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| The last week of the journey they had both silently agreed not to discuss two subjects. One was about the cabin, it was as if both decided that if they didn�t talk about it then it wasn�t really true. The other was intimacy. After the night Michael and Maria had shared the kiss and Michael had confessed that he loved her. He did everything under his powers to make Maria feel comfortable with him and that what he was offering her was for real and not just passion. But it had hurt terrible that Maria hadn�t said that she loved him back as he had hoped. Michael found himself thinking more and more about Maria. It was getting harder and harder for him to share the sleeping bag with her. Thank God Maria had learned her lesson after the first morning about following him when he took off first thing when they got up. Unfortunately, Michael hadn�t learned not to just head into the tent if Maria wasn�t waiting for him when he got back. This he realized on their last day of their journey before they boarded the ferry to the island. He had been gone for almost half an hour and she wasn�t outside when he came back... FADE IN �Where the Hell is she? She knows better than to wander off by herself.� Michael thought as he looked about the surrounding areas. Without thinking he headed back into the tent to see if she had fallen back to sleep. He almost died when he saw that not only was she up, she was in the process of bringing herself to organism. When he saw what she was doing he tried to get out of the tent as fast as possible. Unfortunately he tripped over one of the spikes and fell, taking several poles with him. This causing the tent to collapse on a very embarrassed Maria. �AHHH!� �Are you ok?� Michael asked as he started to pull Maria out from the rubble. Maria smacked Michael hands away as he started to pull her up onto her feet. �What the Hell were you thinking just walking into the tent like that!� She screamed �I thought you were still asleep. How was I suppose to know you in there getting yourself off!� He shouted back, his defense system kicking into high gear. All the tip toeing around the past week had strained their relationship and Michael had had enough. Maria looked at him in disgust. �Could you be any cruder! God your disgusting! This is the most embarrassing thing to every happen to me. Could things get any worse!� �I don�t believe you! Yeah real embarrassing! I saw you inside the sleeping bag and only could tell what you were up too because you were moaning. Your right that is terrible. Almost as bad as you watching me while I was ass naked and jerking off!� �Oh please, at least I didn�t almost cause you to get a concussion by dropping a tent on you! And by the way you have seen me naked too buddy! Or did you forget your little peep show down by the brook!� �Give it a break will you! I saw a your boobs, big deal! Actually let me rephrase that to your itsy bitsy training bra boobs!� �AHHH, you are the biggest jerk to walk on the face of this earth and probable on your planet too! I can�t believe you, you are the most disgusting, deranged, deplorable and dada� Oh Hell, I can�t think of another bad D word to call you but they all still apply!� Maria huffed as she took off in the direction Michael had just come from. Michael had broken down camp and had already had wash and changed by the time she made it back. Without speaking to him she grabbed her stuff and went down to the stream they had found the night before and got dressed for the day. When she came back Michael had already had their stuff in the car and had started breakfast. He had to bite back a smile when he saw that she was resorting to the silent treatment again. She didn�t say anything as she grabbed the bowl of oatmeal and some canned peaches that he had set aside for her. �I� m not going to be the one to apologize this time.� Michael said to himself as he finished his breakfast and brought his plate and the pan he used to make the oatmeal over to the buckets of water he had gotten to do the dishes while he was getting washed up. Maria watched as Michael stood at the buckets making sure she was paying attention before he dropped his bundle into the one with soap in it. Causing the water to spill over the top. �I cooked, you can clean.� He said as he took off down to the stream with five one- gallon jugs to fetch some water. The car seemed to drink more water than the two of the combined. Not to mention they would were running low on gas as well. Three trips later the gas tank and radiator tanks were full, as well as them having a couple of gallons of emergency water for themselves. By the time Michael was done, she had finished washing and drying their dishes as well as emptied both buckets and had put everything in the back seat. She didn�t say anything as she got into the car. Michael just grunted his annoyance as he got behind the wheel and they took off. Maria had grabbed one of the books they had bought and continued to ignore him. Deciding to show her that the silent treatment wasn�t bothering him, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his one true prize possession, Metallica�s , ��And Justice for All� cassette. He couldn�t help grinning when he saw her jaw clenched as the opening cords for �Blackened� drifted through the speakers. They drove all the way to the ferry and Maria still wasn�t talking to him. After Michael had paid for both them and the car and he driven into the holding area did he finally turned around to talk to her. �Well, I don�t know about you but I�m not sitting in the car. I�ll be above if you want to stop being a spoiled brat and come join me.