside her when his hand shot up to grab her wrist and he tipped his head back to meet her gaze in the near-darkness.

"He wouldn't have let that happen," he said, his tone insistent.

"Well, no, not intentionally. But, we never knew what could happen from one day to the next. I never once doubted that he would do whatever was necessary to protect me, but these people were trained government agents and - "

"Trust me on this, Maria; he wouldn't have let that happen." He released her without another word and his gaze moved back to the television as he shifted around to get comfortable again. "So, you never quite made it to the Caribbean?"

Maria shook herself out of her musings as she stared at her wrist where his big hand had been wrapped around it just moments before. "No, we never did make it there. There were times when we did really enjoy ourselves, mainly because we were alive and together, and for a short while we could lose ourselves in whatever we were seeing or doing."

Michael listened to her as she talked, not interrupting or making a single disparaging comment about his double. Feelings that he had never in his life felt began to settle over him and he was shocked to realize that they were happiness and peace. Before she had come into his life he hadn't believed that either thing truly existed, but now he knew differently… he felt differently. He felt himself relaxing even more when her fingers started to card through his hair, her nails raking gently against his scalp. Even after she fell silent and the droning voice of the man providing information off-screen was the only sound in the room, her touch continued to soothe him and he eventually started to doze off.

Maria looked down when he shifted and his head rolled towards the back of the couch, his forehead coming to rest against her stomach. She combed her fingers through his soft, shaggy hair and let them slide down to rub against the back of his neck. She could feel the tension there and she used her fingertips to massage the knotted muscles, smiling when he made a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a purr.

She watched him as he slept, wondering once again what had happened to him the night before, wondering what had changed. He had been oddly content all day and she didn't know what had caused it; he hadn't been argumentative, condescending, pissed, or just plain mean. The entire day he had been almost… pleasant. She shook her head and slouched down a little further in the cushions, and before she even realized it her eyes were sliding closed and the sound of the television faded into the background.

Several hours later Michael awoke with a start and he blinked rapidly as he tried to identify his surroundings. He felt his breathing settle and his head eased back down to rest against Maria's body. He glanced down at the arm lying across his chest and then up at her where she was slumped against the cushions, her body angled protectively over him. He wondered if that was just the way she had fallen asleep or if it had something to do with him.

His mind scrambled back to the dream that had woken him up, the images hazy now that he was awake once more. He could recall scenes of him… only, it wasn't him… walking in the rain, being driven by the need to get to the one person who understood, the one person who wouldn't turn him away. The feeling of being overwhelmed by emotions as he stood outside of a window, waiting for the one ray of light in his dark existence to notice him, to take him inside and make the pain go away, even if it was only for a little while. He had felt the walls holding his emotions back shatter in the face of her caring touches, and despite the fact that he felt like ten kinds of fool for crying in front of her, her acceptance and her complete lack of judgment had been a balm to his wounded soul.

The memories didn't belong to him, but he knew that was what they were. The images, the feelings, they weren't just random subconscious thoughts that had come together to create a dream; they were memories. Maria had never said a word to him about such a scene happening between her and his double, but he knew that was what they were. But, how was it possible? How could he possibly be remembering things that had happened to him in that other universe? He didn't understand it, but he knew without a single shadow of a doubt that the images, the feelings, from the dream belonged to his double and the woman next to him.

He started to move and the hand on his chest started to rub against him sleepily, and her lips moved as she murmured something he didn't have a prayer of deciphering. All he knew was that it continued until he settled back down against her and then she fell silent once more and her hand clenched lightly in his shirt for a moment before relaxing and lying flat against his chest. He had been intending to get up and carry her to bed, but he changed his mind and just let himself bask in the unexpected peace of the evening.

*****

Maria delivered another round of drinks to the quiet table in the back corner of the bar, not bothering to speak to the two men sitting there. In the almost five months that she had been working at Azrael's Sanctuary she couldn't recall either of them speaking unless it was to place an order.

She carried the empty tray back behind the counter and collected one heavily-laden with food. She glanced at the table number on the ticket and sighed, shaking her head and mentally preparing herself to fend off Novak's advances once more.

Too bad Michael wasn't there tonight, she thought as she made her way to the table. Novak minded his manners a little better when the other man's scowling presence was close by. But, unfortunately, Michael was out of town on assignment, once again protecting the Covington's, who had requested him specifically.

It was his fourth assignment since they had returned from their trip to meet Dupree nine weeks ago. This was the most dangerous one he had taken on out of the four but he hadn't been concerned about it. Not that he was ever concerned about the assignments Marcos sent him on. He was completely confident in himself and his abilities and she had learned that it wasn't conceit so much as self-assurance. No that she really cared; the important thing was that he survive the missions he was sent on.

She had met Marcos and Cailyn a couple of weeks earlier when the couple had stopped in at the bar on their way to Lake Tahoe. The man had apparently proposed and his fiancé was dragging him off to be married before he could change his mind. Marcos hadn't looked like he had any thoughts about changing his mind, but the woman obviously wasn't taking any chances.

Michael had been there and he had just rolled his eyes, but he had refrained from commenting. At least until Cailyn had insisted on hugging him right there in front of everybody. Maria chuckled to herself. He'd had plenty to say at that point, mainly to cover his discomfort and embarrassment.

She brought her thoughts back to the present as she served the group at the table, careful to stay out of Novak's reach. She didn't think he was dangerous; he was just young and full of himself, and he hadn't learned to keep his hands to himself.

"So, when're you gonna go out with me, Maria?" Novak grinned at her, certain that she was gonna cave one day soon.

"Not gonna happen, Novak." She smiled and made a mental note of which glasses needed to be refilled. "Sanchez, you want another shot?"

The quiet man nodded and tossed the last of his drink back. He glanced at Novak when the younger man's gaze followed the waitress as she went to refresh their drinks. "You should have more respect," he muttered as he cut into his steak.

"What're you talkin' about?" Novak asked with a frown.

