She had seriously procrastinated this year. She had gotten a gift for her mother, Isabel, and Liz, but the guys in her life were harder to buy for. Alex was the easiest of the three. She glanced down at her bag from Sam Goody's. He would absolutely love the new Eve 6 cd that she had gotten him. One down...two to go.

Max...well, he would be happy with anything. She was pretty sure that she would end up getting him that book on constellations that he had hinted at wanting. He had been sadly obvious.

That just left one more gift. She blushed as she peeked into her bulky bag from Spencer's. Maria had been sure she would die on the spot if anyone she knew had actually seen her buying the furry handcuffs and edible underwear. Those were most definitely for Michael, but she was pretty sure that it might be a while before they could use them. Especially since he was only talking to her on the basis of necessity. Still...a girl could hope.

Talking or not, she was still his friend. He would never expect her to buy him something but since when was shocking him a bad thing?

Maria had been over and over it in her mind. What was the perfect gift for Michael? He had every Metallica cd known to man and any other cds would just be buried under the pile of his acid rock collection.

He would appreciate a book, but somehow, that didn't seem right. She was heading into the hoard of shoppers to look at clothes. It was a practical gift and she knew he could use new clothes.

If nothing else...maybe she could broaden his color scheme. As of now, it was still down to black and...black. Occasionally he threw in white just for kicks. Maybe she would get him a nice maroon sweater to bring out his chocolate eyes or a blue to accent his natural blond highlights. She knew it had to be something warm. It seemed that no matter how cold it got, the boy would still sport a t-shirt.

As she rounded the corner, stopping briefly to examine a pair of leather boots that would be perfect with her new skirt. She examined the price tag. She sighed and put the boot back on its pedestal. For some reason, the name that was sewn into the inside was worth two-hundred dollars. She just didn't see a good way to justify that to her mother.

Maria felt warmth on the back of her neck. She didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.

"Michael..." she said, desperately trying to keep her voice steady.

"Maria..." he replied, letting the name hang as she had his.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had some unnatural fear of the mall." Maria turned to face him.

He smirked at her. "Well...I do. Izzy however, has this insane notion that she and Max and I should spend time together, as if we don't see each other every damn day already."

"That still doesn't explain why you are here." she really didn't care WHY he was there. She cared more that he was talking to her for the first time in several weeks.

"Well, our togetherness seems to hinge on her plans. Today she is doing her Christmas shopping and Max and I came along for the ride. Well...actually dragged kicking and screaming would be more accurate."

Maria laughed at the grimace on his face.

Michael's entire body seemed to react to her musical laughter. He realized just how long it had been since he heard her laugh last. It had been too long. "So...what are you doing here?"

She smiled and held up her shopping bags. "Going into debt?" she giggled. She giggled! Jeez...could she sound any more simple-minded. Right now she could do nothing but laugh and giggle and she realized that she was literally bouncing on her toes. Maria flipped her hair back over her shoulders and groaned inwardly at the action.

Michael watched the ball of energy in front of him. She was bouncing as if she was ready to sprint. He scoffed. She probably was keen on running...straight the hell away from him. And who could blame her? He wasn't exactly acting like a boyfriend or a friend for that matter.

"So -," they both started at the same time. They laughed uneasily, each of them not sure what to say next.

"Um...so, are you going to the Christmas party next week?" Michael asked breaking the small silence that had fallen over them.

"The one at the Crashdown? Yeah. Liz and I have a deal this year. I'm gonna go to her family's party and she calls me on Christmas day with some ‘emergency' so I can get out of the annual Deluca family get together. Works out well, I think. Especially since I was gonna go to the party anyway. I'd never miss Mr. Parkers famous eggnog." She giggled again. She realized she was talking a mile a minute as it was her nervous habit.

Great - She was giggling, flipping her hair, bouncing and talking fast! She must seem like a cheerleader on speed. "So...are you going?" She looked down, suddenly taking an interest in her chipped nail polish.

"Yeah. Actually I am." He smiled when Maria's head snapped up. "Don't look so surprised. I want to try that eggnog." She looked at him oddly, doubt in her eyes. He chuckled and held up his hands. "Okay, okay - you got me. Mr. Parker threatened to keep my check until after Christmas if I don't go."

Maria laughed at that and Michael felt a tightening in his stomach. There was something about that laugh that reminded him of the twinkling of stars and tinkling of bells. He had to get out of there now, before he did something stupid.

"Well - I guess I'm going to go save Max. I'm sure Iz has him carting her packages around and going into girly stores or something." Maria nodded at him. He thought she looked somewhat disappointed. "I'll, um, see you at the party I guess.

Maria smiled and nodded. "Okay. Bye." She said as he spun around and walked away from her. She was so flustered that she didn't even notice someone was behind her. She ran smack into a very embarrassed Tess. "Tess! What are you...?" She let the question hang.

