Title: Stolen Moments
Author: Sylvia37
Pairings: M/L with implied M/T
Rating: Adult
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Roswell or any of it's characters.
Synopsis: Sometime in the future. A glimpse of what it might be like if different choices had been made after "End of the World"
Author Note: Wow, I bet you all thought you'd never see me again. This story, as usual, was born out of frustration with the show's direction in season 2. I'm aware that it has holes and that you may have questions as to the details of our couple's lives, but it really is only meant to be a glimpse, thus the lack of explanation. It's supposed to be a continuation of the flawed logic that was the episode "End of the World." Just another direction that could have been taken. Feedback is much appreciated and I might at some point write a sequel. Love ya'll.
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STOLEN MOMENTS
He glanced around restlessly, taking in the rich décor of the room. The hotel was not a cheap one. They never met in cheap hotels. She told him it didn’t matter where they met as long as they were together, but he insisted that it had to be somewhere nice. He wasn’t going to treat her like some dirty little secret on the side. She was so much more than that to him. She was everything.
Max stared at the hotel room door from his place on the bed, as though by dint of will, he could make it open and she would be there. It had been months this time. Too many to count and he was aching for her. Not just physically, but emotionally, spiritually and everything in between.
Thinking of his physical ache, he glanced down at his already half aroused state and shook his head. Not this time. This time he wouldn’t allow his….their….need for each other to take control before they had a chance to talk. He took a deep breath, willing himself not to think of those other times.
The air began to hum. His heartbeat quickening, Max stood up as the lock on the door rattled.
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Her heart was beating double time and she trembled from head to toe as she hurried down the hallway to the hotel room he had gotten for them. God, she needed him. It had been exactly six months, three days and twenty minutes since their last meeting. She always counted down the minutes.
She hoped he was ready. What was she thinking? He was always ready and waiting for her.
She hoped he was already naked.
At the thought, the ache in her body and heart intensified unbearably and her empty hand strayed to her blouse, unbuttoning the top button as her other one jammed the key card into the slot. The milli-second it took for the light to turn green was an eternity too long.
Pushing open the door, Liz saw him standing at the foot of the bed.
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His good intentions almost went out the window when he saw that she already had her blouse half way undone as she burst into the room and Max felt as though he would explode from the urgency, the need, and the love that flooded their connection from both sides. Liz dropped her purse and the key card on the floor and threw herself into his open arms. They were always like this with each other, like famine victims in front of a banquet the moment they were alone together. Talking… and for that matter clothing…. became of little importance until their hunger for each other was assuaged at least for a little while. And this time was no different.
Their kisses were deep and frantic as they almost drowned in the overwhelming sensation of being together. Max’s arms couldn’t hold her close enough; his tongue couldn’t reach deep enough into her sweet mouth to make up for the months of separation. The only sound in the room was their heavy breathing and the whimpers and moans coming from their throats as they panted desperately into each other’s mouths in between kisses. But as he felt Liz’s hands reaching down to free him from the tight restraint of his pants, Max dragged his waning willpower up from the ashes and forced himself to still her attempts to disrobe him. Taking her hands in his own, he pulled his mouth away from hers, panting in an effort to regain his sanity for a moment.
“Max….what…..” Liz asked breathlessly, trying to free her hands to reach for him. Why was he stopping? She wanted to cry at the need bursting through her veins for his touch on her body…in her body.
“Liz…..just give me a minute. I want…..for us to talk….first.” His eyes pleaded with her to help him stay sane for a moment, grasping for control, trying to ignore his own raging need to throw his conviction away and just take her. To pound out his frustration and love into her welcoming body and relieve this unbearable ache. The months of wanting her…..the lies and necessity of pretending to want someone else had taken its toll on him this time, more so than usual. His body and soul craved her like a drug and denying it was almost more than he could bear, especially with her so willing, but he needed to talk to her. He needed to make her see reason this time and he was afraid that if he allowed them to fall into bed now, he wouldn’t have the willpower later on.
