InsaneJournal

Who: Michael Guerin and Maria DeLuca
What: Mistletoe attacks
Where: Bosscat Kitchen and Libations
When: December 15
Rating: Low
Status: Complete


Maria was excited that she had convinced Michael to come over for Thanksgiving because honestly, it was the least holiday-ish holiday and just an excuse to eat a lot of food with friends or family. Alex had seemed pleased that he had come over as well and Maria didn’t want anyone just spending time by themselves. She knew she probably wouldn’t be able to convince him to do anything for Christmas, but she could at least spend some time with him and maybe sneak in a gift.

She had invited him out for food at one of her favorite restaurants, Bosscat Kitchen and Libations, and was currently sitting across from him with a cocktail and a plate of food in front of her. She was so excited to dig in and reached over to grab her drink and take a sip, “So, whatcha been up to lately?” She was debating if she wanted to ask him what was going on between him and Alex, but that could wait for a few more drinks.

Michael wasn’t sure what to make of his friendship with Maria. The only people that had ever invited him to holiday gatherings before were Max and Isobel. He almost always declined. But Maria made it pretty much impossible to turn down her invite to Thanksgiving… and that was saying a lot considering how stubborn Isobel could be. So he had gone to Thanksgiving at the DeLuca’s. And now here he was having dinner with Maria.

“Work mostly,” Michael said with a shrug. And going to space, and traveling back in time to 1947 Roswell. But he wasn’t sure how to even talk about those things. “And you know, dreams,” he added with a shrug taking a sip of his drink. It seemed like he and Maria were getting closer in the dreams as well. Just like they were here. “You?”

Maria had a stubborn personality quirk of not letting people say no to her when it came to something like a gathering. She was pleased that she had finally worn him down and their friendship was finally starting to become an actual friendship instead of just acquaintances that knew each other back in high school. “Mmm, where are you at with your dreams?” Maria was quite curious because it felt like she was so behind everyone else, but that was also okay with her as long as no one spoiled anything important to her.

“Working with Liz on this antidote,” Michael said with a shrug. He didn’t want to bring up anything about Maria’s mom or how she cried on his shoulder. Especially if she hadn’t dreamt that herself yet. “What about you?” he asked, taking a bite of his food. It was weird seeing her in his dreams and then here. More so than it was with Max or Isobel. Or hell even Alex for that matter. His relationship with all of them was pretty much the same in both places, but with Maria? He knew he was attracted to her in the dreams. He saw how much he flirted with her, and she flirted back. But here they were strictly friends… even if he still tried to flirt on occasion.

“Liz and I finished up searching for Rosa’s clues that were scattered around town. Then the last thing I dreamt about was you coming into the Pony all drunk and dramatic and asking how to pay off your debt,” Maria definitely knew there was something going on with them in her dreams, but she made sure to not think too much about it in this world because Alex liked Michael and she wasn’t the type to mess with anything like that, “It definitely feels like I’m on the outskirts of things though. Like you’re all off having adventures and I’m stuck playing bartender forever.”

“But what would Roswell do without it’s favorite bartender?” Michael countered. “What would I do?” he added a small smirk on his face, a gleam in his eye. He was only half joking, and he wasn’t referring to her skills as a bartender entirely. She was there for him in a way and he tried to be there for her. “Besides,” he went on. “I’d much rather be at the Wild Pony with you than dealing with all the other shit.” Like his sister almost dying.

“What would you do? I’m honestly not sure because it does seem to be your favorite watering hole. I hope you wouldn’t go into a downward spiral,” Maria grinned a little. Michael wasn’t her best customer, but he was very loyal. They had a surprising number of heart-to-hearts sometimes and Maria knew there was something more to Guerin than anyone else. He wasn’t the type to show it, but at least they could be friends in the dreams as well as here, “And I totally get that, but I don’t even get to know what the other shit is in the dreams. I feel a little bad for my dream self.”

“I probably would,” Michael replied with a grin. “The Wild Pony is pretty much the only thing keeping me together,” he was only half joking too. Michael dealt with a lot of shit in the dreams, and The Wild Pony was his place of comfort. Not just for the alcohol. It was Maria too, her presence, the way she didn’t put up with his bull shit, he needed that. “Yeah,” he agreed the smirk disappearing from his face. “Well if there is anything you want to know I can at least tell you here,” he added before taking the last few bites of his food.

