A Love Story - M/L - [COMPLETE]

[Sixteen Stone]

Title: A Love Story
Author: Sixteen Stone
Disclaimer: The Characters are not mine. Some words are from the episode ‘Ask Not’.
Summary: A lifted dialogue in my clarification of the transition of a relationship from Season 2 to Season 3.
Feedback: I would really enjoy that. Constructive Criticism is always welcomed and I can handle flames.


The bickering began upstairs, as it always did. And Jeff and Nancy Parker are well too aware where their daughter was. The shuffle of feet on the rooftop brought a trickle of dust down the ceiling and onto the countertop Jeff was wiping. Both looked up and caught the flutter of golden dust trickling into their eyes. It made her sneeze.

Jeff scowled and pushed his rough palms away from the counter. “You know what we have to do, right?”

Nancy looked up at the diner ceiling and nodded. “Yeah, honey.” She took the wet dishcloth from his hands. “We have to start wiping down that ceiling.” Nancy smiled and walked to the backroom, feeling her husband’s disbelief at the back of her head.
* * * *
Max leaned forward, snagging a piece of her hair in his fingernail. He softly brushed it away behind her ear, pressing his other hand onto her shoulder. “Maybe we can start over. From the beginning. Fresh.” He had long since abandoned pride; the desperation was evident in his voice.

She stared deep into his eyes, seeing his eyes clawing, crying out for help, and shook her head. “No, we can’t do that.” Liz gasped at the sudden, accepting pain in his eyes, and quickly continued, “We can’t just pretend that the last few months didn’t happen. I can’t do that. I don’t want to, Max.”

He was unable to look at her anymore. Max lowered his head to avoid her face, her next words. “I know. I know,” Max nodded in a whisper of muffled defeat. He was startled to feel her hand stroke his face, softly caressing his cheek to tilt them up to meet her face.

“So we work from here.” Liz felt Max slightly lean into her palm and a sudden fierce protectiveness for him rose from deep within her chest. “From where we are right now.”

He was pulling away. She could see it by the way he began to withdraw from her, his shoulders bowing inward as if sinking to his knees. It frightened her. “Max, what’s wrong?”

He bitterly sighed inside. It was their relationship and it depended on him. And this forcing him to tell her his inner deep thoughts always drove a wedge between them when it wasn’t something Liz wanted to hear: destiny, Tess, a nation he would have to return to. “I don’t want you to go through this again.”

And Liz was reminded again why they broke up so many times. It was the reason for Future Max, for most of the problems that happened in their relationship.

She pushed away from him to allow distance, to make him see, and it startled Max enough to look up at her. “God, Max, when will you stop treating me like I’m 4 years old!” Liz pleaded passionately, angrily. Her arms flung out in frustration. “This is a relationship. You can’t choose for me. You can’t keep pushing me away when you feel it’s getting too dangerous.”

It was like she couldn’t understand. Like she refused to. And Max was too washed-out to argue. Didn’t she know that there were years, years before her, that he made these same arguments. They weren’t new. They were reused, rehashed, streaming from a different mouth but junk nonetheless. He would lie in bed and think of all the possibilities, all the dreams, fantasies, realities that they could, would, should have happened if they loved each other enough. If the time was right. If Michael and Isabel accepted. If Liz could just understand what being an alien meant.

Because he knew. He understood it so completely: Tess, destiny, the baby.

Sometimes Liz just couldn’t understand what it meant to have these responsibilities. Not because she was human, but because these experiences of hers were second hand. She didn’t feel his pain or his grief. She felt grief for him and everyone knows that’s something different entirely. You pity someone who loses their son. You cry for them. But she had no idea how it felt to lose a baby. To be a King and have responsibilities and people, out there, somewhere, counting on him for something he wasn’t sure he wanted. Or even if he was, he surely wasn’t ready for.

And could she accept this?

Could she accept that she was going to get hurt? Or that he was? And when he did, which he certainly will, would Liz accept that she wouldn’t be able to fully understand him, his pain? Connections are brief, even alien ones. Maybe for ten seconds she would realize and truly feel the heavy crown on his head, but ten seconds was too short. Ten seconds were nothing compared to the permanent scars on his head, his heart.

“I don’t want you to get hurt, Liz. I love you.” He felt repetitive but the words didn’t seem to penetrate her at all.