Liz gazed at him in frustration and want before pulling her hands away to run them through her disheveled hair. Taking a deep breath, she went to sit on the edge of the bed, waiting for him to continue, clasping her hands together in an effort not to touch him.
“What do you want to talk about?”
Finally able to gain a minimum of control with a bit of distance between them, Max sat in a chair opposite her, trying to breath normally now and maintain his equilibrium. He almost lost it again when he saw that her blouse was still open giving him an unrestricted view of her bra-clad breasts. Dragging his gaze away from the tempting sight, he took his own deep breath and tried.
“I want…..I need…..”Max stopped as the words for what he wanted to say failed him. He rubbed his hands wearily over his face in an effort to clear his mind of the sexual fog it was in, but he was failing miserably in the wake of Liz’s nearness.
Seeing his expression, Liz got up from her perch and went to kneel in front of him. Her arms came around him as she pressed kisses to his face and throat, any available skin. “Let me help you, Max. I know what you need…..what you want…..You know I want the same thing. Why are you making us wait? I don’t need sweet words or flowers and candles to let me know how much you love me. I can feel it….” Liz put her hand to her heart. “In here. I can feel it every time we’re together. Now is the time for loving…..later is the time for words.” Liz leaned up to kiss him and she sighed in relief when she felt his strong hands reach up to cup her face, his tongue delving into her mouth, hungry for her sweet taste. But as she reached up to unbutton his shirt, he suddenly cursed and pulled back.
“No! I can’t……I can’t do this anymore.”
Liz stood up, backing up as panic gripped her throat. He didn’t mean that, did he? He wouldn’t….
“You…You don’t want to …..…?”
Max’s head jerked up at the fear in her tone and he quickly got up and took her by the shoulders. “No! I meant…….”His hands dropped away and he looked at her desperately. “I can’t do THIS anymore.” He gestured to the room. “I can’t…..I don’t want to keep meeting you in secret like this, grabbing a few stolen moments every few months and then going back….back to…..” He stopped and covered his face with his hands for a moment before looking at her bleakly. “I want to be with you. All the time. Every minute of every day. When I’m not…..it feels like I’m drowning. I just……I want to be with you.”
Liz stepped away from him, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling suddenly cold where she had been burning up a minute ago. His words should have melted her heart, but instead, they filled her with frustration.
“We talked about this. We agreed. A long time ago. You know it has to be this way. You agreed.” Liz gazed at him almost angrily, her need to comfort him warring with her frustration.
“I know that,” Max answered her, his own frustration showing. “I know what we said and why we said it. I know…..it’s just…..this is killing me Liz.” He sank into the chair again. “It’s been six years. You said that he said our enemies were going to be here in fourteen.” He looked up at her and Liz was astonished to see that his eyes were wet. “That’s eight more years. I….can’t do this for that long. You don’t know…..you don’t realize how hard it is to pretend that I care about her…..that I want her…..”
Liz swallowed at his broken confession, knowing that he must really be close to the breaking point to be bringing this up. They rarely talked about Tess. They rarely spoke about what he had to do in order to maintain the façade that he had accepted his destiny so that she would remain in Roswell and they could prepare for the enemy invasion that Future Max had told her about.
The decision had been made after a long painful discussion that had torn both of their hearts out, but she had accepted it. In fact, Liz had initiated it. She knew that Max loved her and would give up everything in a heartbeat if she said the word. He only did what he was doing because she insisted that it was only way they could still be together and save the world.
Liz let out a trembling sigh to ease the tightness in her chest, willing the jealous feelings away, reminding herself that this was her choice. She’d known for a while now that he and Tess were sleeping together. There were no secrets between them and she knew Max hated it. He only did it to keep up the illusion of destiny.
“What happened?” she finally asked hesitantly.
“She wants…,”Max hesitated briefly. “She wants to have a baby. She thinks we need to have an heir. “
“Oh,” Liz whispered, a lump forming in her throat that quickly became a deep pain in her chest.