Maria knew there was a lot of truth to that statement, which made her heart hurt a little bit. Michael in the dreams was a lot more tortured in the dreams and she knew he was a creature of habit. Taking away the Pony would probably make things worse for him. When he offered to spoil things for her she pursed her lips together as she tried to figure out if she wanted to know or not. She opened her lips again to comment, “At least give me some idea on what the hell is going on.” This could definitely be a good conversation over their food.

That wasn’t as easy of a question to answer as Michael originally thought when he offered the information just a few moments ago. He had no problem sharing his own secrets with Maria, but he didn’t want to share Max and Isobel’s. Michael had no idea if Maria had figured out they were aliens as well but he wasn’t going to be the one to tell her. Only it was a little hard to talk about what was going on in the dreams without mentioning them.

“I’ve been trying to find parts of my ship,” Michael finally said, keeping his voice low. That was true and also had nothing to do with Max or Isobel. “And uh there is this serum that kills aliens so I’ve been working with Liz to make an antidote.” He purposefully left out the part about Isobel being infected. “Other than that it’s just a lot of bull shit with Alex and getting drunk at your bar.”

“A serum that kills aliens? Well, that’s not a good thing to have out in the world,” Maria mused with a thoughtful look on her face. She still couldn’t believe that aliens were a thing and that they bled over into this world, but Michael was proof, “Well, glad the two smartest people in our friend group are working on it. And do I want to know what’s going on with Alex? I am seriously missing out on everything. It’s kind of disappointing to know that everyone is out there doing something important and I’m just at the Wild Pony.” Trying not to worry about her mother wandering off all the time and keep her shit together.

“That’s important,” Michael wasted no time arguing. “You are keeping me in a healthy supply of alcohol,” he teased. “And from completely losing my shit.” He honestly didn’t know what he would do without Maria or The Wild Pony in his life. He also knew a little bit about what she was going through with her mom but he figured she would dream that for herself if she hadn’t already. He was mostly telling her about the stuff she wasn’t in on like she had asked.

“Don’t think that’s a worthy cause,” Maria teased him with a small smirk as she ate more of her food. She made a happy noise at how delicious everything was and she really needed to get out here more often. The dreams weren’t that important to her right now because she seemed to be stuck on the side. She just hoped nothing would happen to herself or her mom during all this and hopefully no alien invasion, “So, what are you doing for Christmas? Do you need to come over and eat some of our food?” She knew how he felt about holidays, but figured she may as well offer up free food.

Michael raised a brow. He had no idea why Maria, or anyone, wanted him around for the holidays. They weren’t his thing in the slightest and he wasn’t exactly the best company either. “Isobel beat you to it,” Michael replied with a smirk. “She bribed me with turkey and beer.” It was really the beer that had convinced Michael, and the fact that he knew Isobel would keep at him until he agreed to come. “Probably better for you anyway.”

“Ah, darn,” Maria chuckled, “And turkey and beer. Yeah that sounds about right. Well, if you need dessert or anything feel free to stop by.” She didn’t want to say ’no one should be alone on Christmas’ because he would probably argue with her that he liked being alone. She didn’t see the holidays as a big deal, it was just about spending time with people you care about and Michael tended to try and be a lone wolf. “Better for me, howso?” Maria was curious what exactly he meant by that.

Michael shrugged. He had no idea why Maria, or anyone would want to spend a holiday with him. “Not much of a holiday person.” Maira already knew that from when she invited him for Thanksgiving. Not to mention the whole drunk fourth of July incident. “Anyway,” Michael went on getting the subject off of him. “Did you want to get dessert?”

Maria wished she could shake him in that moment. “I know, but you seem to be just fine at Thanksgiving. Holidays are just a construct made up by the greeting card and candy companies to make extra money,” Maria pointed out with a laugh. He was getting to hung up on the holiday name of days, “And there’s a nice bakery down the street if you don’t want something here, otherwise I can pick something off the menu.” She was good either way.

