Part 8

Liz smiled softly to herself, casting a glow into her expression that lit up her entire face, as she headed back across campus to the MUNI station. It was only lunchtime, but her classes were through for the day, so she was free to head home and spend the afternoon with the love of her life.

Chuckling softly to herself, Liz knew that she looked absolutely ridiculously happy to everyone who saw her, but she didn’t care. Liz Parker was in love with Max Evans. That’s all that mattered.

The little things in like that normally irked her seemed small and unimportant today, like the fact that she missed the light to cross the street to the station and had to wait an extra five minutes…or the guy on the train who was mumbling along with the music on his Walkman. When a man leered at her from across the car, Liz didn’t even bother to glare back. Instead she gave him a smug look, thinking: "Too bad for you, buddy, ‘cause I’m taken by the most incredible guy in the universe."

Making her way through the crowded streets near her apartment, Liz felt the sun shining down on her face. She lifted her face to the sky and basked in the feeling of the light cascading over her. Was it this bright and warm a week ago? Since Max came back, it seemed like her whole world was a different place, exuberant and full of life in a way that it had never been before.

Arriving at her building, Liz skipped up the stairs to her apartment, quickly sliding her key in the lock and fumbling to let herself in.

"Max?" She called out the moment the door opened. "Are you here?"

Asking was just a natural reaction for Liz. She knew he was there…she could feel his presence. Ever since they reunited, even before finding each other again…since he first set foot in San Francisco, it seemed like their connection had picked right up where it left off…surging to the surface so powerfully that it seemed as if they had never been apart. It was incredibly comforting for her. Max’s presence felt warm, safe, and inviting…like coming home.

Sucking in her breath as he emerged from the bedroom, Liz was amazed to see the depth of the emotion shining in Max’s eyes. They shined brightly with unshed tears, locking with her own eyes, as they screamed the love that was pouring out of Max’s heart…and something else too. There was an insecurity that hadn’t been there this morning, a fear that had bubbled to the surface. Max needed her.

"Hey." She greeted him softly as she immediately lost herself deep in his eyes. The emotion in his eyes was so intense that Liz found herself at a loss, uncertain what to say or do…there were so many different emotions hidden there, that most people wouldn’t see, but Liz recognized each one clearly: pain, heartache, sadness, anger, joy. Above all, the emotion that captured Liz’s attention the most was the pure, raw, unending love that exploded from Max’s eyes straight into Liz’s heart.

Slowly, Max made his way across the room to her, never once unlocking his gaze from hers. As he stood before her, Liz felt the whole world fade away around her…nothing else existed except her and Max. Nothing else mattered except her and Max. He overwhelmed all of her senses, captured all of her emotions.

He was her everything.

Liz shivered slightly in anticipation as Max made his move, reaching up and cupping her face in his hands in a manner reminiscent of the first time he ever connected their minds. As Liz stared deeply into Max’s eyes, her mind flew back to that day, remembering exactly how she felt as he let her in for the very first time. Liz knew, without a doubt, that was the day that she fell in love with Max. She had been a goner from that moment on.

Max’s thumb gently slid over Liz’s cheek in a soft, loving caress, as he slowly slid his lips over hers. Slowly Max drank in Liz’s kiss, wanting to savor every sensation as he poured his love into her through their connected embrace.

The electricity between them was almost magnetic, pulling them closer and closer together as they kissed. Max clung to Liz desperately, needing to be as close to her as humanly possible.

Their lips remained locked as long as possible, until they pulled apart gasping for air. Still unable to separate from her, Max rested his forehead against Liz’s, closing his eyes and drinking in her scent.

He hadn’t planned on mauling her like that the moment she walked through the door, but as he had read himself further and further into the withdrawal Liz had suffered through her first year of college, Max had begun to loose control. The guilt of causing so much pain in Liz’s life had begun to overwhelm him…and then she had come home, and he just desperately needed to show her how much he loved her.

"Wow…" Liz breathed, as she reached her little fingers around the back of Max’s neck and began stroking him comfortingly. "That was amazing…but I know something’s bothering you, Max. What’s going on?"

"I’ve just been reading all morning, Liz…and…I love you. I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that alone. I love you and I won’t leave you again. I swear it. I’m so sorry for putting you through all of that."

"Shhh…" Liz hushed him by pressing her hand against his lips. "That’s all behind us now. I love you too. And I know that you’ll be here…we have the rest of our lives ahead of us. What’s happened is all over…it’s in our past. All we can do now is move forward."

"Move forward." Max agreed, knowing that what she said was true. The past was just that…the past. Now all they could do was go on with their lives together… Something good always comes out of everything bad…and that was true here too. Max and Liz had both been through hell alone…now they knew what it was like, and they would never, ever take each other for granted.

"And…" Liz started with a bright smile. "There’s no time like the present. Let me go change…and then we’ll start. I’m going to show you everything this city has to offer."