"He's talkin' about the way you keep playin' grab-ass with Guerin's woman, dickhead," Axel said, shaking his head.

"Okay, first, we don't know what they've got goin' on. And second? Hell, even if there is anything goin' on between them, he's gone a lot."

"Which means what?" Bootleg asked, wondering how the kid could be so stupid.

"Which means I'd be happy to take over while he's gone."

"You're playin' a dangerous game. You should have enough honor to leave the woman alone. It's clear that she belongs to Guerin and if you continue this foolishness you will regret it."

Novak shook his head and laughed at the old-fashioned nonsense that Sanchez was spouting. "Hey, I know you feel pretty strongly about this since you're married and you've got like, twelve kids at home, but she's fair game whether she's with Guerin or not." He glanced at the other two men at the table. "C'mon, guys, am I right?"

"You're insane if you think you're gonna cross Guerin like that," Bootleg muttered.

"Why?" Novak sneered. "You think he's ever left a woman alone just because she was married or with another guy?"

"I think Sanchez is right and you're gonna regret it if you keep fuckin' with Guerin's woman." Axel shook his head. "That man'll put a hurt on you, Novak."

"Whatever." He glanced up and smiled when he saw Maria heading their way with another round of drinks.

*****

Michael paid the cab driver and glanced up at the welcoming sign above the entrance of Azrael's Sanctuary. He walked through the parking lot to drop his bags off in the truck before making his way up to the front door of the bar. His assignment with the Covington's had been uneventful and boring since most of it had been spent watching over them as they rubbed elbows with dignitaries and government officials for the past four days.

He was ready to be back home where he could just lounge around the house with Maria and let her spoil him rotten. He'd had plenty of time since their trip to meet Dupree to become a little more comfortable with his feelings for her. They were more domestic than he had ever thought he'd be able to tolerate, but he had eventually realized that it didn't really bother him. On the contrary, he kinda liked coming home after a week away and having someone there who gave a damn about him, who asked how his assignment had gone, and who would then insist he take a shower and relax while she made him something to eat. Not just someone, his little voice reminded him. Maria.

They still fought like hell, and sometimes it was over the most ridiculous things, but he even enjoyed that. He'd enjoy it a lot more if the fights led to sex, but that hadn't happened. Sometimes he could swear she was ready to just let go and take that leap, but she always managed to distance herself before they had a chance to take it anywhere. He knew she was having a hard time maintaining distance between them, but he also knew she was walking a fine line; she still felt that fucking him was a betrayal of her dead lover and she was fighting that with everything she had.

He frowned when his previous thought didn't sit well with him. It was strange, he mused as he reached for the door, but lately when he thought about getting her in his bed his mind shied away from crass terminology like 'fucking'… which didn't make any sense because that's what they'd be doing. He shook his head and glanced at the clock on the wall as Raphael placed a bin on the counter and motioned for him to unload his weapons.

"You're here late," the big man rumbled. "Only an hour until closin'."

Michael shrugged. "Just got in." He stepped through the double doors and rolled his shoulders back as he glanced around. There were only a couple dozen people scattered across the bar and his searching gaze immediately locked on Maria. She was clearing a table near the pool tables where Novak and another man were in the middle of a game.

He stopped at the bar to talk to Gabriel and order a beer but his gaze kept straying back to Maria. He was just about to take a drink from the cold bottle in his hand when Novak suddenly moved and trapped her against the table. She turned around, her expression furious when his hand slid down to settle on her ass.

Gabriel quickly snatched the bottle out of Michael's hand; he wasn't gonna try to stop what was about to happen because Novak had been warned, but he didn't want to spend the rest of the night explaining a broken bottle impaling Novak's jugular to the cops either.
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The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M - Mature) Ch 47 - 2/1

Post by ArchAngel1973 »

Mary mary –
Great chapter and please, please, please hurry back. The suspense is killing me. ANNNND, I'm wondering what is with Michael's dreams? Is he dream walking Maria or is there some kind of transference going on here? You can still call me confused because I think about this thing too much, I just need to relax and let you tell me what's going on.
Well, we’ll tell you what’s going on. Or rather, the story will tell you what’s going on but you won’t hear the truth about those dreams from us!

DeDe PR – Novak is such a typical male, huh? But he’s playing a dangerous game.

Alien friend –
The way he had that memory of the other Michael's was really interesting. I wonder if that has anything to do with why Maria was sent to this universe.
Well, you might be onto something here. You’ll just have to wait a little to see what exactly is going on.

Timelord31 – Thanks for reading.

Eva – Michael’s come a long way since that first meeting between him and Maria. You’re probably going to be curious for a while. We still have a long way to go!


Part 47

Maria glanced at Novak, furious that he had dared to put his hands on her. "Get your hand off of my ass," she gritted out through clenched teeth. "I don't know what else I need to say for you to - " Her rant was just getting started when a large hand wrapped around the man's throat and jerked him away from her.

Her eyes widened in shock when she realized it was Michael who had grabbed the other man. As she watched, he practically lifted Novak off of his feet and slammed him down on the surface of the pool table. His hand was still wrapped around Novak's throat and he didn't seem the slightest bit worried about the man's inability to breathe.

She hurried over to face Michael, wrapping both hands around his wrist as she tried to get him to release the other man. She didn't understand why no one had moved to stop what was happening. "Michael, you need to let him go."

His dark gaze lifted from Novak's terrified eyes to look at Maria. "You're okay?"

Maria nodded, transfixed by the intensity in his expression. "Let him go," she repeated softly. She was relieved when his hand loosened and Novak rolled over, fighting to pull air into his oxygen-starved lungs.

"Gabriel took my beer."

Maria smiled. "That's good. There's no telling where you would've stuck that bottle. I'll get it for you." She paused to glance at him. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, but…"

She nodded in understanding. "I'll fix you something when we get home. Let me get your beer and then finish my shift, okay?"