Max’s child. How she had longed for that herself. To carry the sweet weight of their love for each other in her body…to hold a child that she and Max had made out of love, in her arms. She’s even thought about doing it in secret over the years. Of stopping her birth control and allowing herself to get pregnant so she would at least have Max’s child with her to love and be hers alone. But it wouldn’t be hers alone and she couldn’t do that to him. She couldn’t keep his child a secret from him. She wouldn’t be able to anyway. Not with their connection the way it was.
But she had thought about it. And she could almost empathize with Tess for wanting it too.
“What did you tell her?”
“I haven’t told her anything,” Max rubbed a hand over his hair. “She brings it up once in a while…..mostly when we’re…..” He stopped, dropping his head in a gesture that spoke louder than words.
“Once in a while……?” Liz asked almost against her will.
“Not….not often. Only when I have to, to keep her from suspecting something, but….” Max looked up at her and there was a bitter twist to his mouth.
“What?” Liz asked. “Is she asking questions?”
“Not directly. But she apparently spoke to Isabel because Michael brought it up. I told him that I just don’t have much of a drive. You should have seen his face.” Max let out a mirthless sound of derision.
Liz covered her mouth with her hand. She better than anyone knew just how much of a lie that was…..how much of a sex drive Max really had. She had often wondered if his stamina was an alien thing, or just stemmed from the fact that they saw each other so infrequently. She knew it must be killing him to lie to his best friend about something like that.
“And I can’t……I have to think of…..us together to even make myself…..,” Max swallowed painfully at the confession.
“But what about the flashes…..”Liz began.
“I can control them now. She doesn’t suspect anything. She knows I don’t love her, but she thinks that I care….and that I want the same things she does.” Max let out a bitter sigh, then continued in a subdued tone. “I don’t care what she wants. I’m not …..I won’t do that. I won’t make a child with her. I’m going to tell her we can’t until after this is over. A child wouldn’t be safe right now.”
If Max thought that Tess really loved him, he might feel guilty for deceiving her and denying her, but he knew that all she cared about was being Queen….and that meant being with the King…no matter how she felt about him. And her view of humans as a whole hadn’t changed much either over the years. She was convinced that they would all return to rule Antar one day when the war was over.
“I’m sorry,” Liz whispered in an agony of sympathy, kneeling in front of him again. “You know I wish things were different. You know how much I want this to end too…..” Liz cupped his face tenderly in her hands, but Max gazed at her for a moment before getting up abruptly from the chair leaving her to look up at him.
“Do you?” He turned to look at her, seeing the astonishment on her face. “You never ask me,” he stated quietly. “You say that you wish it were different but……why doesn’t it seem to hurt you as much as it hurts me? Is it so much easier for you…..?”
“You think this is easy for me?” Liz’s voice cracked on the disbelieving note.
“No…I…..” Max shrugged helplessly, immediately contrite. “I know it isn’t, but….you never…..I’m always the one who brings it up…..I’m always the one who begs for it to end…..and you never…..”
“Would it really be easier if I did?” She asked, approaching him again. “Do you really want to see what it’s like for me?” Liz cupped his face in her hands again, but this time, she gazed up at him in concentration. Their connection strengthened and Max was suddenly bombarded with flashes.
>Liz despondently eating a TV dinner in her apartment by herself, wondering what he was doing at the moment<
>Lying in her bed trying to sleep, thoughts of their last time together keeping her awake<
>Eagerly reading his e-mail suggesting a place to meet, a giddy smile of anticipation on her lips<
>Crumpled in a heap on the floor of a hotel room, sobbing in misery as she felt him getting father and father away from her<
When she pulled back, Max finally saw on her face all the things she never showed him when they were together.
“You see why I don’t do it, Max?” She asked softly. “Because it hurts so much……”
“I’m sorry……I’m so……God, I’m so sorry,” Max said, crushing her against him as he blinked at the tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry for what I said. I just need you so much but….I should be stronger….like you are. I…..”
“No Max,” Liz shook her head, pulling back to look up at him. “You have to pretend all of the time. I don’t want you to pretend with me. I should have let you see more. I need you too….so much….and it wasn’t fair for you to think you were the only one who was hurting…..”
