Roswell Fanatics

Title: Cold Desert
Summary: Sequel to “Linger”. She’s finally given up as much as him but will he be ready to take the next step?
Characters/Pairing: Everyone, Max/Liz
Rating: Mature
Disclaimer: I don’t own Roswell or any of the publically recognised characters. Jason Katims et al do
A/N: This will be told in ten parts... Enjoy
Moving to San Francisco had seemed to Liz to be a non-issue. It had taken her a grand total of three hours serious meditation, another three weeks to sort everything out with the university, the lab and her publishing company. When the last semester of school was over, it had taken Liz a grand total of two days to move into the apartment it had taken Max five months to find.

“I’ve been here for seven weeks, Maria,” she grumbled into her cell phone as she scooped ice cream into her mouth from the tub that rested on her belly. “He hasn’t laid a hand on me. He even bought an apartment with two bedrooms! He makes me sleep in the other bedroom, Maria.”

Maria snorted and Liz glowered, hoping Maria would pick it up through the thousands of miles of static air space between them.

“I thought you two were doing the ‘friends’ thing?”

Liz sighed. Truth be told, Maria was right. They had decided, on New Year’s Day seven months ago, to concentrate on their friendship first and let everything else fall into place as time went on. And Liz had thought things had been going well. There had been a rough patch when she had told him she wanted to relocate to San Francisco for him (‘But everything you want – everything you’ve worked for – is in Boston!’ but since then, things had been looking up. She’d taken a job teaching at SFU and was looking into research grants in the area and her publishing company had transferred her to their local office. Max had relented on the separate beds rule a few times and even let her snuggle up against his chest. But those instances were growing fewer and farther between.

“Yeah well...” She sighed. “It’s difficult to keep the friends thing going when I can feel how much he wants me poking me in the back every time I walk by him.” Maria snorted again and Liz huffed. “It’s not funny, Maria!” She stuck her spoon into the ice cream and deposited the half empty tub on the floor. “It’s killing me.”

“I know, I’m sorry. But you have to know it’s taking all of my energy right now not to call you out on your horniness, right?”

Liz nodded, despite knowing that Maria couldn’t see her. She was horny and, as she had said, it didn’t help that she could feel Max’s hard dick poking into her whenever he brushed against her, which was quite a fucking lot. So she knew he wanted her but she didn’t know what it was that was holding him back.

A part of her thought it might have been his friends. Or rather, one of his friends. Liz wasn’t stupid; she knew that Tessa Harding didn’t like her and Max let the blonde bend his ear far too often for Liz’s liking. But she had never said anything to him because really, who was she to tell him who he could and couldn’t be friends with? But Liz couldn’t help but wonder what – if anything – Tess was saying about her.

“What am I going to do, Maria?” She took a breath. “I gave up my life out there for him and... Now I’m just scared that he only wants me as his friend.” Liz had expected Maria to console her so the stony silence that met her ears was a tad confusing. Liz waited for a long moment but when it became clear Maria wasn’t going to break the silence, she spoke again. “Maria?”

“I... can’t believe you just said that.”

Liz frowned.

“Said what?”

“That his friendship isn’t enough... That guy gave up his dream for your friendship and you’re whining because he’s... No, it doesn’t even matter.”

Liz felt her stomach knot. Again, Maria was right. Max had literally given up everything (his first choice of university; what he really wanted to do; his future) for her and she was whining because of what? Because he was taking his time, that he was making sure that this – that they – was what he wanted. She was being ridiculous. And petty. And selfish.

She scraped a hand down her face, clawing at the ends of her hair.

“You’re right. You’re right.”

“Glad we cleared that up,” Maria said, her tone only slightly less chilly than it had been. Liz winced. “Now... onto the bigger problem – and I assume it’s a big problem?”

From the inflection, Liz couldn’t even pretend to be oblivious to Maria’s allusion. She smirked to herself as she imagined the feel of it, the way it tented his trousers as it stood tall for her. She raised her eyebrow and quickly licked her lips.

“Oh yeah. It’s a big one.”

Maria cackled on the other end of the line and Liz joined her after a startled moment.

“”That’s what I like to hear... Now, this is what we’re going to do...”

“This is not a good idea,” Liz grumbled to herself as she sorted through the racks in front of her. “Does she think I’m made of money?” She continued quietly, stealing a glance at her dormant cell. Maria had promised to call at some point during Liz’s ‘shopping trip of epic proportions’ but Liz’s trip was coming to a close and Maria still hadn’t called.

“Can I help you?” Liz’s thoughts were interrupted by a young shop assistant and Liz’s face instantly crimsoned as she slid the slinky underwear back on the rack.

“No, thank you.” She made to turn away but the assistant leaned closer to Liz and smiled.

“Are you Liz?” The shocked look on Liz’s face must have said it all because the assistant smiled politely again. “You’re friend Maria called and mailed us a picture of you. She informed us that you may need a little help choosing some things for a special occasion?”

This... was beyond embarrassing.

“Um... I should be fine, thanks,” Liz said with a polite smile and tried to turn away again to hide her flaming face.

She was going to kill Maria. Like, seriously.

“She said you might be stubborn about this,” the woman said quietly and Liz closed her eyes and barely resisted the urge to drop her head to the rail and groan loudly. Instead, she squinted out of the corner of her eye at the woman and nodded slightly. The woman smiled widely and stepped closer to Liz. “Why don’t you take a seat in fitting room two? Your friend described the sort of things you would need; I’ll bring in a few collections for you.”

