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Destination
He walked in, and there she was. Unlike all the other times, this felt hazy. Surreal, even.
"Liz."
She turned around, eyes brightening. "I thought you'd never get here," she said, her hands going around her back and releasing the ties to her apron. Her eyes never left his.
"Traffic was a bitch."
She nodded understandingly as she made her way over. She stopped about four feet away from him, taking the opportunity to look him over from head to toe.
He lifted his hands. "See anythin' ya like?"
One eyebrow rose. "Oh, I like. I like a lot."
He looked over her shoulder to where a group of people gawked at them with identical expressions of shock on their face. He looked back at her, much preferring the view. "Feel like talkin’ somewheres else?"
Without even looking back, she accepted. "You driving?"
"Only if you wanna ride."
She threw back her head and laughed, and he grinned to hear such a sweet sound. "Sounds good," she said, winking saucily. "Let's go."
She didn't look back.
Outside, Rath was sitting on top of a parked car in front of the diner and the girls were leaning against a lamppost. Ava waved, and Liz waved back before getting in the passenger seat of the car.
She directed him to a place out in the desert, and he liked it. He liked being alone with her, just the two of them, and he sat next to her on a rock where she was watching the clouds move across an impossibly blue sky.
"I know I said I wanted to go slowly," she said suddenly, "but I think I might go insane if ... if you don't touch me."
He turned into her waiting arms, savouring his first real taste of her. He kissed her deeply, hungrily, wanting more.
She moaned when she felt how much more he wanted, and the vibrations of it sent little shocks all through him.
"Zan?"
He looked up, entranced as always by her swollen lips and hooded eyes. "Yeah?"
She didn't answer, just ran her hand down his chest and then beneath his shirt, testing the feel of his flesh under her small palm.
He reached out to do the same, aching to touch her, thrilled to find her as warm and as soft as he expected. Checking to make sure she wasn't freaking out, he slowly pulled apart the top of her uniform, happy as anything to make one more fantasy come true.
And shit! No bra.
He swallowed. Hard.
She sighed and leaned back a little, not all the way, but enough to give him room to maneuver. He lowered his head, eager to taste more of the real her, one hand snaking around her to keep her from falling backwards and the other coming up to explore her other breast.
"Ohhhh, godddd ..." she breathed, and his heart gave a little jump.
Pulling back slightly, he licked one nipple thoroughly wet and then blew on it, pleased to see it harden even more, and then turned his attention to the other.
"Zan, don't tease," she whimpered.
With a burst of strength he scooped her up and looked around for a likely spot -- there, a flat place, no weird plants, no holes, just sun-baked whatever it was the desert was made of. But it looked kind of hard ...
He put her down, steadying her as best he could while pulling off his shirt. He laid it on the ground, and after thinking for a moment, pulled his pants off and put them down too. Deciding it needed more, he quickly tugged her uniform off of her and stretched it out flat on top of both.
Satisfied with the padding he'd created, he turned back to her, almost falling down himself at the sight of her in just a tiny pair of panties and a pair of tennis shoes, eyes following his every move.
Oddly fascinated at the sight, he let her look at him in nothing but his boots, wondering what she was thinking, swallowing hard when she looked lower and make a small 'oh' with her mouth, clearly shocked at just how ready he was for her.
Unable to wait any more, he hugged her to him, laughing a little at how hot she felt under an already hot sun, at how eagerly her hands explored him. Soon he set her down on top of the clothes pile, making sure she wasn't too uncomfortable before kicking off his boots and kneeling between her legs to pull off her panties and her shoes.
He paused for a moment to appreciate the sight, undecided about what to do next until she held out her arms. Obediently he lowered himself over her, loving the feel of her underneath him, trying not to crush her with his weight but gasping as she squirmed against him, her hips raising up to rub against him, her legs wrapping around him, her heels digging into the back of his legs.
"Now, Zan," she urged him.
"Um, ain't -- ain't we s'posed ta -- g-go slow 'r sumthin'?" he asked, trying to force his brain to work, knowing it was real important not to hurt her the first time but forgetting why when she ran her nails lightly down his back.
He did manage to get one hand between them, groaning out loud when he felt again how wet she was.
He wanted to be inside her so bad it hurt.
"I'm ready now. Now, Zan," she commanded, and with a deep gulp of hot desert air and the scent that was just her he grabbed blindly, somehow getting himself in hand and getting to the right place, and he drew back his hips just a bit to get better leverage –
<>
"Zan?"