As soon as her back was turned and she was on her way to the bar, Michael's hand tightened on Novak's throat and he slammed his head back down against the pool table. His eyes were black with anger as he leaned over the prone man who was clawing at the back of his hand. "You ever put your hands on that woman again and I will tear your fuckin' throat out." He searched Novak's gaze for several seconds before letting him go and stepping back. He reached for the eight ball and rolled it into the corner pocket. "Looks like you just lost, Novak; I think if I were you I'd call it a night." He pulled his hand back and was turning when he came face to face with Maria. He plucked his beer from her fingers and grinned at her. "Novak was just sayin' how he's not gonna bother you anymore."

"Uh-huh. I have my doubts that he said much of anything."

Michael shrugged and took a drink from the bottle in his right hand. "It wasn't so much a verbal statement."

"Uh-huh."

He motioned to something behind her. "I'm just gonna go talk to Sanchez until you get off."

"I think that's a good idea." Maria watched him as he made his way over to the table where Sanchez had been sitting all evening. Maybe he would talk to Michael, she thought. It was unusual for the man to hang around the bar until closing and he had been even quieter than usual.

She glanced at Novak once more before going to check on her section one last time before closing. She hadn't wanted Michael to hurt the man, but she didn't have a problem with him using brute force to get Novak to understand that she wasn't interested.

She couldn't deny that there was a part of her that responded to Michael's actions, some elemental thing inside of her that reacted to his primitive display of jealousy. It was that type of behavior that made her want to silence that little voice in her head, throw him on the nearest flat surface, and rip his clothes off. She hurriedly shook those thoughts off and grabbed one of the gray tubs so she could start clearing tables.

*****

Michael dropped down in the chair across from Sanchez, greeting the man in his native tongue. The Hispanic man raised his shot glass in greeting and nodded once. "You straighten him out?"

"I think he understands my position a little better now." Michael placed his bottle on the table between them. "What're you doin' here so late? You're usually home with the wife an' kids by this time."

"Some days it's hard to go home." He sighed as he leaned forward over his glass. "I think maybe it's time to find another line of work." He shook his head and reached up to rub his eyes with both hands. "I was interrogatin' a young man with ties to a terrorist organization earlier today…" He shook his head. "He was just a kid; 19, in over his head, scared to death… pissed himself when I got in his face and told him what we'd do to him if he didn't give up his contact's name."

Michael had seen Sanchez in action and no one who hadn't seen that side of his personality would ever suspect that he was capable of such cold, calculated, viciousness. "Kid or not, you know what they turn into once those organizations get their claws into 'em, Sanchez." He paused. "You break him?"

"We got the information, threw him in a cell, and while I was signin' off on the paperwork he dug a spring out of the mattress and slit his wrists." He slumped back in his chair and tossed the shot of tequila back.

Michael's first instinct was to simply say, 'Good, one less terrorist to deal with', but he could see that the other man wasn't seeing it that way. More of Maria's damn influence, he thought. "Fuck, you didn't make him do that, Sanchez."

"I pushed him to it though and now he'll have to live the rest of his life knowin' that he tried to kill himself." A small smile slid over his face as he shook his head. "I know you don't understand why this bothers me, but goin' home to be with my wife and kids after a day like this is difficult."

Michael shrugged. There was no point in denying the man's statement.

"I've been where you are," the older agent said with a humorless chuckle. "And back then I wouldn't have understood these feelings anymore than you do now. It was a lot easier when things were black and white, and there weren't so many shades of grey. 17 years of marriage and six kids changes things, though… makes you look at things in a different way."

Michael slouched down in his chair and stretched his legs out under the table. "What would you do if you left the Company?"

"Make wine. I promised Ana years ago that when I retired from this job we'd buy land in the valley and we'd have our own vineyard." He smiled as he stared into his glass. "She'd like that."

Maybe he didn't understand what Sanchez was talking about, but he could see that the man was losing his focus and that was dangerous to him and everyone he worked with. "Then get out, Sanchez." Michael shook his head. "You start sympathizin' with a suspect you become a liability. Once you start to humanize them you lose that edge that allows you to do this job; that's how you get yourself or one of us killed. All it takes is one mistake, one slip up, and your wife's a widow and your kids are fatherless, so get out before that happens."

Sanchez chuckled, surprised by the man's advice. He wondered if Michael had any idea how much he had changed over the past few months. "Looks like that woman of yours is just about ready to go," he commented, interested in the other man's reaction.

"Have any of the others gotten outta hand with her?" Michael asked, glancing back to watch Maria as she gathered her things together and talked to a couple of the waitresses.

"There've been a few comments that she quickly put a stop to and she's dodged Novak's wandering hands on more than one occasion. He's never gotten as bold as he got tonight though, puttin' his hands on her like that."

Michael's blood started to boil at the memory of Novak's hand sliding down over her ass. "Why didn't Gabriel step in?"

Sanchez finished his drink and shrugged one shoulder. "She told him she could handle Novak. If it had looked like she had lost control of the situation he would've stepped in, you know that."

"Motherfucker had his hands on her," he grated out. "It was already outta control."

"Okay, boys, it's time to go," Maria said as she came up to their table. "Sanchez, your cab's waiting out front, and no arguments. You have a family waiting for you at home and you've had more to drink than usual, so you're taking the cab."

He had opened his mouth to protest but changed his mind and nodded instead. "Right." He stood and glanced at the other man as he reached for his jacket and slid it on. "Some things are more important than the job."

Maria frowned at his choice of words. What'd his job have to do with him drinking too much to drive home? She looked at Michael as he tipped his bottle in Sanchez's direction before taking a long drink. She had no idea what their exchange was about and she probably didn't want to know, so she decided to just leave it alone.

*****

Michael headed straight for the shower when they got home and Maria busied herself with looking for something quick to fix for him. She finally settled on reheating the chicken parmesan she had made the day before, throwing a salad together, and then warming up some garlic rolls in the oven.