It was like he couldn’t understand that she really did understand. It was always like this. He was always making the decisions and where was she? Where was she when he thought they were going too fast? Or when Future Max, damn him, came to her? Because she understood more than he bargained for, more than he thought she knew. It was always about Max. The world seemed to gravitate around him. Every choice, every decision, it seemed as if every goddamn breath she took was about Max. And Liz didn’t use to mind. Because he loved her and she loved him and that was what was important. But Max couldn’t understand that. He couldn’t see how utterly simple the answer was, still is. All he could see is the problems, the choices, the unknown future. He couldn’t allow himself to think that perhaps he wasn’t in control of everything. That he wasn’t a god. And Kings have limited power.

Max couldn’t understand that Isabel and Michael never saw him as their king. He was their brother. And Max couldn’t understand that Liz never saw him as an alien. He was the love of her life. And sometimes, just sometimes, it was as simple as that.

“I know you do, Max, but this is about me. This is my choice.”

“I don’t want to see you get hurt, or-or killed.” He struggled with his words. Remembered the vision Pierce showed him.

“Max –“ she cut in.

“And it’s not even because it’d kill me seeing you hurt because of me . . or because of anything.” He touched her cheek. He struggled to breathe. “I keep thinking about the white room –“

And suddenly, suddenly it made perfect sense. His reasons. His logic. And skewed as they may seem, Liz began to see through alien eyes. Max’s eyes. The hurt. Abandonment. Loneliness. And she knew that even with this clarity, she couldn’t fully understand the pain he had to go through day by day. Day by day by day. Until perhaps even his soul begins to erode, his spirit begins to fade, and the love of his family, his friends, her love. . became almost nothing but whispers of tattered papers in the wind.

“Oh Max.”

Oh god she knew. Max turned away in shame. She knew, he could tell, by the way her eyes melted brown and gooey sweet. His mouth pursed, trying to stifle the disappointment of her pity. He didn’t need it. Didn’t want it. He had pity enough for both worlds and a half.

All he wanted. . all Max wanted. . . He shook it away. Didn’t matter what he wanted. What mattered, what always mattered, was what needed to be done.

“And I don’t want to see you there.” Max turned to her, making her see that was necessary. That it was hurting the both of them. Not just her or their relationship. It was hurting him. “I don’t want to even imagine . .” He’d had dreamless nights, nightmares upon nightmares on just Liz. Dying. Tortured. Dead. “That anything like that could happen to you.” Max looked up at her and his pain took her breath away. “But it could – if we’re together.”

She grabbed his hands, cupping them in her own. ”Max, Pierce is dead,” Liz whispered fervently. She swallowed hastily and looked down to rationalize her thoughts when a small scar on the side of his thumb caught her eye. It was old, she could tell, and Liz was surprised she hadn’t noticed it before. The pads of her fingers brushed against it and Max stiffened. Reverently, she brought it to her lips and softly kissed the scar, aching as she felt him suppress his sobs, the tears racking his shoulders to and away from her.

“The Secret Unit doesn’t exist anymore,” Liz spoke softly.

“I keep telling myself that.” His voice was low when he answered. Gravely; as if he hadn’t used it for a very long time. “But it’s never over. It’ll never be over. There’ll be more guys like Pierce who’ll build as many white rooms as it takes to pull us apart.”

“Then we pull back, Max.” Liz tightened his hands in hers. “We can face anything if we’re together. Max, we’ve been through so much.” His rejection began to choke in her throat. “I don’t want to let you go.”

Max brought their hands to her face and stared into her eyes. “It’s holding on that’ll kill us.”

She touched his face, cupping his cheeks between the strength of their entwining fingers. “It’s holding on that’s keeping us alive.”

Max traced his finger down her elbows and hung there. “You’re right, Liz. This was never about me. It’s about you. And I don’t want you hurt.” His finger flexed for a moment, gripping on her until she felt it pressed to her bone. “Do you know how much I love you? If something happens, Liz . .” Max's finger shook, and let go. “You deserve to live your life. You deserve things I can’t give. I can’t guarantee you safety. And I can’t guarantee that I will always be there when you need it. The only guarantee I have,” he ducked his head to gaze into her eyes, to make sure she knew that his next words were real, “Liz, is that I love you. That I’ll always love you.”

She smiled stunningly, tears proud and glowing, streaming down her cheeks. “If that’s your brilliant approach of pushing me away, you’re doing a really lousy job,” she snuffled, laughing.

“Liz,” he whispered. The tragedy was in his voice.

“Max,” she teased.

“Liz,” he rebuked more sternly. And all he could think of was, ‘Please love me. Please, please, please. Oh god please Liz love me.’

“Max,” she smiled. And he saw it in her eyes the way she saw it in his: she was gonna win.

“Don’t do this,” he warned, trying to keep his voice from shaking. “Please. Liz, don’t pick me.”