� He said as he got out of the car and went above to sit out the boat ride. He had been up on deck for around twenty minutes before Maria joined him. Michael looked at her Maria and almost caved on his promised to himself about apologizing first when he saw her because she looked so pale and he could tell that she had been crying too. �Are you ok, you look like your about to lose it.� �I don�t think those canned peaches were any good.� She said as she took the seat next to him. �Oh s-hit, your seasick aren�t you.� Maria looked up at him with an attempt to look indigent but failed miserably when the boat hit a rather large wave causing it to rise and fall quickly. She jumped up and ran towards the restroom. �Screw the argument.� Michael said as he followed her. He knocked softly, but when she didn�t answer him, he looked around making sure no one was watching and unlocked the door using his powers. He stopped when he saw her retching over the commode. Michael knelt down next to her and began to rub her back. �You want me to get you some ginger ale or something?� �No. That�s ok� She said weakly as she reached up and flushed the toilet. She stood and went over to the sink and washed her face and hands. She meekly looked over at Michael and asked for her purse. He watched as she pulled out a small bag with her toothbrush, toothpaste and a small bottle of mouthwash. Funny how they always carried certain things with them since they took off. Maria always had her toilettes on hand, he could see a bar of soap and some shampoo and conditioner also in the bag she had pulled out. He always made sure he had matches, his pocket knife, a travel size atlas, a compass, and the travel size toothbrush container Maria had picked up for him in his jacket pockets. After Maria was done cleaning herself up he helped her back outside and got her settled on a bench and then went in search of ginger ale and saltines. Ten minutes later Michael was sitting on the bench with Maria curled up next to him nibbling on crackers and sipping her soda. He couldn�t help smirking down at her when she burped and quickly mumbled an �excuse me�. When he noticed that she was done, he took the soda and crackers and placed them next to him and patted his thigh to encourage her to try laying down with her head resting on his leg. She groaned but with the way her stomach was acting she decided to take him up on his offer. She scooted over a little, turned and lowered her head onto his leg while she laid on her side, curled up in the fetal position. Michael noticed how she kept her hands clutched over her tummy. �Are you going to be sick again.� He asked as he started to rub her back. �I don�t think so. I would have to get seasick on top of it.� Maria said, moaning softly at how soothing Michael�s caresses were. �On top of what?� �Don�t laugh or freak or what ever you guys do when girls talk about it.� Michael looked down at her in total confusion. �You want to try that again in English.� �I�m due.� He shook his head at her. �Yeah no kidding, we should be there in a few hours, but I still don�t understand what that has to do with anything.� Maria lightly slapped his thigh. �No Michael, I�m due for my monthly visitor. You know my period.� She explained. Michael just looked at her dumbfounded. He knew that she would get it eventually, they had been on the road for three weeks. He had even seen the couple of boxes of tampons she had bought but had chosen to ignore them. He was a strong believer in the �What you don�t know can�t hurt you� theory and chose not to know anything that was going on in that department. But now that it was here and she was in so much pain he felt horrible. He didn�t say anything he just kept on rubbing her back and making soothing sounds in an attempt to make her feel just a little better when it finally hit him like a ton of bricks. �MODE SWINGS!� He shouted a little louder than he intended. �Michael.� Maria hissed looking to see if anyone had heard him. Yup, older couple in their sixties was laughing and looking in their direction. She was going to kill him. �Sorry, didn�t mean to shout it out loud like that. That�s why you were so cranky this morning, I mean more than you should have been because I accidently knocked the tent down on you.� He explained with pride that he had figured it out on his own. Maria didn�t say anything, she had rested her hand on Michael thigh and slowly began to draw invisible circles. Michael knew that this was something Marie did when she was thinking something through, he remembered her drawing circles in the sand that early morning down by the lake. �Michael, what do you know about; well you know, about girl stuff?� �Well if you mean did me and Izzy discuss her getting her, well you know. No, never did. Not exactly something you talk to your sister about.� �How about freshmen health class. I actually remember you made it in there the day they discussed the female anatomy.� Maria said teasingly. Michael snorted at her comment. �Yeah, you have no idea how disappointing I was when they should us those diagrams. Here I was a totally healthy and horny thirteen year old boy all revved up for �actual pictures� and they snick in diagrams. There should be a law against teasing a guy like that.� Maria chuckled. �I guess you were so disappointed that you didn�t pay attention to what they talked about. See a couple of days before a girl gets her period she tend to get a little hormonal charged or as you so delicately put it, horny. This morning I couldn�t take it anymore so while you were gone I decided to satisfied my urges.