She was putting everything on the table when he came into the kitchen a while later, dressed in a pair of low-hanging cargo pants and a sleeveless tee shirt.

"You're not eatin'?" Michael asked, disappointed when he only saw one plate on the table.

No, she hadn't intended to eat; she really just wanted a hot shower and then eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Her plan had been to talk to him while he ate and then head for the shower. Instead, she found herself going to the cupboard to get another plate.

"How was your assignment?" she asked once she was seated with a plate of food.

Michael had dug into his meal like a starving man, but he slowed down to talk to her. "Boring. I didn't do anything but stand around in a monkey suit the whole time. I'm surprised I made it out with my sanity intact."

"You don't find functions like that interesting?" Why did she even ask questions like that? She already knew the answer; Michael would always be Michael, and official parties like that would only bore him to death.

He groaned, not even wanting to remember the assignment. Or, non-assignment. "No. It's all a bunch of political bullshit. People getting what they want because they're willin' to kiss some politician's ass." He chewed on a mouthful of chicken and pasta. "Most of 'em completely compromise their own belief system just to get what they want." He tore one of his rolls in half and mopped up the marinara sauce left on the plate. "I've gotta give Covington credit in that respect though; the man doesn't compromise his integrity. He told more than one stuffy politician to go fuck themselves." He chuckled as he popped the roll in his mouth. "That right there made it worth spendin' four days in D.C."

"So, are you home for a while now?"

"Not really sure."

"You haven't really had much downtime between assignments lately."

"Well, I've got one that's pending; Xavier's waitin' on some Intel from an undercover agent in Brazil." He shrugged and leaned over to spear the remaining chicken on her plate. "He wants to send me an' Stone in to recover some American doctor that was kidnapped by the rebels down there."

Maria felt as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice down her back as soon as Stone's name was mentioned. He was gonna be with STONE, of all people, on a mission?! "Well, if he has an agent already there, why does he need to send you in?" She couldn't help asking why his presence was necessary. Wasn't Stone capable of gathering the Intel by herself?

Michael smirked when she didn't even mention Stone. "Because the agent is undercover and if he were to be involved in the doctor's rescue he'd compromise his entire mission."

"Why can't they send someone else?" She just couldn't let it go; she felt like Stone was a threat to her. The woman had already slept with Michael, so what was to stop them from doing it again?

"They could, but Stone's already got contacts established there since she's done a lot of her work in that region."

"Okay, that explains why they're sending Stone, but I didn't ask about her."

"She trusts me to watch her back." Michael wasn't stupid; he could see that the upcoming mission was bothering her a lot. Good. She had to admit that she wanted him eventually, and if she was alone at home while he was out of the country with Stone, Maria would have plenty of time to think about them engaging in sexual relations while out of her sight. If everything went according to plan they'd be together when he got back; she'd be so ready for him that she wouldn't be able to deny it any longer. This mission would be a revelation for Maria, Michael mused, nodding to himself. The time would finally come for her to make her decision.

"Uh-huh." Maria finished off the last of her beer before getting up to get another one. She viciously twisted the cap off and threw it in the trash can, taking a long drink before turning to look at him. "She probably just needs to get laid."

Michael laughed at that. "Hell, Stone's not waitin' around to fuck me anymore than I'm waitin' around to fuck her." He really liked it when Maria got jealous and he didn't know why. Jealousy was something that insinuated ownership or possession and he had always avoided that where women were concerned.

"Whatever." She set her beer on the table and reached for their dishes. Her gaze shot to Michael when his hand wrapped around her wrist.

"I got this. Go on and go take your shower."

"Really?" It wasn't the first time he had offered to load the dishwasher, but she was always wary of any offer he made to do things he didn't like to do.

"Sure." He shrugged and released her to snag her beer and take a drink. He leaned back and slouched down before lifting his legs and propping his feet up on her chair. He ran his tongue around the mouth of the bottle and he saw her hands tighten on the back of the chair across from him. He had backed off in his pursuit of her; he wasn't pushing as hard as he had been before their visit with Dupree, but he still liked to push her buttons when she was least expecting it.

Her gaze was locked on his mouth and he forced down the grin that wanted to surface in response, knowing it would tip her off and she'd realize what she was doing. He took another drink before running his tongue around the rim again and then dipping his tongue into the opening. He couldn't stop the grin this time and he didn't even try to when he heard her sharp intake of breath. Her gaze flew to his and her expression said she knew she'd been caught. He tipped the bottle towards her and winked as he moved to stand up. "Think about me while you're in the shower," he whispered huskily as he leaned in close to her.

He laughed at the muttered "fuck" that escaped her lips as she snatched the bottle from his hand and glared at him as she hurried from the room. He still wanted her and he knew she wanted him, but they were still dancing around each other. If she honestly wasn't interested he would've dropped his pursuit long ago, but he could see it simmering in her eyes when she thought he wasn't paying any attention. He started to stack the dirty dishes as he let his thoughts wander to his upcoming mission.

*****

Maria cursed a blue streak as she stepped under the ice cold spray, using every single filthy curse word she'd learned in the past six months. She had long since passed the point where touching herself brought any satisfaction; it was nothing more than a way to achieve temporary relief now. There was only one thing that was going to ease the ache between her legs but she refused to be a slave to her sexual desires. She would not trade her Michael's memory for a briefly satisfying sexual encounter with his double.

Briefly satisfying? her mind taunted, laughing at her. Satisfying, yes, but there would be nothing brief about it. The man was built for sex and there was no way he was the type to leave a woman unsatisfied; his ego wouldn't allow it.

"Hey, Maria?"

She winced when she heard him moving things around on the counter next to the sink. "What?"

"I'm gonna brush my teeth, so think twice before you step outta the shower."

"Fine," she grated out. It wasn't a fight worth having. The last time he had come in to brush his teeth while she was in the shower she had insisted he leave and brush his teeth when she was finished. Well, he had left, and after her shower was finished she had found him brushing his teeth and spitting in the kitchen sink. God, they had gotten into a huge fight over that!