“I don’t want you to hurt, Liz.” Max brought his hands up to hold her face, sifting her hair back with his fingers. “Please don’t ever think that……I didn’t mean it that way……”
“I know you didn’t. I know….”’ Liz reached up to kiss him and moaned when he kissed her back the way he always did, with such love and passion that she thought she could just die happy right at that moment.
“I love you….” Max pulled back long enough to tell her before bringing his lips back down on hers. A small sound of need escaped Liz’s throat as she clutched his head in her hands, kissing him back fervently in an attempt to convey the same back to him.
They fell on the bed. With ease of experience, their clothes rapidly disappeared and they pressed together tightly, desperate for the feel of each other’s naked skin. Liz couldn’t control the sounds she was making, arching her throat as Max ran his lips over every available inch of flesh. His hands…his mouth….everything about him turned her into a writhing mass of neediness. And then it was her turn to make him groan as she rolled them over, her own lips and tongue dancing across his beautifully sculpted body, tasting and tormenting until he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Liz…..God….just do it….do it now….” Max’s pleading ended on a harsh groan as Liz impaled herself on his jutting erection, grinding her hips down on him as she came immediately, arching as she cried out his name. The slickness of her orgasm eased the tight passage and Max groaned again at the feel of her liquid coating him. Rolling them over again, he lifted her legs high to reach deep, slamming his hips against hers. But as he opened his eyes to see her glazed ones staring back at him in adoration, he suddenly slowed down, taking longer and deeper strokes, wanting to savor the wonder of their joining.
“Oh God…..Max…..” Liz gasped out, feeling him deeper than he had ever gone before. The intensity of his expression and the love in his eyes brought tears to her own. “I love......you…….please…..tell me…..you won’t ever stop coming to me……like this…..please.....” She had to stop as his thrusts got harder.
“I……promise……”Max managed to say as he felt his body tightening, his eyes threatening to roll back in his head at the feeling of her tightness stretching to accommodate his burgeoning length. “I …love….” His words cut off on a groan as the rush of his orgasm hit, rendering him incapable of any thought save the feeling of the pleasure exploding through his body. His hips surged forward as he filled her in thick pulses, hearing Liz moaning beneath him when her soaked core began to flutter around him again. They clung to each other, riding out the waves of feeling, until Max collapsed, his limbs too shaky to hold him up any longer. He lay there with his head buried in Liz’s neck, feeling her tears on his shoulder and her arms holding him tightly. He was probably crushing her, but knew that she didn’t want him to move. She never wanted him to move afterward. When he finally did, it was only to shift her to the side, their bodies still joined as one…….
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It was many hours later that they lay entangled on the bed, exchanging occasional soft kisses, allowing the sweat to dry on their bodies as they rested. Liz ran a finger over the firm muscles of Max’s abdomen, watching them contract.
“I wish it could be like this all the time, Max.”
“I know.” He agreed with her softly, his fingers playing gently with her hair.”
“I can’t live without this,” Liz shook her head in denial of the thought. “I wouldn’t want to even try.”
“Me either. It’s the only thing that gets me through.”
“I know it feels like a long time from now, but we will be together permanently one day.” Liz lifted her soft, brown eyes to Max’s lighter ones. ”And then I’m never letting you go again. I promise. We just have to be strong until then.”
“I know.” Max’s hand came down to capture her wandering fingers and Liz watched him bring them to his lips. “I know that we have to do this for the sake of everyone we care about. And I promise not to let it get to me again.” He paused as he raised her chin to look into her eyes. “You will be mine forever one day, Liz Parker.”
“Don’t you know? I’m already yours. I have been from the moment you healed me, Max.” She lifted up on her elbow to gaze down at him.
Max gazed up at her luminous eyes for a moment, seeing the strength of her conviction staring back at him. He speared a hand through her hair, pulling her down for his kiss.
“I’m yours,” he whispered between kisses and they lost themselves in each other for a few more precious hours, making the most of their stolen moments together.
~THE END~