"Um...I just happened to see you standing here. I, uh...thought maybe you could help me with something." Maria had never seen the girl look so strained.

She nodded, hoping that she wouldn't regret consenting. "Sure...what is it?"

"I, well - I've never done this...Christmas thing. I was just, ya know...I wanted to get K-Kyle something but I don't know what."

Maria felt a smile tugging at her lips. "Well, I don't know much of what Kyle likes other than sports and stuff. You can always go for the safe bet like me and get him a shirt."

"Oh, is that what you are getting Michael?"

Maria blushed. "Yeah."

"Thank goodness! Maybe get him a color for once, would you? Its so hard to take him seriously when he looks like he is in a perpetual state of mourning." The girls laughed. "So...would you mind helping me pick one out?"

Maria realized just how hard this must be for Tess. They had talked some over the summer but they weren't exactly best friends. Still, it was a major step for Tess to ask for help. Outside of the other three aliens, she was much like Michael - a lone soldier. "Sure - if you'll help me pick out Michael's." Tess nodded, glad to have a trade-off for the favor.

They made their way over to the men's clothing. Maria, in her usual thrifty way, went straight to the sales rack. "Tess, I think its time you learned the advantage of half-off sales. Normally...this shirt would be a pointless Christmas gift. It has short sleeves which isn't exactly great for winter. But it IS Calvin Klein so...you go over here and pick up a generic long sleeve shirt that can go underneath it and, viola...you have a name brand gift that can be worn all year round!"

Tess laughed. "Perfect! Especially since I'm a little tight on money right now. This green will look great on him. Thank you Maria. "

"No problem. So that takes care of your's. Now for the challenge."

Tess looked at the racks around her. "I'll go look at the other side of the store. I saw some interesting shirts at the display by the door."

"Okay. I'm gonna see if they have anymore of those sweaters over here." She waved Tess off and began to pick through the piles of cable-knit sweaters.

Suddenly she heard a hiss. She looked all around her but didn't see anyone. Then she heard it again. This time she noticed a shadow just inside the dressing room. "Who's there?"

Maria was obviously completely out of her mind but she let her curiosity override her good sense. She inched toward the entrance and was suddenly grabbed and pulled inside. Before she could scream, a hand clamped over her mouth and she was shoved into an empty stall.

A warm body pressed up against her back and suddenly she didn't need to know who it was. She already knew. Every cell in her body and every inch of her skin, knew the person behind her.

"Michael...what...?" She murmured breathlessly, suddenly aroused by the feel of his hard cock pressing into her backside. She leaned into him and he pulled his hand away from her mouth. It didn't go far though. The same hand was placed possessively over her right breast only moments later. She sighed and closed her eyes.

He bent his head placing soft kisses along her shoulder, through her thin silk blouse. Maria didn't know why but she moved so that he could have full access to her neck. Actually she did know why. This was Michael and that was good enough reason for her. Restraint just seemed to go out the window when he was around.

He moved up to her ear and nipped at it with his teeth. A small smile touched her face as she remembered the last time he had done that. It seemed like years ago, when in reality, it had been mere months. Before the skins came, before Courtney, before destiny.

Michael felt her sobs before they could escape her lips and spun her around to face him. He looked wildly at her, his eyes asked the questions for him. She just shook her head and collapsed against him.

Michael understood then. All that had happened and all that had never been fulfilled was suddenly swimming through her mind, bringing on emotions that she had somehow managed to bury.

He felt like the biggest bastard on earth. Earth and probably the galaxy. This galaxy AND his own. This was dumb. He was torturing both of them just because he was a coward. He came to a decision right there in the middle of the dressing room in stall number four.

He held her face in between his hands, reveling in the feel of her silky smooth skin against his rough calloused hands. He forced her to look up at him. The tears where streaming down her face, but she had lost the sobs that just seconds before had wracked her body.

"Maria..." he whispered. It was all he could get out before his mouth reached hers and he began assaulting her lips over and over. His tongue ran along her bottom lip, urging her to open for it.

She complied and her mouth was filled with the sweet and spicy taste that she remembered so well. It was his taste and when his tongue backed out of her mouth, she slid her tongue into his mouth wanting to taste more of him.

They were clinging to one another now, unwilling to move or break apart. His hands moved from were they cupped her face. One traveled to her back and the other continued its journey and stopped to cup her ass. He pressed her to him and she moaned softly at the feel of him, hot and hard, pressing into her. Maria didn't know it was possible to get so wet, so fast.

"I want..." Michael began in a hushed whisper.

Maria looked into his dark eyes. They had gotten even darker and his pupils were almost completely dilated. "Yes?" she whispered back, leaning in to place tiny kisses along his jaw.