Liz made to protest but the woman was already away and Liz was left looking around. As she made her way to fitting room two, she thought of what Maria had told the woman and as she glanced at the racks of string and lace and... leather? Oh God... She didn’t even want to think about what Maria had told this woman. In the fitting room, she left the door slightly ajar and sat on the leather armchair and tried to void studying her reflection in the mirrors that surrounded her. She fiddled with her phone again and was tempted to ring Maria and give her a piece of her mind but just as she pulled Maria’s number up, the assistant appeared in the doorway with an armful of ‘collections’.

“I guessed at your size and what styles would suit you, try them all on. Some of the designs might surprise you.”

She set the bundle on a small folding table in the corner, picking up a few bras to hang on hooks on the back of the door. Liz looked at them with a critical eye – they weren’t anywhere near as bad as she had thought they were going to be. She had expected peep-holes and crotch-less. Maybe some red PVC but it seemed Maria had come through for her. The assistant – Tanya – tossed a smile over her shoulder before she retreated out the door, telling Liz she would be outside if she needed any help.

With sigh, Liz stood and shed her top layers (there was no way she was trying on the panties) and picked up the first bra that came to her hand. It was soft both in style, feel and colour. She was sure the pale blue lace would look odd against her skin but she sucked in a deep breath and tried it on. She shimmied into the bra, lifting herself into the cup then studied her reflection. It really was a nice bra, fitting her perfectly but she wasn’t sure about the colour; she would prefer it to be a little darker. She sighed and took it off, dropping it into an area that would now be the ‘maybe’ pile and picked up another of the pile.

It took her fifteen minutes to try them all on and there still wasn’t a ‘no’ pile. The maybe pile and the ‘yes’ pile had grown exponentially and she sighed as she looked at the number of bras in the pile. She pulled her tee shirt on – foregoing her bra – and opened the door, beckoning for Tanya. The young woman came over and smiled, tilting her head slightly.

“The blue one,” Liz said and turned to the maybe pile, searching through it for the first bra she had tried on, “do you have it in a darker colour?”

Tanya studied it for a second then pursed her lips.

“We have it in a deep purple or a navy blue with black detail around the edges.”

Liz nodded slightly.

“Could you get me the darker blue?”

The woman nodded then skipped away. Liz fingered the bra in her hands; it had been her favourite of them all, apart from the colour and she knew that Max would appreciate it. It was sexy without being slutty and Liz felt good when she was in it. She knew she didn’t have a great deal of boob but when she had worn that one, she felt proud of what she did have.

“Here you go,” Tanya said as she reappeared at the door, handing Liz the bra and matching lace panties. She smiled as she took them in – they were perfect.

In the end, Liz chose seven new sets – the dark blue, two black, a white, a pink and purple, a soft yellow and a daring red. They weren’t obviously sexy or over the top but... they would do the job. She took them to the cash desk, where Tanya was waiting and chatting with another member of staff.

She smiled as Liz approached and nodded to the collection in her arms.

“Your friend paid a hundred dollars of it already so we’ll just subtract that from the total of this.”

“What?” Liz asked as she tucked the bundle back under her arms. There was no way she was letting Maria pay for this. No chance.

Tanya smiled again and pointed to the computer screen.

“She said to tell you it was an early Christmas gift.” Liz hesitated. “It’s non-refundable, if you don’t let us subtract it from your total, it will go to waste.”

And that settled it. Liz reluctantly set down the items and fished her cell out of her bag, sending Maria a quick text of thanks as Tanya rang it up.

When Liz left the store, bags in hand, Maria responded with a cheerful

Merry Christmas, five months early.

--

The plan couldn’t be set in motion until Max came back from his trip but Liz had decided to wear the new underwear and clothes, anyway. She felt good in them and she would admit that she looked good in them. She had called Maria when she’d gotten home from the shopping trip and given her a piece of her mind, despite her text of thanks, for paying so much for Liz’s extravagance. Maria had laughed and told her to suck it up.

Secretly, Liz was glad because she couldn’t really afford the clothes that she had bought. Well, she could but... It just meant that she’d made more of a dent in her account than she would have liked, especially since she wasn’t on pay roll at the university until the end of the month. But Maria had assured her that it was all for a good cause.

Liz just hoped it was.

--

Max came home from his trip a day later than he was expected. He had been gone for two weeks, travelling up and down the west coast looking at summer camp teams as they drew to a close. It had been a week since Liz’s shopping trip and she had put the plan into motion the day before, in preparation for Max’s return.

“What the hell happened here?” Max said as he wandered into the lounge, dropping his hold-all behind the sofa.

Liz jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, snapping her Nintendo DS shut with a click. She turned her head back to look at Max – who looked tired and lovely and all she wanted to do was jump up and wrap her arms around him and drag him off to bed – and smiled.

“What?” She asked as she stretched an arm up behind her to touch his arm. He leaned over the back of the sofa and brushed his lips across her hairline, his fingers trailing down her arm. She shivered at his touch and Max withdrew.

“There are clothes everywhere,” he said as he settled on the sofa beside her, tucking her under his arm. Liz sighed at the contact and settled back against him, feeling waves of sleepiness creep over her at his warmth.

“I went shopping,” she murmured and he chuckled.

