#i'm ngl i hate his house so i was going to rebuild it anyway but it didn't have to happen this way

[fingertipsmp3]

I love TS2 but it has some really stupid mechanics built into it

[bestillmyslashyheart]

Jdjfkf ok so prompt: Maria POV on Michael with some good old Michael angst? Theres not enough michael/Maria friendship, and I'm always a slut for Michael angst (like Maria realizing he Loves alex and thinks alec doesnt feel the same or like, her realizing how he hurt his hand, or her finding out about him being an alien, something like that idek I'm not picky) u dont have to but if ur looking for prompts then,, ANYWAY whether u do or not, ILU AND UR WRITING SO MUCH, fave author in fandom ngl!!

She was almost surprised when Guerin came back later that night. It was Friday so it was busy but she caught his hat out of the corner of her eye when he approached the bar. Todd, one of her bartenders, stepped over to help him but she called him off. With a jerk of her head she sent Todd over to help Hank while she moved in front of Guerin.

He looked away from her for a moment before ordering. “Just a beer, please.”

“A please, huh? Who knew you had manners?” She meant for it to come out friendly, for them to get back to the meaningless flirting they excelled at but it came out bitter and she winced as he flinched. “Guerin, I didn’t-”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he brushed her off. “Just the beer.” He dug in his pocket for some cash and dropped it on the table in front of her when she handed him the bottle. He tipped it towards her in thanks before fleeing to a remote corner. 

Maria had never seen him nurse a single bottle so long but it was an hour at least before she saw him with another drink in his hand. And that was only after she stepped away to take care of something in the back. He must have waited until she was gone to get something from Todd, she thought as she looked over at him. He was hunched in his seat, his usual cocky swagger absent for the evening. 

A quick glance around the bar showed her that it was slow enough that she didn’t need two people bartending so she gave Todd a quick word and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

“Mind if I join you?” She asked rhetorically as she settled in across from Guerin. 

He waved a hand at the seat she was in. “It’s your bar, DeLuca. Sit wherever you like.” Guerin drained his glass and stood up.

Maria shot out a hand and grabbed his wrist before he could leave. “Sit, please. Bottle’s on the house if you want to help me with it?” She offered.

Guerin eyed her, wary, but he sat down and let her pour him a drink. They drank the first one in silence.

“So,” Maria started as she poured them another round. “We have both made mistakes recently.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Guerin’s eyes were trained on the floor as his shoulders hunched over. “Big mistake, never to be repeated. No need to tell me yet again.”

Maria’s heart broke a little to see him so curled in on himself. She wasn’t used to vulnerable-Guerin, just the cocky cowboy swagger. “Discounting the drunken sex in the desert that we both know was a mistake, you should have told me about Alex, and I should have handled it all better.” Guerin looked up at her, his brow furrowed in confusion. “You and I are kind of friends. Not close by any stretch of the imagination, no, but we get along. You were there for me when I needed a shoulder and I really appreciated it. I shouldn’t have thrown you out like that earlier. I’m sorry.”

Guerin swallowed the last of his drink and held it out for a refill. “I’m sorry, too. I know you and Alex are close. But I really didn’t think he’d care.”

Maria scoffed. “Are you serious? Alex wouldn’t care that the love of his life hooked up with his best friend?”

Guerin let out a harsh laugh. “Love of his life? What world are you living in? Alex doesn’t want anything to do with me. He might have loved me once but not anymore.” He played with his glass. “That morning, I tried to talk to him, about us or whatever, and he just completely blew me off. Acted like we had nothing and that it was dead and over.” He took a large sip. “So no, I didn’t think he would care.”

Maria stared at him in surprise. It’s true that she and Alex didn’t exactly talk out the specifics of his relationship with Guerin earlier but she knew what she felt from him and it was completely at odds with what Guerin was saying now.

She played with her own glass as she considered how involved she wanted to be. “This isn’t my place and you can tell me to butt out,” she started. “And Alex has told me practically nothing. In fact, I sort of figured it out by accident that you two were a thing, but I do know one thing. Alex loves you a hell of a lot. Back in high school, he told me about this guy he kissed at the museum and how this guy just totally rocked his world in the best possible way. Alex would even say that he’d stay in Roswell for him because he was the only think he liked about this town. And,” she rubbed her chest, “I could feel him, you know? He was hopeful. About life and love and everything, I guess. It was the only time I’d ever felt that from him. But since he’s been back, I’ve started to feel it again. He smiles more. And it has to do with you. So whatever he’s saying? I can tell you it’s not what he’s feeling.”

Guerin stared at her, his mouth hanging open. Abruptly, he closed it and clenched his jaw. “Yeah, well. The feelings never been the problem with us. He may love me but he doesn’t want to be with me. He’d rather walk away again and again.” He threw back the rest of his glass and Maria decided that they were done talking.

“Alright,” she agreed easily. She finished her own glass and slammed it down on the table. “I bet you your tab I kick your ass at pool.”

Guerin looked between her and the table and back before nodding. “Done.”

The next few weeks passed in much the same fashion. Somehow that first night had been all that was necessary to push past the awkwardness between them and they were back to being almost friends. A couple of times a week, Guerin would spend the night in her bar and she’d make time to chat with him or get roped into a game of pool or darts or, on one memorable occasion, a poker game at which Guerin was cheating shamelessly. It was surprisingly easy. 

She did notice that as the days went by, Guerin spent more than a few nights with his head hung low as he slung back too many drinks. There was something going on with him, something major that was weighing on him, but they weren’t at the point where he confided something like that in her - not that she wouldn’t be there for him, just that he was surprisingly close lipped and Maria hadn’t quite cracked that inner sanctum yet. 

She did note, with no small amount of smugness, that his sour mood was starting to lighten considerably. Not to get too self involved, but she imagined that it had something to do with Alex. While she’d been building an easy friendship with Guerin, she’d been trying to rebuild an old one with Alex. It wasn’t so much that her romp with Guerin had messed them up, it was more that that tiny fracture revealed the cracks that a decade of near radio silence had allowed to grow between them. They didn’t know each other anymore but they were working on it. 

One of the things she tried to get him to talk about was Guerin - both then and now. And it looked like she was finally getting through his thick skull, she thought with a smile as Guerin walked in with Alex close behind. They headed for the bar together but Alex veered off to claim a pool table when one cleared up as they passed by. Maria noticed the light touch he gave Guerin as he stepped away and she definitely noticed the bright smile on Guerin’s face as he stepped up to the bar and tipped his hat at her. It wasn’t a smile she’d ever seen before - it was similar to the cocky grin he liked to bestow upon his catch of the night but it was softer, more real. It was only now that she realized his usual smile had nothing behind, it was just a veneer. Not like this one, though. This was genuine. And if she had any doubts, the wave of happiness and joy that bowled her over would have given him away.

“Usuals?” She asked as he leaned across the bar at her. He nodded but didn’t say anything. “How’d you get him to come out?” She jerked her head at Alex as she slid the drinks to Guerin. “He hates coming in here on weeknights.”

The grin morphed from giddy to dirty in a heartbeat and Maria rolled her eyes and pushed the drinks even closer. “Forget it, I don’t want to know. Go be happy and in love over there,” she teased fondly.

“Yes, ma’am.” He tipped his hat at her again as he picked up the drinks and she snapped her towel at him, the grin never leaving her face.