FIC: Enigma
Author: Karen OmarsFan1@aol.com
Rating: PG
Paring: Max/Maria
Disclaimer: If I owned even one share of stock in this show, the WB, UPN or
20th Century Fox, Roswell would still be on the air. Alas, I don't own
anything. And I borrowed some dialogue - thank you Melinda Metz :)
Spoilers: A Tale of Two Parties
Muse #12 - Gimme a Party!!!

The deep thump of the drums reverberated in Max's chest and he swore he could
feel his very insides vibrating with the loud music. In immediate reaction,
his body jumped to life, his heart thumping a little harder, his breath
coming a little faster. He was suddenly filled with a nervous excitement,
like something pretty spectacular was waiting just over the crest of the
hill.

Soft fingers between his drew his attention from the bright lights. Beside
him, Maria's eyes were round, her full lips stretched into a smile like he
hadn't seen on her face in months. Just the sight of her utter joy made him
smile in return. And for some reason he was suddenly glad that it was Maria
by his side at this moment and not Liz or Isabel or his best friend Michael.
This was something he wanted to share with HER and with anyone else it just
wouldn't have been the same.

"Thank you so much for this, Max. Really, I should have never doubted you,"
Maria beamed.

"No problem. So you ready?"

She laughed in excitement. "I've been thinking about this my whole life! I
am so ready!"

If it hadn't been so dark around them and if the bright lights before them
hadn't been washing out his coloring, Max was sure Maria would have seen his
cheeks redden. Maybe it was being a teenager and having a girl tell him
she'd been waiting her whole life and she was more than ready. Maybe it was
his teenage mind that had twisted those words into a totally separate
connotation than the one she'd intended. Or perhaps it was because Max had
been ready for this for a long time, too.

"Then let's go," he prompted, giving her fingers a little squeeze and
starting up the hill.

Around them, fireworks exploded, tiny embers of harmless sparks falling down
on them like a pyrotechnic snowstorm. Before them, a mass of people who had
also been clever enough to follow the clues to the secret party were dancing
as one, their bodies a sea of motion. Soon Max and Maria were swallowed into
it.

For a moment, Max felt claustrophobic, like he'd be swept away or trampled
and now the music was so loud that he could hear nothing but the pounding of
the drums and the scream of the guitars. Protector mode kicking into full
action, he released Maria's hand but quickly grabbed her around the waist
before she could be pulled from him by the crowd. This was a mistake - they
were going to get killed in this mess.

But then he saw her face, saw that she was lost in the total abandon of the
moment. She wasn't clinging to him for dear life - she'd thrown her arms
into the air, leaning her body into his, and was moving with the crowd. Max
saw that she wasn't afraid of these people, or the loud noise or the fact
that she could be trampled by a mass of strangers. In fact, he didn't think
Maria was afraid of anything. It stunned him into motionlessness.

After a few moments of joyous writhing, Maria's eyes met his and she also
fell silent. Tentative, she reached out with her fingertips and touched his
face. He couldn't hear her, but he could read her lips - thank you.

Then he smiled and wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her into
an embrace of familiarity rather than of protection. She smiled back and
rested her hands on his shoulders. They stayed like that, dancing together,
happy, until the inevitable death of the old year came and was followed by
the birth of the new.

As a rock version of "Auld Lang Syne" filled the air, guitars whining, they
stopped dancing and stood staring into one another's eyes, then at one
another's lips.

Max was suddenly lost in the thought of kissing her. It no longer mattered
that Michael was still in love with her, even though she'd left him. It no
longer mattered that she was Liz's best friend. All that mattered was that
he wanted to know what it was like to kiss Maria so badly that he ached.

"What the hell. It's New Years."

His eyes popped to hers in surprise. He'd heard those words, but she hadn't
spoken them. He'd heard them in his HEAD. Not even Liz could talk to him
that way.

Maria was still smiling at him and didn't look at all startled by his
surprised expression. Did she know what she'd just done? Or had he robbed
those thoughts from her head?

He didn't have any time to think about it because he soon felt soft lips
against his and suddenly the whole world seemed to be alive. The sounds
around him heightened and he wasn't sure if the vibration in his chest was
the drums, his heart, or perhaps hers. All he knew was that he was filled
with an overwhelming sense of happiness, like he was floating, as he stood
kissing her. He'd never thought about it before, about what it would be like
to kiss Maria. But now he wanted to know everything about it, everything
about her.

They kissed for a long time, the people around them returning to their
dancing long before Max and Maria rejoined them. When they finally parted,
her eyes were round and her mouth was a matching O.

"Wow," she said silently, then touched her lips with her fingers.

Yes, wow, Max thought. Guilt flashed briefly through him, but then the music
once again filled him. He didn't want to leave - he wanted this night to
last forever. But they would have to go back eventually, back to girlfriends
and bitter ex-boyfriends and responsibilities none of them wanted.

So Max decided to give them this night. It would never happen again. He and
Maria would never speak about the details of this party to anyone because
none of them would understand the experience without having been there.
Smiling reassuringly at her, he tightened his arms around her waist and
started to move with the music. She watched him tentatively for a few
seconds, then she threw her head back in what Max could only guess was one of
her wonderful, full laughs.

She understood. Tonight was theirs.

The End