“I can see that,” he said quietly and ran his finger along them hem of the short shorts she was wearing. She shivered and tilted her head up to look at his face. He smiled tiredly down at her and stroked his fingers up and down her arm. “Start work next week?” He asked after long minutes of comfortable silence and Liz nodded against his chest. “Are you looking forward to it?” She nodded again and shifted herself closer to him and he compensated by drawing his legs up onto the sofa, tangling them with hers. “Are you tired?”

“A little,” she said quietly, closing her eyes for a moment before she tilted her head up to look at him. He drew back slightly and looked down his nose to meet her eyes, a little smile playing around the edges of his lips. “I missed you,” she murmured.

His eyes searched her face, his hand coming up to brush his fingers along her cheekbones before stroking through the hair at the base of her neck. She made sure not to close her eyes at the sensation of his touch and she wasn’t disappointed when he leaned forward slowly, bumping his nose against hers.

“I missed you, too.”

--

Aside from their snuggle session on the sofa almost a week ago, Max had barely touched Liz and Liz was getting frustrated again. She had left out the nicest of the new underwear, anywhere Max could see them – in the bathroom, on the radiators, over door handles – and nothing. Nothing.

She had called in the infantry and Maria had informed her it was time to up the ante, as it were. So here was Liz, in an attempt at getting ready for her new job, running around in stockings, a pencil skirt and one of the skimpy black bras, ‘in search’ of the nice black top that went with the skirt.

She rushed into the lounge, looking around at the radiators and the airer before rushing into the kitchen, where Max was leaning against the worktop in fitted jeans and a tee shirt, sipping from a cup of coffee. He looked up as Liz skidded to a halt in the doorway and promptly started coughing as he choked on his sip of coffee. His eyes were wide and glued to Liz’s body and she tried to keep the smug smile from her face as she rifled through the basket of clothes sitting on the table.

“Liz...” he said lowly, his voice almost dangerous and it took all of Liz’s will power not to whimper at his low growl. “What are you doing?” He questioned and Liz felt his presence at her back.

“Have you seen my black top? You know, the one with the satin neckline?”

“You mean the see through one?”

She snorted lightly and aimed a well practised glare over her shoulder at him. He was incredibly close to her – so close that she could feel his heat against her bare back and as she drew herself up, she could feel his hard body press against her back.

“It’s not see through,” she reprimanded him before leaning over again to search through the basket, where she knew the top was not. It was, in fact, in her bedroom, under a well placed plastic bag.

She heard Max groan lightly and she thought she felt his fingers on her hip but before she could react, he was moving away from her.

“It is and you know it.” She turned to him then, placing her hands on her hips, marvelling at how easy all of this was coming to her. “And with that bra, your pupils today will be given quite the show.”

Liz smirked.

“Who says it’s the pupils who’ll be getting the show?” His eyes darkened and he took a step towards her, his brow crinkling in something akin to confusion. “I just want to make a good impression on the faculty.”

“A good impression?” She nodded and tried to subtly gulp as he took another step towards her. “The all male faculty?” She nodded again. His eyes raked up and down her body, settling for four long seconds on her hardening nipples. He smirked. “You’ll certainly make an impression.”

She smirked again and leaned back slightly on the table, jutting her chest out.

“Did I make an impression on you?”

His eyes travelled over her body again and his lips pursed as he attempted not to smile and Liz felt her breath coming in short rasps as his scorching gaze swept over to her. He stepped up to her then, one arm sliding around her waist as the other travelled down the outside of her thigh, stopping for a moment to finger the lacy edge of her stockings. He groaned and sighed hissed as he rubbed his hardening length against her stomach.

“I like you in black, Liz...” he murmured darkly, his head dipping down to her neck and Liz half expected his lips on her skin so when he breathed heavily onto her skin instead, she couldn’t bite back the groan that escaped her lips. He paused for a long moment before drawing back from her and smirking. “You better get dressed or you’ll be late.”

--

At breakfast a few days later, Liz’s early morning cereal eating was interrupted by Max’s angry “What the hell are you wearing?”

She looked down to the tight white shirt, through which she knew her red bra was visible (she had her tailored waistcoat hanging up in her room ready to don but Max didn’t need to know that) and the pencil skirt she’d teased him with the other day.

“I have a meeting with the dean,” she explained as she set her bowl of cereal down. “Do I look okay? Should I take it off?” She skimmed her hands over the shirt, revelling in Max’s ill-concealed groan.

“Oh God, definitely.” She drew back in mock offence and Max stepped towards her. “But not for the reasons you’re thinking,” he growled.

Liz had expected at least some kind of reaction from him but when he covered her hands with his own, she was more than a little shocked. He dragged her hands from her waist to her stomach and the breath caught in her throat when Max’s thumbs skimmed over her protruding nipples. He leaned in further, dropping his face to her neck and Liz gasped when she felt his flat tongue on her pulse point. She shifted and his hard cock rubbed against her hip and Max hissed and bit into her skin lightly causing Liz to smirk but just as she thought he was about to give in, he pulled back quickly and kissed her forehead.

He was out of the apartment before Liz’s breathing returned to normal.

As Liz left for work twenty minutes later, she wondered which of them it was that was playing games.

“Maria told me about your plan to seduce Max,” Serena said and Liz sighed.

“Yeah...” Liz trailed off, adjusting her cell phone as she searched through her bag for her house key.

“Do you think it will work?”

Liz laughed but it wasn’t a pleasant sound and she heard Serena suck in a breath at the harsh sound.

“No, not really.”