"You need any help in there?"

Maria rolled her eyes when her body responded to his rough voice in spite of the freezing water pelting her. "Aren't you done yet?" she snapped. "How long does it take to brush your damn teeth?"

"Well, I'm done with that, so I was thinkin' 'bout shavin'," he mused. "Y'know, since cold showers don't make the mirror fog up an' all."

She could hear the smirk in his voice and it was as sexy as it was infuriating. She glanced down at the soapy bath sponge in her hand and without pausing to think she pulled the curtain back just enough to take aim at him.

Michael jumped back when something cold and wet landed against his neck and his left hand shot out to catch it. "Wow, I didn't realize the water got quite that cold." He chuckled and tossed the sponge over the shower rod and grabbed a towel to dry himself off. "Payback's a bitch, Maria," he called over his shoulder. "Don't forget that."
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ArchAngel1973
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The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M - Mature) Ch 48 - 2/15

Post by ArchAngel1973 »

Eva –
I couldn't stop laughing when I read this one. It was so Michael & Maria that I could imagine the whole scene in my head. And it was funny, absolutely funny!
Aaaah, thank you. We try to keep Michael and Maria’s voices, their essences if you want.

Mary mary – Maria is one stubborn girl. She can’t really accept that her Michael is gone. Moving on is a betrayal, for her.

Timelord31 – Thanks for reading.

Alien friend –
It's funny the things jealously makes people do. I love watching the way it manifest itself with Maria and Michael.
Jealousy was an essential part of who Michael and Maria were, in the show. They were possessive and intense people and they didn’t like to share. Which led to extreme behaviors, sometimes.


Part 48

Maria was jolted awake the next morning at the ungodly hour of six a.m. when Michael jumped in bed beside her, nearly tossing her on the floor.

"Michael! Damn it, what're you doing?"

"At the moment?" He propped his elbow on the pillow and cradled his chin in his hand as his gaze traveled over what little he could see of her body. "Wonderin' if you're wearin' panties." She was wearing the tee shirt he had put on her after he had taken care of her that night in the park; she had never returned the shirt, choosing to keep it as her own and use it as a sleep shirt.

"No." She groaned and rolled over to bury her face in her pillow, blaming the slip on the early hour.

"Really?" He was intrigued. Normally that question earned him a glare as she told him to go to hell. He shook himself out of his thoughts; he wasn't interested in a cold shower before his morning run. "So, anyway, I hate to change the subject because, no panties? Sexy. But, that's not the point."

"God, if you have one, I wish you'd get to it."

"Right. Remember how I told you payback's a bitch?"

"What d'you want? Breakfast?"

"Nope. Wanna know what her name is?"

Maria rolled over to look at him in the pre-dawn light that was creeping in through the curtains. "What, Michael? What is her name?"

"Dawn."

"Oh, my God," she muttered. "I don't know anyone named Dawn and it's too early for riddles."

Michael grinned at her confusion; she was never coherent first thing in the morning and she'd only had about three hours of sleep. "Nah, you know 'er." He pointed at the window. "Dawn."

Maria shook her head and rolled back over. "I don't have time for this nonsense. I'm going back to sleep."

"You've got all day and night to sleep, woman. Get up and go runnin' with me."

Maria snorted as she burrowed deeper into the blankets. "Yeah, Michael, because that's gonna happen."

"Hmmm, so you'd rather we stayed in bed and slept in?" He shrugged and kicked his running shoes off. "Okay."

Maria jumped when cool air brushed against her bare legs and she rolled over, grabbing the blanket from him and holding it against her body. "What are you doing?"

"Well, if you won't go runnin' with me then I'll just hang out here and snuggle with you."

"You do not like to snuggle!"

He grinned lazily but his eyes were full of heat. "Part of me likes to snuggle."

"Fine. You win." She threw the covers back and climbed out of bed, careful to keep the tee shirt tugged down to cover herself. "I'm up," she growled as she hurried from the room.

Michael chuckled and glanced down at himself. "That makes two of us." He shook his head. "You'd better just calm down because we're goin' for a run and it's gonna suck for both of us to run in this condition." He got up and collected his shoes before going out to the living room to wait for her.

*****

Maria limped into the house an hour later, irritable and ready to take Michael's head off. "This is all your fault," she grumbled, shaking his hand off again.

"How is it my fault? I told you to be still, but no, you insisted on jumpin' outta the way."

"There was a snake on the path!"

"The fuckin' thing wasn't botherin' anybody," he shouted, slamming the door, "and if you had stayed still like I told you to do instead of jumpin' outta the way, the snake would've gone on its way and you wouldn't have fallen on your ass." He was pissed that she didn't trust him enough to stand still while he got the snake out of the way.

"You know why I moved, Michael? Because I've got a cramp in my leg and I couldn't stand still any longer!" She turned to glare at him. "I'm not used to running - "

"You said you stretched," he accused, returning her glare.

"Well, you know what? I lied!" She moved to limp past him when he suddenly scooped her up in his arms. "What're you doing? Put me down!"

He ignored her ranting and carried her into her bedroom, easing her down on the bed and sitting down by her feet. She had worn a pair of shorts so he had access to her leg and as he ran his fingertips along the back of her calf he could feel the knotted muscles. "Why didn't you say somethin'? You have any idea how badly you could've damaged the muscles by staying on this leg?"

"Ow!" Maria protested and tried to pull her leg out of his grasp.

"You just won't do anything the easy way, will you?" He tightened his grip on her ankle, shifting it to his lap as his right hand gently worked to unknot the muscles. "You should probably take a bath so you can soak this leg for a while."

Maria pulled her leg free of his grasp just as soon as the muscles relaxed. "I'll be fine after a shower."