� Michael still didn�t understand why she freaked out so much. �OK, so big deal. It isn�t exactly a secret what I�m doing every morning when I take off.� �Yeah, well you�re a guy and guys are known for their inability to control their hormones. Look, it�s just that I didn�t know how you would feel about me doing what I was doing when I haven�t even let you kiss me since that night by the car.� �Wait a minute. What the Hell is that suppose to mean. You think that I would be pissed or something because you were masturbating. And just for the record, I haven�t tried to kiss you since that night so you haven�t had to decide whether or not to let me kiss you.� Michael had all he could take, he had to get what had been gnarring at him since that night. �Look, I�m not totally sure why you would think what ever it is your thinking, but I�m not sitting here in judgement of you. I get it that your not ready to be with me, but I also get that your human and that you have needs that you will take care of. I never thought you weren�t sexually driven just because your not ready to give yourself to me. You have to learn to trust me.� He begged gently. Maria was shocked at what he had just said. �Michael, I do trust you. If I didn�t I wouldn�t be here with you. How can you say I don�t trust you.� �Because deep down you don�t, not with your heart that is. I told you that night that I loved you and you never said anything back to me to let me know if you feel the same way.� He said softly. Maria could feel the tears spring to her eyes at the raw hurt in his voice. �Oh Michael, I just, I just don�t know. I do care about you and I know I have feeling for you, but what if they are just because we have been depending on each other for the past few weeks. Maybe when we get settled and start living a somewhat normal life again you won�t feel the same.� �How can you even think that. If that�s how you feel then why were you so upset that night when you said you was afraid you would never be able to give yourself to me. Why would you be thinking about it if you didn�t feel it too.� He asked her, not really sure he wanted to hear the answer. Maria signed and pushed herself up into a sitting position. �Because I wanted to sleep with you that night Michael. I�m attracted to you, I have been since that night in the ally. There you were all gloomy and scary, but I found myself drawn to you anyway. You were so mean and nasty to me at first and I found it sexy in a sick and twisted way. Then this happened and you still have your moments but underneath that tough guy persona is an incredible sweet and gentle man.� Maria shushed him when he tried to say something to her. �No please let me finish. That second night when we made the truce was a turning point for both of us. That night I had told you that I liked it when I woke up in your arms and how good it felt. I don�t know what happened but all of a sudden you were always there offering me comfort, I mean do you know how good you are at hugging and those little kisses on the forehead. Michael are you sure your really in love with me or is it that I freed you of some kind of self prison you put yourself in were you never let anyone in. I mean from the stories you have told, you weren�t ever really shown affection before, just a few hugs from Isabel.� �You think I�m in love with you because I opened up to you and let down my wall and decided not to hide my affection for you. Well, maybe that is part of it. I never hungered for someone to hold me or for me to want to hold someone, but with you it�s was different from the start. I felt like holding you, sleeping with you snuggled up against me is the most natural feeling I have ever had. It was like a piece of me was missing and I found it with you.� This time it was Michael turn to shush Maria when she tried to interrupt him. �You got your turn, this is my turn. Don�t try and tell me that what I feel for you isn�t real. Yes, maybe some of it is because we�re dependant on each other. But not all of it. Maria I CHOOSE to love you. Not just because you happen to be the girl I ended up running with but because your funny, smart and downright devious when you need to be. I love that you think that Wonder Woman was a better superhero than Spider Man because she had wore a crown and had matching bracelets. I love the way you always try to be so lady like and how embarrassed you get when you burp. I love the way think if you give me the silent treatment that you will get your own way, I love the way you jaw clenches when I put Metallica on and there are a million other reason why I love you. Michael took Maria�s hand into his. �If you really are afraid that your feeling for me is just because of the situation where in then I won�t push you. Why don�t we wait and see, like you said maybe once we are settled down then you can decide whether or not what you are feeling for me is real or not. Just know one thing, my feeling are real. They aren�t going to change. If you don�t feel the same way, I�ll accept it and move on. All I asked is that you trust your hart and not to talk yourself out of falling in love with me because your scared.� Maria smiled as she felt the tears flowing down her cheeks. �I promise, I won�t let my fear rule what my hart is telling me. Just give me the time I need to know for sure Michael.� Michael brushed away her tears and slowly mated his forehead to hers. �Always and forever.� Michael promised� FADE OUT TBC |
| Part 9 |
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