Serena was silent for a moment, contemplating as Liz let herself into the apartment. Max was gone – again – and the apartment was in darkness, the chill of the unused, empty space creeping in around her. She’d been out the house since six thirty that morning and the fourteen hours of non-use had really done a number on the temperature.

“Then why are you doing it?” Serena asked as Liz dropped her keys onto the small glass table and flicked the light on. She shrugged out of her jacket and hooked it over the back of the cupboard door before she sighed and moved into the living room, flipping light switches as she went.

“To be honest? I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Serena made a noncommittal sound and Liz rolled her eyes. “Have you spoken to Max recently?”

Serena hummed a yes, the sound followed by a loud crunching and Liz pulled the cell away from her ear for a moment. “I spoke to him earlier on today. He sounded tired – where is he?”

“San Diego.”

“Nice.”

“I might call him tonight, actually. I haven’t spoken to him since yesterday morning,” Liz mused aloud, thinking back to their ten minute conversation about... well, nothing, really.

“He said he and Tess were going out for dinner tonight so you might want to wait a bit before you call him.”

“What?” Liz almost yelled as she sat up straight on the sofa, her hair fanning out around her shoulders at the ferocity of the movement. “Tess is with him?”

Serena paused for a moment before answering in the affirmative.

“He didn’t tell you?”

Liz shook her head.

“No, he didn’t.”

“Oh...” Serena paused again. “What’s the big deal?”

Liz sighed and shook her head again feeling the pang in her chest deepen and tighten around her heart. Tess was with him; why was Tess with him? She’d printed out his hotel confirmation and it had only been for one room – a double. She hadn’t even...

“It doesn’t... even matter. Listen,” she said abruptly, feeling a sob climbing up her throat. “I’ve got to go.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll call you later.”

“What? Liz-“

She hung up and threw her cell onto the other armchair, curling up in a ball and fighting off the ridiculous urge to cry.

--

Serena had tried to call Liz back three times since the night before and Liz ignored each of the calls. She knew it was ridiculous – that it wasn’t Serena’s fault – but she just didn’t want to have to explain to anyone why she had such a big issue with this.

Tess hated Liz. Tess wanted Max. Tess was sexy. Liz was not. Tess was with Max in San Diego. Liz was at home, waiting for Max to come back.

She felt... ridiculous. She was annoyed at herself not just for the reaction she had to the conversation with Serena but about the way she had been acting with Max. God, who was she to try and seduce him? It was almost embarrassing, actually. Never mind the fact that he had teased her, too... that was just what Max did. That’s the way they had always been.

So why did it annoy (hurt?) her more now than it had then?

She knew she needed to talk to Max about this – about why he didn’t want her – but she was scared to know the answer. She didn’t want to think that he might not want her like that, especially after she had given up her life back east for him. And then she got annoyed at herself again because Max had given up everything for her once before and had been ready to do it again and she still got annoyed that she’d had to give up something for him...

She squeezed extra hard on the garlic crusher, feeling the plastic handle digging into her skin harshly but she didn’t care; she just kept squeezing, pulverising the clove before tossing it into the wok with the oil. She sighed in frustration.

“Get a grip of yourself, Parker,” she grumbled as she watched the oil hiss and pop, the garlic roasting on the bottom of the pan, wafting up it’s delicious scent into the room around her. God, she loved cooking garlic.

Her BlackBerry pinged and Liz picked it up, checking the email. She groaned.

From:maria.deluca@gmail.com
To: elizabethparker@hotmail.com
Subject: Plan B

I spoke to Serena. She’s worried about you – we both are. Since plan A didn’t work, I’ve devised a plan B.

http://www.annsummers.com/webapp/wcs/st ... 0001_10201

And you can’t say no because I’ve already ordered it; it should be there before he gets back. You know what to do, sweet girl.

If you don’t, you’re no friend of mine!

Love and hugs,

Maria xx

“Oh... Good Lord.”

“Liz?” Max’s voice was soft as he stroked her hair. She grumbled and turned into the pillow, squishing her face into the soft cotton hoping that he would go away. He chuckled softly, his fingers rubbing against her scalp. She moaned lightly and arched into his touch. “Liz...”

Reluctantly she rolled onto her back, squinting up at Max in the half darkness. He was deliciously rumpled, his grey pea coat hanging open over his pullover, his bangs swept to the side. He was smiling down to her but even in her sleepy state she could see the question in his eyes. She sat up, shivering as the blankets dropped from around her shoulders and she smirked lightly when she saw Max’s eyes falter on her chest.

“You’re home early...” She commented and reached out to him, running her finger down the edge of his coat. He snapped out of his daze and looked back up to her face, smiling again. He nodded. “Everything okay?”

He nodded but then stopped, tilting his head to the side and watched her for a moment. Liz frowned.

“Liz...” It was then she realised his left hand was holding something. Something blue. Her eyes skipped to the bedside table hoping to...but no. Hope was lost and she dragged her eyes back to Max. He was watching her intently, his dark eyes twinkling in the tawny darkness and Liz smiled sheepishly up at him. “What’s this?” He asked as he held up the Rampant Rabbit Thruster vibrator. She didn’t think he really needed an answer to that so she simply raised her eyebrow sardonically before sliding back down into the covers.

“If you need an answer to that, Max, you’re no friend of mine.”

She felt him lie down behind her, the side of his body pressing into her back. She shuddered at him nearness, the pleasurable tingles setting her alight. Her cheeks were flaming slightly in embarrassment but she refused to let him know how it affected her.