"You...I want you." He finished. He smiled tentatively, hoping that she wouldn't turn him away. To his surprise and horror, she began to laugh. He pulled away and turned. Maria sobered quickly at his action.

"No!" She cried. They both winced at the loudness of her voice. "No!" she continued in a whisper. "I didn't mean to laugh. Its just...well you're stupid!"

She reached out and trailed a finger down his arm. Her hand clutched his and she squeezed his fingers in a gesture of understanding and reassurance. "You want me...but, Michael...you've always had me."

He looked at her blankly for a moment. Slowly the light came back to his eyes and Maria found herself crushed in a tight embrace. He pulled back to look into her eyes. It seemed as though he was looking for something within their depths. She smiled slightly and it seemed as though they were in silent agreement.

His fingers tangled in her hair as his mouth moved to cover hers. The kiss was soft but firm and Maria went limp with the sensation. Her limbs instantly turned to jelly. He held her firmly against him so she wouldn't fall.

Michael glanced around them and located a stool that sat in the corner of the dressing room, right beside the full length mirror. He broke the kiss only long enough to sit down and drag her onto his lap. Somehow his pants had gotten unbuttoned and unzipped. He wasn't sure if it had been Maria or himself that had made that move, but he didn't really care.

He continued his assault on her mouth as he began to unbutton her top. His fingers just couldn't work fast enough for either of them and Maria somehow managed to squeeze the small top over her head, ripping the neckline in the process. She then began work on ridding him of his shirt. The black t-shirt was pulled off quickly and she tossed it aside.

His head ducked down and he took a hardened nipple into his mouth. He could hear her breath catch as he bit her gently and continued to suckle. Her small hands were kneading his shoulders in an effort to keep from crying out.

All at once they looked at one another and a change came over them. It was completely carnal and timeless and made their insides boil with a heat that made them both weak with desire.

Maria moved to straddle his hips. The short skirt held no barrier but the lace web of her black thong did. Thinking on his feat had never been Michael's strong point. Luckily it was Maria's. As he prepared to rip the fabric from her body, she moved his hand aside and pulled the material to one side. She caught his eye and they shared a brief smile.

He looked at her questioningly and Maria gave a small nod. Michael's hands went to her hips and he pulled down gently, impaling her with his shaft. She buried her head in his neck and clawed at his arm willing herself not to cry out.

Michael entire body went tense, worried that he had hurt her. The pain was fading fast and Maria wanted nothing more than to feel the movement she knew should be there. She kissed his neck, where her head was still resting, urging him onward.

Michael took the hint and began moving slowly within her. He prompted her, his hands still gripping her hips, and she began to move as well. The gentle rocking motion of her hips was so rhythmic and natural that Maria wondered how she had lived without the feeling.

Sensing Maria's need to control her first time, Michael encircled her with his arms, holding her in a loose embrace and giving her room to do as she wanted.

She was moving on him and he bit the inside of his jaw, trying desperately to hold back the words that wanted to spill from his lips.

The cloth that rested against his shaft was scraping along the side of it and he hissed at the awesome sensation that the friction caused.

Some woman's intuition guided her as she pulled up to the very tip of his cock and then sank back down, taking all of him in once more. It was the sweetest feeling either of them had ever felt.

Somehow, though, Michael knew that what felt so right about this was that it wasn't sex. It wasn't love. It was a coupling of two hearts, two minds, two souls...all in two bodies. It wasn't love because making love implied that there was someone else to make love to. But there was no one else. There was only MichaelandMaria, one being, and no one else.

Maria's movements were getting hurried and their breath began a competition to see who's was faster, harder, and hotter against the other's skin.

Michael could no longer take the lack of control as he felt her begin to slow, weakened with effort and restraint. His hands moved beneath her thighs and he stood, lifting her with him.

Her legs automatically snaked around him in an effort to keep him inside of her . Maria felt something cold on her bare back and her nipples once again distended at the icy feeling.

She sucked in a breath and looked to see what she was against. Michael had backed her onto the mirror. She felt somewhat aroused - well more than she already was - by seeing their reflection behind her.

He was moving inside of her again and her head began to loll with the feel of him. She began to feel a tremor of some sort running through her body. She had felt it before, against Michael's fingers when they had been dating. But, somehow, this was different.

Her arms were wrapped around his neck and she pulled him to her. Their lips met and his thrusts became harder and faster and deeper until Maria thought she would explode.

She looked into Michael's eyes as they kissed. She could see that he was getting close. His pupils were completely black and his brow wrinkled with concentration and concern. Suddenly she could no longer see anything but stars. Small star bursts. Nothing existed but the feel of Michael's skin under her breasts and her fingers. Michael inside of her.