She laughed at his audacity, mostly at their situation. “I didn’t pick you, Max. You don’t actually have a choice on who your soul mate’s gonna be.”

“How about destiny?” Max was pulling all the stops now. If she was gonna do it, then she had to answer all the questions that was plaguing their hearts. His heart. “What does destiny say?”

“Screw destiny.” Liz scrounged her nose and kissed his lips chastely. She smiled. “We make our own destiny.”

But it couldn’t be that simple, could it? He couldn’t allow his heart to believe that. . No, this was ludicrous. This was insane. This was. . he looked up at her . . love.

“Stop loving me?”

A smile splayed across her lips and she circled his waist, tilting her head up to challenge him. “If you stop loving me.”

Max shrugged and said the truth. “I can’t.” His arms rose to meet her and landed lightly on her lower back.

“Well, then,” Liz shook her hair, feeling its ends wisp delicately on Max’s fingers, “Mr. Evans, I believe we both have the same dilemma. Thing is, Max, we don’t get to pick the ones we love.” Liz hesitated. “If we did –“

Max’s hands rose and scrounged her hair into his clenched fingers. “I’d still pick you,” he whispered possessively.

“I was kind of hoping you’d say that,” she smiled playfully. “I love you, Max. And nothing will ever change that. Not destiny, or Tess, or even a Future or a Present you trying to convince me of all the bad things that could possibly happen. Because there’s one thing you haven’t let yourself think about.”

His breath was lost in her hair, her eyes. The way she said she loved him. “What’s that?”

“That everything might just be okay. That this might just actually work.”

Max grinned ruefully and brushed a kiss on her temple. “Judging from our track record, I wouldn’t put much stock on that.” His words were muffled on her forehead and Liz hummed when his breath curled the tiny baby hairs on the edge of her hair.

“This is a new world. We get new chances. I think we can do this, Max.” Liz pulled away from him to gaze defiantly into his eyes. “I’m willing to fight. I’m willing to die for you. How ‘bout you, Max? What are you willing to do for me?”

He touched their foreheads together. “I’m willing to live for you,” Max whispered.

She kissed him deeply and chuckled into his mouth. “So have I changed your mind?”

Max grinned shyly and bowed his ahead. He boyishly looked up at her and stole a quick kiss on her lips. “Let me be the first, and last, to praise your talented skills of seduction, Ms. Parker.”

Liz slid up to him happily, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Max swooped in to kiss her again, breathlessly parting to nibble on her lips. His next words were desperate and murmured like a feverish prayer. “If something happens tomorrow or a hundred years from now,” her beautiful head laid between his large palms, “I just want you to know, Liz, that I’m yours,” he revealed hoarsely. “Everything. My heart, my mind,” his brows furrowed, “my soul. Don’t doubt that, Liz. Never doubt that.”

Liz slowly shook her head. “You think I’m gonna forget about you or get over it or something,” she began in disbelief.

Max smiled with familiarity.

“But I’m not,” she beamed, all 28 teeth delighted to greet him. “I don’t care about your destiny or your planet or anything else. All I care about is you.” Liz blushed. “So just know this.” She leaned in to kiss him, inches away. “If you run, I'm coming for you, Max. I’ll be coming for you.”

Her lips stroked his bottom lip, softly rubbing against it until he finally ended his torture and captured it playfully between his teeth. She moaned at the contact and it made Max smile that he could make her so happy with one kiss.

“That sounds a bit familiar,” Max teased.

She brushed away the adorable hair that fell above his left eye, speaking truthfully, “I’ve memorized everything about you, Max.”

And so maybe it wasn’t the ending they thought it would be. Maybe it was the middle, and they had no idea where fate or destiny would take them. But they knew that it was going to be them. Together. Like it should be. Like it could’ve been all along.

Tomorrow was another day. Perhaps things weren’t so perfect. But for now, they were content. And in a world like this, that was all one could ask for.


Dancing against moonlight stars and drinking ‘till the sun breaks free.
That’s our love, baby. That’s you and me.
Careful now, darling, hold me gently. I break, I cry, you bleed.
There ain’t no sense to love me, love me.
Push me and I’ll stand for more
waiting for your touch once more.
There’s no way to run from you and I’ve stopped running years ago.
And I’ve always know that me and you we’re meant to be
‘cause there’s no one else but you for me.
Kissing under willow trees and raining cars
and smiling we hide inside bars
and drinks and fearless glassy eyes we fix
Upon return to chapter 6; we meet once more
against the gated lovelorn door and smile and say, “Hello again.”
It’s weird I know. Love is, we are, we’ll always be.
That’s just our love, baby. That’s you and me.