“I know what it, Liz,” he replied with a dark chuckle. “What I wanted to know is why it’s in my bedroom... while you’re in my bed.”

Oh yeah. Right. That.

Her whole body blushed and she pulled the covers up around her shoulders, hoping to wake up to find that this had been a bad dream. True, when Liz had called Maria to screech at her about the delivery she’d received a few days ago, Maria had insisted Liz use it in front of Max. Liz had shot the idea down. Instead, she’d snuck into his room (though there wasn’t any need for sneaking considering that he wasn’t even there) and let the vibrator work its magic on her as Max’s scent surrounded her.

She had intended to clean his sheets before he got back and hide the vibrator from him so he would never know.

But there he was, home early with her new pet cradled in his hand.

“You’re home early...”

He chuckled and Liz heard a click then the soft sound vibrations. She groaned in embarrassment and turned her head into the pillow.

“It thrusts!” He said in wonder and Liz moaned again, tucking her head as far into the pillow as she could.

“It’s called the Thruster.”

Max snorted.

“I can see why.” She made a non-committal sound in the back of her throat and she heard Max chuckle as the vibrations continued. He made a sound that made Liz instantly wet and she turned her head slightly to look at him. “Feels good...” He murmured and Liz turned her head further, following the line of his arms down his body to where... Oh... Holy Hannah in Hand Basket he had the thrusters pressed against his groin and she could see his hardness and his hips were moving gently on the bed beside her... Then the sound vibrations stopped and Max’s body stilled. It took Liz a moment before she could look back up to his face, her mouth slightly agape. That... had been hot. “Why are you in my bed, Liz?” he licked his lips as he watched her watch him and it took her a few seconds to realise he’d spoken. “Why were in my bed with this vibrator, Liz?” He asked again, his voice low and throaty in the room around her.

“It smelled like you...” She managed and Max let out a quick breath. “I missed you.”

He chortled.

“So you got a vibrator?”

Liz squirmed at his amused tone, feeling heat pool between her legs at his continued stare.

“Maria sent it to me.”

She saw his lips quirk slightly.

“Remind me to thank Maria...” Liz nodded. He continued to watch her for a few long minutes and it took all of Liz’s will power not to crawl into his lap and help relieve the tension that was straining against his zipper. Max shifted then, turning onto his side and he pressed his nose. “God... it smells like you in here.” He turned to look up at her. “I’m going to have to change the sheets if I want to sleep in here ever again.”

That stung a little but she didn’t say anything. She just watched as he nuzzled the pillow. She smiled as he met her eyes, his expression sheepish. He smiled at her again, lifting his arm and Liz ducked underneath it and nuzzled next to him. The wool of his coat scratched her skin but it had been too long since she was this close to him.

“How was your trip?”

She felt him shrug but she didn’t look up at him. She fixed her stare on the poly-wool of his pullover and watched the subtle shift of muscle as he tightened his arms around her.

“Uneventful. Boring.”

“But you had Tess to keep you company, right?” He stiffened slightly around her his breath bursting out against her hair. He nodded after a moment and Liz lifted her hand to play with a loose thread over his chest. “Serena...”

“I work with her, Liz.” She didn’t say anything. “She was down looking at the girls’ hockey teams in the area.”

Liz shrugged.

“I didn’t say anything.”

Max drew back from her and looked down at her, his eyes narrowed. She glanced at him before trying to nuzzle closer to him. He tightened his hold on her, keeping her a few inches from his body. She struggled for a second before he pressed his open palm

“I know you, Liz.” She snapped her eyes up to his and glared at him. “Don’t look at me like that!” He snapped and Liz lowered her gaze. He sighed. “I’m sorry,” he trailed his fingers over her cheekbones and she tried to turn away from his touch. He dropped his hand to her waist and sighed again. “Why are you upset about this?”

Liz pulled back from him, despite his tightening grip and sat up on the edge of the bed. She felt his fingers on her hips, grazing against her back but she recoiled from the touch.

“I’m not upset about it.” Max sat up behind her and she heard his low growl. “I’m not upset that she was with you...” She heard Max growl again and she shook her head. “I’m not! I just hate that you didn’t tell me about it. I mean... what...” She shook her head again. “No... it doesn’t even matter.”

She made to stand and Max grabbed onto her shoulder, pulling her back against his body. She struggled but he wrapped his legs around her waist, trapping her against him. She squirmed some more but Max’s grip tightened.

“Liz, stop! Stop running away from me, damn it!” That got her to stop and she sagged against his body, letting her head fall forward. “Thank God... I was getting hard.”

She couldn’t help it. She snorted. Again. And again. Until she was crumpled against him gasping for breath as shrieks of laughter left her mouth. She felt Max shaking behind her, his puffs of laughter hitting her neck.

“Oh, God, Max... I missed you.” She settled against him as the last of her mirth left her in gentle spurts of giggles. “Where have you been?”

He trailed his fingers over her stomach, tugging her against him.

“I’ve been-“

“That’s not what I meant.” His grip on her tightened for a moment before he dropped his head to her neck, sighing into her.

“I know.” He kissed her neck chastely, no tongues, but Liz still felt it in the pit of her stomach. “Let me make it up to you,” he murmured into her neck. She tilted it to make room for him but he just nuzzled in. She felt one of his hands leave her body and she missed his warmth instantly. Then there was a click, a soft buzzing sound and Liz was lost to him.