"Why do you have to fuckin' argue with me over everything? I'm tryin' to tell you what to do so you'll feel better - "

"Because I can take care of myself!" God, she needed to get away from him! His touch was driving her insane! "I've had cramped muscles before!"

"I'll bet if you had been out with him," he snarled, snatching the picture frame off of the nightstand, "and he had told you to stand still you would've fuckin' stood still."

"Yeah, you know what? I probably would've." She stormed out of the room, still limping just a little because the muscles were tender.

It took every ounce of control for him to put the frame down without breaking it first. He was sick of being measured up to a dead man that he was never going to live up to no matter how hard he tried. He left the room, hands clenched into fists to prevent him from doing something that he'd regret.

*****

Maria avoided Michael for the rest of the morning, hiding out in her room so she wouldn't have to deal with his bad mood. The bad mood she was responsible for, she thought. She had taken the cheap shot earlier just to get away from him and she regretted it now that she'd had time to calm down and think about it.

She stood at the window and watched him as he carried engine parts back into the shop. He had gone out to the shop several hours ago and methodically carried every single thing outside before going back inside and cleaning the entire building out. She knew she had overreacted, taking everything he said and did as sexual overtures, but there was no excuse for her parting words to him.

She rubbed her hands over her face as she moved back away from the window. She owed him an apology and God only knew what he would expect as restitution. Dinner probably wasn't gonna do the trick this time because it wasn't just a matter of pissing him off; she had seen the brief moment of hurt before he had masked it. She sighed. That was just one more reason why it was getting so difficult to keep her distance with him.

He had never talked about whatever had happened to him the night he had gone out with Indigo in Santa Fe, but something had changed… something that had made him more approachable and harder to resist. She chewed on her thumbnail for several minutes before deciding that it was time to take the bull by the horns.

Michael was lifting the large piece of plywood that had served as a table off of the pair of sawhorses when she stepped down off of the deck. He ignored her as he carried it inside, putting it away and coming back for the sawhorses. He lifted the first one up, lining it up above the other one, and dropped it into place so he could carry both of them inside at the same time.

She stepped inside the dim interior of the shop and looked around, taking in the perfectly arranged items lying on his worktables. "Look, I know you're pissed - "

"Just leave it alone, Maria." Michael didn't bother turning away from the tools he was wiping down and carefully placing in the top drawer of the large toolbox. "You said what you had to say."

"I know, but I wanted to - "

"To what, Maria?!" he yelled as he slammed the wrench down in the metal drawer. "Did you wanna stick the knife a little deeper? I got the point, okay?"

Maria shook her head. "I wanted to apologize."

That caught his attention and he glanced over his shoulder to look at her. "For what? Remindin' me once again that I'm not as good as a dead man?"

"Michael, that's not…" She shook her head. "It was a cheap shot, and I shouldn't have taken it. The truth is I would've moved regardless because that muscle was cramping up too badly to stand still."

"Why're you tellin' me this?"

"Because I don't want you to think that I don't trust you; I have no doubts that I'm perfectly safe with you and I know that you'd never let anything happen to me."

"Yeah, well…" He shrugged and went back to wiping the tools down.

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really." He rolled his shoulders back and pulled the next drawer out.

Maria bit her bottom lip as she watched him and she suddenly realized how to make an apology that he would accept. "Maybe a backrub would help?"

"Maybe." His tone was noncommittal. "I'll let you know after my shower."

*****

Michael still hadn't decided to take her up on her offer by the time dinner was ready several hours later. He had showered and changed, and then spent most of the afternoon studying a map and going through a stack of reports on his desk. He had completely focused on what he was doing and there wasn't any indication that he was aware of her presence.

He had made and received numerous phone calls throughout the day and she could tell from his end of the conversations that it wouldn't be long before he was given a green light for the mission. There was a different kind of tension settling over him and it was only increasing with each new call.

"Michael?"

He grunted but his gaze never left the open file lying on the desk.

Maria bit her bottom lip, worrying it with her teeth as she debated how to deal with him. She couldn't tell if he was being short with her because he was still mad at her or if it was just because his mind was on his upcoming mission. "Did you wanna just eat in here?"

"What?" Michael finally looked at her and shook his head. "What'd you say?"

"Dinner's ready."

"Oh." He glanced down when his phone rang again. "I'll be there in a minute." He hit the call button and brought the phone up to his ear. "Guerin," he barked into the mouthpiece.

Maria walked away slowly so she could listen to his side of the conversation. His temper quickly escalated as he disagreed with the person on the other end of the call. "No, I understand that, but 48 hours is pushin' it." He shook his head and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, a sure sign that he was developing a headache. "No, I'm not sayin' we can't handle the mission," he snapped. "What I'm sayin' is the distance we've gotta cover would be pushin' a 48 hour limit if the trail was cleared; the rebel camp is located in a small valley at the base of - " His expression showed irritation when the caller interrupted him and he immediately started shaking his head. "I'm tellin' you you're cuttin' it too close!" He paced around the living room, his right arm waving maniacally as he argued with the caller.

He was beyond pissed by the time he disconnected the call and he quickly dialed a number and brought the phone back up to his ear. "Stone," he greeted, and immediately launched into a rant, "have you talked to that prick who's fillin' in while Xavier's out?" He nodded in agreement to whatever she said and his agitated pacing slowed by degrees. "You know 48 hours is pushin' it and we're fucked if we don't make the pickup time. I'm not interested in getting stranded down there." He shook his head, already not liking the odds they were looking at. "We wouldn't just be stranded in the jungle; we'd be stranded in the middle of rebel territory. We get caught down there and it's all over; motherfuckers aren't gonna keep us around and hold us for ransom."

Maria swallowed hard and went back into the kitchen. She wasn't used to Michael being so tense before leaving for one of his jobs; most of the time he didn't show any concern whatsoever. Seeing his reaction was making her worry and she couldn't help the fear that was residing in the center of her chest and affecting her ability to breathe or think about anything else.