“And yet you still celebrate them,” Michael pointed out with a smirk, getting back to his usual joking self. He had already said too much about his issues, more than he would with most people. “We can try the bakery,” Michael said signalling for the check. “If you like it, I’m sure it’s great,” he added his smirk slowly turning into a genuine smile.

“Only because I like the excuse to spend time with people,” Maria countered with a small smile and then his comment about the bakery brought a small amount of heat to her cheeks, “Well, well, someone holds my opinion highly. May have to keep you around to stroke my ego then.” The waitress came with the check and Maria reached to grab her wallet to pay for her portion.

Michael could argue that she didn’t need an excuse to spend time with people but he chose to let the subject drop instead. No need to focus on his issues. He grinned when he noticed the slight tint to her cheeks. “So that’s why you keep me around,” he joked. “I see how it is.”

Michael put down his card for his portion of the check letting the waiter know they were splitting it. Once that was taken care of and they had their cards back he made his way out of the restaurant with Maria in tow. Just as they stepped outside Michael had the sudden urge to kiss her. He tried to resist it, she was Alex’s best friend after all. But he couldn’t. Before he even fully knew what he was doing he was tilting his head down towards hers, his hand moving to the side of her face as his lips collided with hers.

“Exactly, don’t go thinking otherwise,” Maria commented cheekily as they went through the steps of getting everything paid for. It had been nice to get out for a while with Michael and enjoy some good food. She was looking forward to stopping at the bakery and grabbing a few items to bring home. When they stepped out she caught a glance of something green, mistletoe?, out of the corner of her eye. Then suddenly Michael was before her, holding her face, and their lips found each other. The urge to return the kiss was strong and she couldn’t fight it as she pressed her lips back against him. She didn’t even have time to think about how this was an absolutely terrible idea.

When Michael felt her return the kiss, he couldn’t help but deepen it, letting his tongue slip inside her mouth. His free hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her even closer to him. He didn’t want the moment to end. Even after the mistletoe flew away he kept his lips on hers. But eventually the moment ended, he slowly pulled away, dropping his hand from her waist. But the one on the side of her face remained for a moment, brushing a stray hair back behind her ear before letting it drop as well. “So, uh, that bakery?”

The moment their lips broke apart Maria felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head. That action of brushing hair behind her ear felt like an electric shock and she practically jumped away from him. Sure they had kissed eons ago, but now everything was different especially knowing that Alex was definitely in like with Michael. Her eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and shock as she reached up to touch her lips, “Oh god, that shouldn’t have happened. Why did that happen?!” There had to be an explanation for it because she was definitely not in the mood to kiss Michael Guerin of all people when they had gotten out of their booth.

“Gee thanks, DeLuca,” Michael replied sarcastically. He was kind of wondering the same thing. The moment had been nice and all and yeah he might have thought about kissing Maria a few times since she got back. But he wouldn’t do that to Alex. At least he didn’t think he would. Because apparently he had. “Didn’t know I was that repulsive.” He was joking, mostly. What just happened was wrong and all, but her reaction was still a bit extreme.

Her eyes narrowed at him and she waved a hand in front of her, “I refuse to agree or disagree with that comment because that would only make my guilt worse. I’m going to have to tell Alex about this.” Her body felt a little weary at the idea of it, but she knew that Alex had to know about it. She also knew she would be the one to take one for the team, but also because she didn’t completely trust Michael to tell Alex in a timely manner.

“Uh, okay,” Michael said simply. There wasn’t much else to be said about it. There was no point in arguing against it. Maria had every right to tell him if she wanted to. And whatever he and Alex were or weren’t he supposed the guy still had a right to know.

’And we’ll never talk about it again,’ went through Maria’s mind but she didn’t dare say it aloud because it felt kind of mean. She was just going to pretend it didn’t happen as she decided to focus on the bakery because they could at least move on, right? “Bakery is this way.” Now all she could think about was watching out for any weird things that could make someone kiss out of nowhere.

Michael was on board with the never speaking of it again. He didn’t want anything to jeopardize his friendship with Maria, and he knew the kiss had the potential to do just that. So when she brought the bakery back up he couldn’t help but feel relieved. She still wanted to spend time with him and she seemed to have the same idea of moving on like nothing happened. “Well, what are we waiting for?” he asked as he began to make his way towards the bakery with her. This night was turning out a lot different than he expected.