A/N: I've decided NOT to try and finish this fic in ten parts. I just don't have the time to sit down and write long updates like I had planned to so it's going to be shorter, more frequent parts as opposed to long, rare updates. I hope you don't mind. This chapter is a bit of a filler but it is setting up for things to come.

Thanks for sticking by me and this fic


Part Five

When Liz finally managed to drag herself out of bed, she found Max lounging on the sofa, a bowl of soggy cereal in his lap and the spoon hanging from his lips. She scowled at his cheerful good morning, and replied with a throaty grunt as she made her way into the kitchen for coffee.

“You all right?” Max said from behind her as she pulled a cup from the cupboard above her and she turned to him, scowling again. He raked his eyes over her puffy face and runny nose and Liz couldn’t remember ever feeling more unattractive. “Oh, sugar...” he murmured empathically as he took a step towards her, wrapping his arms around her shoulder. She wanted to snuggle in but she more than aware of the snot trying to make its way out of her nostrils so she tilted her head until her ear lay over his heart, letting the steady staccato soothe her throbbing head. “Cold or flu?”

“Death, I think,” she rasped, her voice an odd mixture of throaty and dry. She coughed after a second, her vocal chords protesting at being used. “Ugh...” she moaned when her chest eventually stopped convulsing and she stepped back from Max towards where the kettle had finished boiling. “Thank God it’s Saturday and I can just lay in bed all day...” she managed as she poured water over her tea bag, deciding to forego the coffee for the moment.

“Umm...” Max began and Liz tilted her head to the side to look at him. He was frowning at her slightly and she returned it. “Kyle and Serena will be here in a few hours, remember?” Liz groaned and thumped the kettle onto the worktop, dropping her head until her chin butted against her chest. “You forgot?”

Liz pouted as she nodded.

“Yeah...” She dissolved into a coughing fit before she could get anything else out and she looked to Max, who was still smiling with that god damn annoying empathic half smile. She scowled at his lips and his grin grew. She growled, the sound oddly effective with her added throaty quality and Max chuckled. “’s not funny...”

She felt his arms around her waist and she settled back against his chest as he rocked them from side to side.

“I know, sugar but... you look really pathetic standing there with that cute as pie pout and these fleecy pee-jays.” She wanted to rebuke him but he began humming in her ear and forgave him. Until he reached out and scooped up her tea cup and pulled away from her. She went to protest but one arm rematerialised around her waist, tugging her towards the lounge “You lay down and I’ll run out to the store to get you some flu meds... I’ll put some honey in your tea, it’s a little bitter,” he added as an afterthought and Liz couldn’t help the amused smile that stretched across her lips as he walked away from her.

She stood dumbly for a long moment before sinking onto the sofa, feeling the lingering heat of Max’s presence on the cushions. She snuggled down, fighting off the chill of the morning and closed her eyes, letting herself relax.

Ever since that night with the vibrator, Max had been more attentive but had made a point of maintaining his physical distance. It... confused her but his shift in attitude towards her – you know, actually paying attention to her – had sort of been what she had been after all along, right? She sighed. She was glad to have him back in one capacity, at least. She hadn’t told Maria about the vibro-night and nor did she ever intend to and she was seriously considering not playing the stupid ‘make Max fall for her’ game anymore because it obviously wasn’t working. It had worked for one night and Max had retreated from her even more than he had been before.

Until she’d gotten sick and then he wanted to be around her. She grunted out a laugh and shook her head. Men were weird.

“Amusing yourself there, sugar?”

She cracked an eye open and looked up to Max who was standing over her with her blanket in his arms, the steaming cup of tea on the table in front of her. She smiled and nodded.

“I need to around here,” she commented but it lost its brutality as she trailed off with a pathetic cough. She pouted. “Can’t even be a bitch without dying.”

He dropped the duvet over her, tucking her in even as he smiled.

“Penance,” he said cheekily, stroking his hand through her damp hair. “God loves me more than you.” She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out, just barely. “I’ll be back soon,” he whispered to her after a few moments and Liz nodded sleepily. She heard the door shut in the distance as she fell over the edge into slumber.

--

“Yeah well we’ll just need to do it another night...” Liz woke to the sound of Max’s hushed conversation and she strained her ears, wondering if someone else was in the house. When she heard no one else, she concluded he was on the phone and that she hadn’t missed Kyle and Serena’s arrival. Max had woken her when he’d returned from the store, administered her drugs for her before she’d fallen asleep again, leaning against Max’s chest. Now her pillow was gone and she missed his warmth. “She can’t help it if she’s sick, Tess,” he growled and Liz hissed at the mention of the other woman’s name. “Of course she is! Don’t be a bitch, Tess. Just bec-“ Liz issued her own growl as she sat up, spying Max standing in the doorway between the lounge and the hallway. His hand was pressed to his forehead, his finger fisted tightly in his bangs. He leaned against the wooden frame, his body angled from her and Liz took in his aggressive stance. “I’m not going to leave her here when she’s sick- What? No, of course not.” There was a pause. “Don’t be ridiculous, Tess. We’ll just need to do it another night.” Liz shuffled and Max’s head twisted to look at her, his eyes widening slightly before he turned away and pushed off from the wall. “They’ll be here for a week, you can meet them another day.” He paused again. “I have to go.”

He hung up without saying goodbye and dropped his phone onto the armchair as he passed it, dropping onto the sofa behind Liz. She pulled away from him when he tried to wrap his arms around her, turning to look at him.

“Tess?”