She lifted her head when Michael came up behind her, his arms coming around her so he could cover her hands where they were gripping the edge of the counter.

"Don't worry about me," he said, his tone gruff. "I can't be over there, sneakin' through a jungle to rescue some idiot who never should've been there in the first place, thinkin' about you and knowin' you're makin' yourself sick with worry. I can't afford the distraction, Maria."

She nodded, swallowing hard as she pulled herself together, easing her hands out from under his as she turned to face him. "I'm not worried," she lied. "You can handle yourself in the field, I know that."

Michael nodded, knowing she was lying but not calling her on it. His gaze drifted down to her mouth and it was so tempting to just lean in and kiss her, but he forced his focus elsewhere. "What's for dinner?"

Relief warred with disappointment when he lowered his arms and moved away from her.
"Tilapia. It's a kind of fish." She shook her head and waved him toward the table. "You'll like it."

"No meat?"

"Fish is good for you."

"You said I'd like the salmon too, and I hated it."

"All fish does not taste like salmon." She shook her head as she placed a large piece of fish on each plate before adding a serving of angel hair pasta that she topped with mixed vegetables. "You liked the catfish."

Michael frowned at the plate she set in front of him. "Well, you fried it and there were French fries, too." He picked up his fork and poked the fish, frowning at the crunchy things that flaked off. "This is baked and there aren't any fries. And what's the crunchy stuff?"

"It's a parmesan crust. Just try it," she insisted as she sat down and placed a bowl with garlic rolls next to him. "If you don't like it I'll make you something else."
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The Man Who Didn't Belong (M/M - Mature) Ch 49 - 3/1

Post by ArchAngel1973 »

Alien friend – Michael and Maria have managed to get to know each other, by living together.

Mary mary – “Take care of Michael”, is that for us? Hmm, we’ll try.

Timelord31 – Thanks for reading.

DeDe PR – Talking to each other? It’s not really the time. Michael has to prepare for his mission.


Part 49

Maria watched Michael as he continued to poke at the fish, reminding her of a little boy seated at the dinner table and faced with something that he just couldn't make himself eat. Well, she wasn't going to make him anything else to eat until he had at least tried the food. He could still be incredibly difficult when he chose to be, and it probably wasn't the best day to spring a new dish on him; thinking about it now, she should've gone with something that she knew he liked.

"There's a reason why I don't eat fish," he grumbled, moving it around on the plate with his fork. "Why didn't you make fries to go with this?"

"You don't eat fish because you don't like to try anything new, and I didn't make fries because this meal is served best with pasta and vegetables."

"That's just stupid; fries go with everything."

"Michael, why are you trying to pick a fight?"

"You picked the fight this mornin', so I think I'm entitled to pick a fight tonight." He put his fork down and reached up to rub his right shoulder for a couple of minutes before picking up his beer and taking a drink. "This doesn't really have anything to do with you," he said, retrieving his fork and cutting into the fish. He took a bite and chewed it slowly, realizing that it wasn't as strong as catfish or salmon. "Okay, so it doesn't totally suck, but it'd be better with fries."

"You can't eat fries with every meal." She held a hand up when he opened his mouth to disagree. "Okay, technically, you can eat fries with every meal, but it wouldn't be good for you."

"Is that backrub still up for grabs?"

"Yeah, sure." She glanced at him, reading the tension in his tall frame. "After dinner?"

Michael nodded and his thoughts turned inward as his mind shifted back to the mission that he would be undertaking at any time. They weren't going in with as much time or preparation as he preferred to have when the assignment was this dangerous, but Xavier was unreachable at the present time and his replacement wasn't giving him the same latitude that he got from the other man.

Stone had admitted that she had tried to get the man to listen to reason, but he was under pressure from the Brazilian government to get his people in and out in the shortest possible amount of time, so he was being unreasonable in his demands in order to keep the peace. She wasn't any happier about it than Michael was, but she was confident that even with the lack of time they would be able to get in and out in the window they had been given.

He was confident that they could get in and out and complete the mission successfully, but he didn't like that there was no room for those little unforeseen problems that had a tendency to crop up during missions where time was short.

*****

After dinner, Maria was sitting on her end of the couch, reading a book and listening to the stereo when Michael finally decided that he was ready. She glanced up when he came up behind her and nudged her shoulder.

"Where d'you want me?"

She quickly slammed the mental door on the answer that immediately leapt to mind and turned to give the placement of the bookmark more attention than was necessary. "What?"

"For the backrub… you didn't change your mind, did you?"

"No, no, I was just…" She cleared her throat. I was just buying time. She leaned over to set her book on the coffee table before turning fully to look at him. He was bare from the waist up, which she should have expected when she extended the offer. "The floor."

Michael frowned. "The floor?" She was kiddin', right? There was no way he was gonna lay on the floor for a backrub! Once she started touchin' him, it wouldn't take long before he was sportin' a hard-on and he'd be damned if he was gonna abuse his dick like that! "Huh-uh, no way." He turned and started back down the hall. "My room."

Maria gaped after him, speechless. His room? Okay, well, that had to be better than her room… she'd never have another night of peaceful sleep. She finally accepted defeat and followed him, stopping in her room to get the lotion she needed, and then heading for his bedroom. She paused in the doorway, swallowing hard when she saw him stretched out on the bed, perfectly relaxed as he waited for her to join him. At least he was still wearing his pants.

"Took you long enough," he muttered, rolling over so that he was lying on his stomach, arms crossed under his pillow as he moved his head around to find a comfortable position.

She walked towards his bed and debated the best way to handle the situation since he had taken the upper hand. Damn it, there was just no good way to do this!

"Don't be shy, baby, mount up."

She rolled her eyes. She could hear the smirk in his voice and she knew he was enjoying this far more than she had meant for him to enjoy it. She was just thankful she had spent the day lounging around in a pair of sweat pants because there was nothing even remotely sexy about them; although after a few moments she realized that it didn't matter because he was just messing with her so that he could maintain control of the situation.