The spasms came over her quickly and she didn't even bother to hide that moan of shear pleasure and contentment. Her head fell back against the mirror and Michael took advantage of her exposed neck, kissing it as he felt his own orgasm approaching.

Maria felt his hot seed spill into her and she felt burned by it. As if he had marked her inside and out.

She was his and only his now. She bit her lip and sighed as he collapsed against her. Her fingers buried in his soft hair, reveling at the feeling that rolled through her belly and made her heart soar.

Slowly he withdrew from her and she let her legs slide down him to the floor. He still had to support her, as she couldn't do it herself just yet. His knuckles slid along her cheek and he kissed her forehead. "I love you." He whispered into her hair.

"I love you too, Michael." She said against his chest.

When she could finally stand on her own, she pulled her arms away from him. Her eyes grew big and round at the sight of blood on her fingers. Michael's did too. She spun him around and her mouth dropped at the sight of his back. Claw marks puckered the skin just below his shoulders and a slow smile graced her features.

"Sorry." she whispered. She wasn't in the least though. Just as he marked her internally...she obviously felt the need to make her mark known to him and the world.

He shook his head as he looked at the marks in the mirror. Something else caught his attention and he forgot about the ugly red lines on his back and the blood that now trickled down his spine. There was an outline of her body on the mirror. It was better than any art he had ever seen in his life. He traced the outline with his index finger and she smiled at the gesture.

Maria slid her shirt back on and handed him his. He laughed softly at the giant rip that ran from the neck of the shirt, to her right breast. "You could fix it instead of laughing. You did it." She reminded him. He put a finger to the tear and moved along the jagged edges, mending them in seconds.

He stared into her eyes and she stared back, completely open to one another. They could have no more secrets. She broke the gaze as she picked up her sacks that sat at her feet. One of the bags fell and she cursed. He bent down before she could and chanced a peek at what was inside.

Maria watched as his face flushed. He tried to move his mouth but no sound seemed to emerge. "Um...I - it's a gag gift for Liz!" she stammered realizing just which sack he had gotten.

Michael nodded and handed her the bag. He turned to step out of the dressing room but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back and kissed him one last time. "I know you Michael Guerin. If you think this is the end, you are sadly mistaken." She said against his moist lips.

"I don't-," He never got to finish his thought.

"Maria!" Tess called out. Maria looked at Michael, who was fighting laughter. She hit his shoulder and he gritted his teeth as she made contact with one of the marks her nails had left. She looked at him apologetically and stifled a giggle.

Maria walked out a moment later, trying her best to look normal. Well, normal for her anyway. She walked up behind Tess and tapped the girl on the shoulder. Tess jumped and cried out at the unexpected contact. "Did you find anything?" Maria asked her.

Tess actually blushed. "Um...not really. I sort of got side-tracked. I found this great...dress! And I just HAD to try it on! It r-,"

"Hi, ladies!" Kyle Valenti fairly yelled. Something told Maria that Kyle and Tess weren't too surprised to see one another. She'd play along for now.

"Hi Kyle...what's UP?" Maria tried not to smile when she saw Kyle's face drain of all color.

"Uh...not much. I just came -," She cut him off as she went into a fit of hysterics.

Kyle rolled his eyes and Tess was looking anywhere but at the two humans beside her. "Yeah, so Tess...why don't you take off with Kyle! I think I can handle picking out one sweater! But thanks for trying." Maria said, actually managing not to crack a smile as she said it.

Tess smiled gratefully and waved as she and Kyle walked away their pinky fingers latched together. Maria began to chuckle to herself when she was finally alone. Who were they kidding?

"So...when do we exchange gifts Deluca?" She felt Michael's hot breath next to her next. He enveloped her from behind.

"How about Christmas Eve?" She continued to sift through the sweaters, trying to look nonchalant. As if she had an alien attached to her back every day.

"Too far away. How about tonight? My apartment?"

"Maybe." She smiled, still not looking up at him.

"Maybe? Hmm...I guess I'm gonna have to go get you a gift now."

"I think that would be a good idea."

"Yeah? Well...I think maybe we should make it gag gifts. I mean...I've seen what YOU pick out so..." He laughed and she turned and hit his stomach with the back of her hand.

"Don't you have to go find Isabel and Max or something?" She asked in mock anger.

"Yeah I do actually. I'm glad I bumped into you though." He smiled and reached out to squeeze her hand. "See you tonight." He said and jogged off in the direction of the mall entrance.

"You better believe it pally!" She whispered to his retreating figure. This was going to be a good Christmas after all.

She picked up her bags and headed for the exit. Then she made a u-ie towards the mall. If he wanted a gag gift...she would get him one. The cuffs and undies...they would be for later. Tonight would be his. She giggled with excitement as she turned into the leather store.