He nodded.

“Yeah...” he sighed and shook his head. “She’s...upset that we’re going to have to miss dinner tonight.” Liz had forgotten Tess had been invited to the dinner with Serena and Kyle. She shook her head. Tess was a bitch. But she was Max’s friend.

Liz sighed.

“You guys can still go, I’ll be fine here. Just because I’m ill-“

“Liz, don’t be ridiculous,” Max interjected hotly, his brow furrowing into a fierce frown and Liz licked her lips slightly. “You’re sick. I’m taking care of you.”

And Liz would admit that there was a part of her – a huge part of her – that was glad he wasn’t going to leave her for dinner with Tess.

She snuggled into his chest and he closed his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.

“Good...” she murmured into his chest and felt sleep tug at her again. This time, she went willingly.

The door had barely clicked shut before Serena had pinned Liz to the chair with a heavy stare.

“Tell me you’re not actually listening to Maria.”

Liz scowled but it lost its effectiveness when she coughed half way through it. She covered her mouth with her fist and the balled up hankie encased in it and felt like her lungs were going to splatter out into lap for a few long moments before the coughing fit finally subsided.

“Does it look like I’m trying to seduce anyone right now?” Liz asked as she pointed to her bloated face, her runny nose and the tattered sweat pants and Max’s over sized tee shirt. Serena quirked an eyebrow and smirked, looking away from Liz’s glare to hide her smile.

“From what I hear,” Serena said quietly as she sank further into the arm chair beside Liz’s sofa, “he’s been paying more attention to you like this than he has when you’ve been... well.” Liz shrugged and scowled some more. Damn Maria. “She was only trying to help.” Liz scoffed. “She tried to rope me into it but I can’t say that I agree with her actions, at all.” Liz raised her eyebrow and made a gesture of continuation, deciding not to strain her throat too much. “It’s just... he’s Max. He’s been gay for... well, forever, it would seem and now here you are being all feminine and girly and...”

Liz rasped out an amused cough and shook her head as she tried to gasp for breath.

“You think I should butch it up for him?” She asked, guffawing more at Serena’s shocked face.

“No!” She laughed loudly at that. “No, I mean... Since I’ve known you guys, you and Max have had this... this strange chemistry and it wasn’t forced. You weren’t trying to seduce him, he wasn’t trying to seduce you... You just co-existed and the chemistry was there and... I’m not saying that it’s not still there because that man could barely keep his eyes off you tonight, let alone actually leave your side to pick up some food for us but... It’s not the same.”

Liz snorted.

“Yeah because now he’s not gay.”

“But he’s still crazy about you.” Liz burrowed into the quilt, picking at the threads there. When she looked back up, Serena had raised a questioning eyebrow. “You do know that, right?” Liz shrugged again but looked away from her friends’ questioning gaze. “Liz...”

“I like to believe that he is. But with the way he’s been acting lately...”

“Don’t you think the way you’ve been acting might be scaring him off a little?” Liz looked up and frowned. “If what Maria has told me is true, you may coming on too strong for him.” Liz tried to butt in but Serena held up her hand and Liz silenced the protest in the back of her throat. “Listen... It’s obviously not working.” Liz shrugged again. “Max has always been your friend, Liz. Why don’t you try to rebuilt that part of your relationship before you try for anything else? You guys always had a solid base but it’s gone through quite a few earth quakes in the past year... the sex, the falling out, the moves...”

Liz stared at her hands, knowing that Serena was right. It’s what she’d known in her heart all along but she was just so desperate to have Max back that she had – stupidly – listened to Maria.

“I should never have listened to Maria,” Liz mumbled, even though she was smiling. She looked back up to Serena, wondering why she hadn’t talked to her about this before. Serena had been within the group since she started dating Kyle a few years before; she fit so well with them that sometimes Liz forgot she hadn’t been with them all that long. “But I did get some nice underwear from it, I guess.”

Serena smirked, then cleared her expression.

“She means well.” Serena shifted in her chair and leaned forward onto her elbows. “I know I’ve not known you guys for all that long – I mean, you and Maria have been friends since like... birth, right? – so I... Maria is your friend, Michael is Max’s friend and Kyle is just too scared of Max to actually say anything about it. I’m friendly with you both, I’ve seen this from the outside and... I know that what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working.” Liz nodded and sniffled into her hankie. “I spoke to Max quite a lot when he first moved out here, you know? I guess it means I’m a little closer to him now than I was before but Liz, he was devastated. Not just because he lost the chance to be with you like that but because he lost his best friend. And now you’ve come back and it seems like all you want from him is a sexual relationship... I’m not saying that this is what he’s thinking but think of it from his point of view... The whole time he was here alone, he just wanted you back in his life. As his friend – and yes, as something more but mainly just as your friend... so maybe you should give that one a try now and call Maria up for sex pointers after you get back to that?”

Liz was crying and it wasn’t because of the cold or her runny nose or the fact that Serena had just told her not to pursue a sexual relationship with Max. No, she was crying because she knew that Serena was right – about all of it. And it broke her heart to think of Max here, alone, without her. Without anyone because of her. She had been so mad at him about UCLA, about this job that she couldn’t really dwell on how hurt he must have been the whole time. She had thrown a lifetime of friendship out of the window for... for nothing. For what he had assumed was their mistaken choice to have sex. And while they had talked about all of this at New Year, it had finally hit her, hard. She didn’t know if it was her loneliness, Serena’s words, or the flu meds but she couldn’t stop the tears from spilling down her cheeks.