Okay, it's just a backrub, nothing more. She was quite capable of doing this without it turning into more than what it was. She just had to stay focused and not pay any attention to anything else. She could do that… she could!

Michael had nearly accepted that she was gonna chicken out when she suddenly climbed up on the bed and threw her left leg over his hips, straddling his body as she leaned forward to run her hands over his back and shoulders. Yeah, this wasn't gonna do a damn thing to ease the tension in his body, he thought. He heard the lid on the bottle of lotion snap open and he could hear her warming it between her hands for several long, torturous minutes.

He groaned when her hands settled on his shoulders, slick with the warmed lotion and seeking out knots of tension that he hadn't known were there. He felt her thighs grip his hips and he wondered if she was even aware that she was doing it. Her hands moved down, working the muscles and kneading them until his back started to feel completely free of the tightness that had kept him tied up in knots.

"I don't know how you've managed to be this tense and you haven't pulled any muscles." Maria shook her head as her fingers dug into the tight muscles of his lower back, praying for strength when he groaned again. She needed this to be finished, and soon, because the sounds he was making and the way he kept shifting under her was driving her crazy.

He was in serious danger of straining a major muscle right now, he thought, shifting restlessly. Her touch was driving him crazy. He knew she wasn't touching him with the intention of turning him on, but that's what was happening nonetheless. He hadn't had sex in months and he was always teetering on the edge of arousal around her; he was slowly but surely approaching the brink of madness and it wasn't gonna take much more before he lost his mind.

Maria let her gaze roam over the broad expanse of his tanned back, tracing over the scars that marred his flesh in several places. The path he had chosen for his life hadn't come without cost and she was certain that each of the scars were souvenirs from missions that hadn't gone as planned.

"Okay," she said, letting her fingers trail over his sides as she straightened up, "I think you're about as loose as you're gonna get."

Michael raised his head and glanced at her over his right shoulder. She was still touching him, her green gaze sliding over his body until her eyes locked with his. She pulled back and shifted until she was on her knees next to him and she froze when he suddenly turned and sat up, his hand reaching out to lock onto her wrist and hold her still.

"Don't leave." His voice was ragged, his breathing rapid.

Maria could feel her heart pounding, could hear it over everything but his voice. She was quickly losing the battle to maintain distance between them and she felt her grasp on it slipping as soon as she saw the look in his eyes. His features were taut, and yet his expression was more open than she had ever seen it as need, want, and desire all surfaced and made themselves known to her.

He had waited for months for her to make the first move, certain that it was necessary, but when her hand turned over and slid back to grasp his where it had been gripping her wrist, he lost the battle with every good intention he'd had.

She felt a moment of shock when he grabbed her, pulling her over so that she was straddling his body, but it was quickly overshadowed by stronger emotions when his mouth settled over hers. Her hands rested on his chest, tracing over the muscles there before sliding up to grip his shoulders. God, why had she resisted this for so long? she wondered as she struggled to get closer to him and returned the hungry kiss.

Michael groaned into her mouth as his hands gripped her hips, his fingers flexing before moving up to slide under her shirt. How had he gone so long without the feel of a woman's skin beneath his fingers? He eased back until he was lying down and he could feel every inch of her pressed against him.

This was wrong! Maria's mind was screaming at her to stop, to put an end to taking pleasure from his touch, and as quickly as he had started it, she stopped it. "I can't do this, Michael…"

He tried to grab her before she could get away from him, but she pulled away and got off of the bed before he could stop her. She ran from the room and he fell back against his pillows and stared at the ceiling. "Michael Guerin, zero… sexual frustration… who the fuck knows?" He sighed. He had lost count of how many times he had lost out to sexual frustration since Maria DeLuca had entered his life.

He wanted to just ignore the feeling of hurt that had settled over him in response to her rejection. And that was what it was - rejection. Again.

*****

Jungle heat was the worst kind of heat, Michael thought as he swung the machete to clear the vegetation and create a path. They were a part of nature that would be best left alone, but mankind continued to encroach further and further into places it had no business invading. And for what? He stopped to rest a moment, wiping the sweat from his face and glancing back at Stone.

Just like him, she was literally dripping with sweat from the humidity that hung so thick in the air. "By my calculations we should have about two more miles of this hell before we reach the rebel camp." She took a drink from the canteen she had unclipped from her belt before offering it to him. She chuckled and shook her head when he wiped the opening before taking a long drink.

Michael's right eyebrow lifted in question as he recapped the canteen and handed it back to her. "What?"

"Considering where your mouth's been, I find it comical that you actually wiped the opening before drinking from the canteen." She shook her head when he scowled. "Since when do you even do that?"

"Since chances are you've gone down on someone a lot more recently than I have."

Stone shifted the shoulder strap on her rifle to a more comfortable position and followed him when he started to viciously hack through the vegetation once more. "I doubt it since it's been at least a week." Her expression reflected interest when he didn't comment, his concentration seemingly focused on what he was doing. He was swinging the machete like a man possessed. "So, Michael, exactly how long has it been?"

"How long has what been?"

"How long since you've gone down on a woman?"

"Fuck off, Stone, I don't wanna talk about it."

Uh-huh, hit a nerve with that one, she thought. Well, she'd let it rest for a while and then come back to it later. Besides, there was nothing else to do in this godforsaken jungle unless sweating by the gallon and being lunch for the local insect population counted.

"We're gonna need to get our Intel tonight; we've only got thirty-nine hours before we're scheduled to be at the pickup point."

Michael glanced at Stone when she grabbed his arm, remaining silent when she made a sharp gesture with her right hand. He nodded once and sheathed the machete, reaching for his sidearm and quickly screwing a silencer onto the end of the barrel as he carefully stepped back to take cover. Stone disappeared from sight but he kept his eyes focused on the direction she had motioned to, knowing that she would come up behind whoever was approaching their position.
Locked