Human Tendencies

by Kat

Author's Note: YEEEAHHH!!! I love the way M&M ended off during last night's episode. I'm still giddy from it! LOL :P
Inspiration: Surprise! Not from a song this time, but when Maria said to Michael, "Like human?"
Spoiler: After The Toy House.
Summary: Maria realizes Michael has human tendencies after all.
Disclaimer: "Dialogue between M&M from the show I got off the close captioning from my tv. Characters are not mine la da da . . . although if Michael's offering :P"




Maria: What, uh...what other human urges do you feel?
Michael: Not if you're the last woman on Earth.

Michael: I don't suppose we could share?
Maria: Not if you were the last alien on Earth.
Taken from "285 South"


"Today I will commit one random act of senseless kindness . . . Will you?" The sign on the wall said.

"I can definently put a check mark next to that on," Michael thought. It fit perfectly into what he did for Maria. Maria . . . He felt an uneasy tingle in his stomach that pursued every thought he had of her followed by waves of desire and annoyance that he could let someone get such a reaction out of him. The mixture of these feelings were something he had to sort out soon.

Michael couldn't believe how hard he worked in making that napkin holder for Maria. He never did anything for anyone.

"No wait, Michael that's not the reason why you did it. It was to repay Maria for saving his life." Yeah, that sounded better to his ears. "Then why are you waiting for her to come out of shop class?" A tiny voice within nagged him.

"To see if his efforts on the napkin holder paid off." He vindicated to himself.

Right . . .

Michael glanced at the sign again. Since when did the school put up fruity sayings like this on the wall?

Then he saw a small, pixie figure come out the door of the shop class. He pushed his way past the crush of students to see Maria before she walked off. She was wearing a snug chocolate skirt and sweater ensemble.

"Hey," Michael yelled across the hall.

"Hey," Maria greeted him as he fell in step beside her. Maria felt an electric current on her skin everytime Michael's arm brushed against hers.

"So you got your final assignment evaluated?" Michael asked her. He noticed that Maria smelled faintly of wood and the candy scent of Juba.

"Yeah."

"How'd you do?"

"I flunked as predicted," Maria said matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"Why has Michael been hanging all over me lately?" Maria thought to herself. And it wasn't to annoy her with that teasing half smile of his. Michael seemed to be genuinely interested in being nice to her. Actually she did kinda, sorta like it when he smirked at her in that way, but that was beside the point.

"So that's how you can get Guerin. Give him the cold shoulder and he'll come a running to ya," Maria thought wryly.

"Yeah, I guess I can, uh, safely rule out any career paths involving wood."

"Did you get my thing?"

"Yeah, I got it."

"Well, that's ridiculous. I worked my ass off on that thing. It was beautifully crafted. It was spring activated to secure the napkins. It redefined the term napkin holder!"

Maria could see Michael's lips twitch. She had to bite back a laugh. He looked so gorgeous standing there in his dark brown leather jacket and James Dean jeans. Standing there ready to punch a hole in the wall.

"He took the time and effort to make something for you," Maria thought. Michael may not realize it, but his actions seemed to be contradicting his words lately. One minute he was adamant about the way he couldn't get attached and then five minutes later he was helping her on some stupid project. "Final project," she corrected herself.

Maria could point that out to him, but that little observation should be saved up for when she really wanted to throw something back at him.

"Yeah, I know it did," Maria assured Michael.

"Well, how could he had flunked you? I mean . . . wh--" he stuttered.

"Because I um . . "

Should she tell him she kept it. No, guy ever did such a sweet thing for her.

"I--I didn't use yours. I kept it."

Michael couldn't believe what Maria had just said. It was more surprising than if she flunked the class with using his work.

"Thank you."

And Maria said those two simple words and it melted Michael's cynical alien heart into a puddle on the dirty linoleum floor. Maria looked more beautiful to Michael at that moment than anything he'd ever known. Her light eyes looked up at him waiting for Michael to say something back.

Michael's thoughts suddenly were frozen in panic. He didn't know what to say to her. Couldn't think. Couldn't breath. His mouth hung open as if he could catch the words he needed to say.

The expectant look Maria gave Michael was a carbon copy of the one she aimed at him that night in the Soap Factory.

"I'm alone and that's the way it's gotta be. Maybe we never should've started this." Michael could barely say those words to Maria as he spoke. If only she knew how much he was trembling inside. Maria's eyes were filled with hurt as she said . . .

"I'm going to go outside and get some air."

Maria's eyes now though weren't filled with hurt and anger. Michael could deal with that look. He carried it around him like a heavy pendant on his heart. What he couldn't deal with was the look of sadness and disappointment in her eyes. Without a word Maria walked away.

He had to tell her how much he was making him feel for her before she was gone from him again.

"I have something to say to you!"

Maria slowly turned around.

"What are you crazy Guerin! You can't tell her how you feel. You can't even explain it to yourself! Why did she have to make everything so confusing for him.

"If anything like that ever happens to me again. Like when I get sick, don't help me. I can't be indebted to anyone and I can't get entangled. I got to be a stone wall. And when I am around you sometimes I don't feel like a stone wall anymore."

Michael inwardly rolled his eyes. "Oh shit. I'm turning into the saps I used to crack on. That had to be the dorkiest thing you have ever said in your life."

But Maria seemed as touched by this as Michael had been by her simple thank you.

"Did Michael just say what I think he just said?" Maria thought. It was almost too good to be true.

"Well, what do you feel like?" She held her breath in anticipation.

"I don't know. Like confused." Michael looked confused just saying it.

"Like human?" Maria took a shot in the dark.

Michael was momentarily taken aback by what Maria had just said because it cut right to the heart of this mess of new emotions he was feeling. He looked down frowning at this side of himself for being so vulnerable towards her. He didn't know where all of this was coming from, yet he said the words to Maria. Not straight out. He was never very good with saying things like that out loud.

Maria slowly let a smile spill from her lips with a beautiful glow emanating from her face as she went up to him and laid her palm to his heart. She looked up at his face that tried so hard to control the range of emotions he felt. But Maria knew Michael was an emotional being and he couldn't control how he felt anymore than she could keep her mouth quiet.

"So what other human urges do you feel?" She felt her voice purr in a sultry tone.

Maria suddenly felt something in Michael's pants become very happy at her touch.

"Not if you were the last human on earth," he answered with a smirk.

"Well, that's not what you're little friend is telling me right now. I don't believe you," Maria cut back letting her fingertips brush back and forth against his chest as her palm lay still over Michael's rapidly beating heart. She looked down at the space between them and smiled.

"So, I guess aliens have a tendency to be human after all."

Feedback is the air my imagination breaths so please be gentle with it. Kat



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