“You’re right...” she managed to gasp out some five minutes later. “You’re... so right.”

When she looked up, Serena was smirking and nodding.

“It happens from time to time.” Liz smiled and reached out to grasp Serena’s fingers between her own. She might have just found her kindred spirit.

There was noise at the door signalling the return of the boys from their trip to the take away place down the street and Liz hopped up from her seat as quickly as she could and rushed into the bathroom before Max saw her tear stained face. In the bathroom she splashed water on her face and stared at herself in the mirror, smiling lightly. She blew her nose loudly on some toilet paper, flushing it down the pan before she splashed her face again, dabbing it dry with the towel before wandering back to the lounge.

She followed the smell of Chinese food into the kitchen and found the three of them ladelling food out of containers onto plates. Max turned at her arrival, frowning at her with concern and she tried to smile it off. He studied her features for a moment, trying to work out if her red rimmed eyes were cold or tear induced before his lips flickered up in a smile. He held his arm out and she sidled up to his side, turning her head to rest against the side of his chest.

“Feel any better?”

She nodded, glancing over to Serena.

“A little, yeah.” She took a deep breath and groaned at the scents that drifted into her nose. “And starving.”

Max chuckled and squeezed her tighter before shifting away from her to finish dishing out the food. She moved to fridge and pulled out three bottles of beer and a water for herself before trying to pick up one of the plates. Max batted her hands away, shooing her back into the lounge.

In there, he sat beside her and as the three of them laughed and joked into the small hours of the morning, Liz couldn’t help but noticing that it seemed like finally, possibly, they were finding their groove again.

Liz chortled lightly and groaned when it turned into a full on hacking cough. She saw Max wince slightly and when she looked up he was gazing at her in sympathy from his position in the armchair on the other side of the room. She glared at him and he smirked slightly before turning back to the TV.

“When do you need to leave again?” She asked a few moments later when the commercial break came on.

He turned to her slightly and shrugged.

“Tess and I were supposed to be going down to San Diego the day after tomorrow but I’ve rescheduled so I don’t need to be anywhere until next week.”

Liz raised her eyebrows slightly in question.

“Why did you reschedule?” She queried and Max rolled his eyes.

“I’m not exactly going to let you stay here alone when you’re like this, am I?”

Liz rolled her eyes.

“It’s just the flu, Max. I’ll be fine.” He frowned at her but shook his head. “Thank you,” she whispered and he smiled, turning back to the game. “I can’t imagine Tess is too happy?”

Max shrugged but didn’t turn back to her.

“She’s still going.”

Liz pursed her lips at his tone but didn’t say anything for a moment, just kept her eyes on the screen without really seeing what was going on. She’d never really been one for college football but she suffered in silence because she knew that this was sort of a part of Max’s job. Kind of like he put up with the random sheets of notepad paper that littered every room in the apartment from where she brainstormed the basis for her next book.

She coughed again, trying to muffle it behind a tissue and her palm but Max still gave her the look of pained sympathy and she hated it. He had barely left the house in the past two days, other than to show Kyle and Serena around or to get food, vitamins and tissues for her. Tess’ calls had come in thick and fast for the first day but as far as Liz was aware, they had stopped completely after they’d had some kind of blow out. Liz wasn’t naive enough to think it wasn’t about her ‘supposed illness’ as Tess had called it.

“You should go out, Max,” Liz said quietly a few minutes later when she saw him glance at the cell in his lap. “I’ll be fine for one night.”

But he shook his head.

“No can do, sugar,” he retorted with a quick smirk. “Someone needs to play nurse for you.”

Liz snorted.

“What if I need a doctor?” She queried, trying to lace some innuendo into her tone. From the look Max shot her, she knew it didn’t come off quite like that.

“Maybe when you don’t sound like Old Jackson from the Crash, you can try that again and it might actually work,” he laughed with a wink and Liz groaned.

“Shut up,” she grumbled petulantly and Max smiled. “But you should go out... it can’t be good for you to be stuck inside like this,” she said.

Max was out of his chair in a heartbeat, hovering over her half reclined form before he sat on the edge of the sofa, his hips brushing her waist, his hand rising up to sweep across her forehead. Her heartbeat accelerated slightly when he trailed the back of his fingers down the side of her face onto her neck, before resting his open palm on the centre of her chest.

“I want to be here, okay?” He said seriously, his head ducked down close to her face. She felt his breath on her heated skin and her lips parted slightly of their own accord. “Even if it means I end up sick.” He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers, the feeling fleeting. Liz couldn’t even respond before he pulled back and smiled down to her. “Now, move your ass and let me in,” he cajoled as she lifted her head and shoulders. He slid in underneath her, moving one of the scatter cushions to his thigh so she could lean against him easily. His hand wound its way into her hair and she sighed when he began scratching at her scalp. “That’s better,” he murmured and Liz hummed in agreement.

“Kyle and Serena want to go out for dinner on Friday,” Liz informed him and she watched as his head bobbed up and down. “I hope this flu is gone by then...”

He turned his head down to look at her and her breath caught when she saw the wicked glint in his eye. The hand that was resting on her waist shifted inwards and upwards and she felt his fingers skim the underside of her breast. Her lips parted and he smirked, withdrawing his hand.

“Me too.”

Liz scrambled from his lap in search of some medication to Max’s quiet laughter. She would get rid of this flu if it was the last thing she did.