"Huh? What? I's up. I's up. Whattaya want?"
Ava giggled as he wiped the drool from the side of his face. "Just wanted ta know if ya wanted nuthin'."
He looked out the window to see Rath and Lonnie were buying junk food from a bug-eyed gas station attendant. "V'nilla Coke 'n Spicy D'ritos."
She nodded and headed over to the counter.
He rubbed his eyes.
"Shit."
Just a daydream. Not even a real dream, the kind where she was actually with him.
He was disgusted with himself, having some punk-ass wet dream just because he was too excited to sleep much the night before. Couldn’t even wait a few hours.
Suddenly Zan grinned.
"Jus' a few fuckin' hours," he marveled, and settled back against the seat, still breathing heavily but feeling a little more in control.
<>
Zan took the wheel for the last leg of the trip. He was too impatient to just
sit and wait in the back seat, and he was taking advantage of the sparsely populated
terrain to take the car as fast as it would go.
For once Rath and Lonnie were quiet, no goofing or bitching, and Ava was back into her maps again, drawing a route to take them straight through Roswell, so things were quiet.
Quiet was good. When it was quiet, he could think and plan and remember and feel in control. Control was good.
Thing was, things were getting out of control pretty damn fast. Five days ago, just five days, he’d lived in the sewers, and he’d believed that he belonged there too. Now ... fuck, now everything had changed.
He couldn't get this thought out of his head.
“How long?”
Ava looked up, a little startled but knowing immediately what he was asking. “Half hour, give ‘r take.”
Zan nodded in satisfaction. They were right on schedule.
Liz’s shift ended at three. She'd said she - and probably her friends, if Isabel shared the news like Liz seemed to think she would - would be waiting for him. Knowing that something of a confrontation was inevitable, she’d suggested that they take it to a place outside town, a place she called the quarry, so everyone could speak openly.
Like it was a democracy or something. Huh. Four days ago, he’d been resigned to a future as alien king, not knowing that there were any other options for him, and he’d never taken a vote on anything. Ever. He was the Man, and that was all that mattered.
Well, with any luck this Max guy would be so jazzed about having the throne dropped in his lap that he wouldn’t get too territorial about Liz. Not that Zan couldn’t take him or anything, but he really didn’t want to have to kill him and go play king himself.
He’d rather play with Liz.
He grinned at the thought of being with her for real. Was she going to be like in his dreams? Completely open to him? She was so different from all the girls he’d known ... although in some ways, he knew her better than she knew herself.
His chest puffed out a little at the thought. And he’d be kidding himself if he didn’t admit that being her first was doing major things for his ego. And he would be her first. It might not be right away - he got that - but he had no doubt that it wouldn’t be long.
He kept thinking about what she said, about what kind of life he’d live in New Mexico. Would he miss New York? He didn’t think he would, but then he’d never been so far away before. He didn’t have to ask Rath and Lonnie if they’d stay. He knew they’d be back in New York and negotiating a ticket back to Antar the minute they got the chance. He’d miss them too, but maybe not as much as he would’ve expected.
Three days ago, he’d realized that he couldn’t be responsible for everyone and everything, that there was a whole world outside of Manhattan, full of people that weren’t family but could be just as important.
Still ... he still wasn’t entirely sure about Ave. She'd told him she didn’t really feel like a queen and she wouldn’t mind staying on Earth. He’d help her out, though. Maybe they could share a place or something for a while. Besides, this was going to be weird and it’d probably get weirder. It’d be good to have someone who understood just how weird it was with him.
He might have to change his look a little, though. Tone it down a notch. Nothing crazy; he wasn’t losing the art. But maybe he’d get a haircut or something, and he could shave sometimes. When he shaved, he looked really young, and he’d used that look more than once to disarm civic responsibility types who were going to report him or something ‘for his own good.’
And he’d get some new clothes. He’d never told the others just how much money he’d saved over the years, but it was more than enough to live on for a while. Though maybe - he snorted at the thought - he should get a job. Blend in with the locals. Call it ‘tactical maneuvers’ to keep Rath off his case. It wouldn’t be forever anyway, just until Liz cut the apron strings and let him talk her into seeing more of the world.
It shouldn’t be too hard. He’d only known her for a week, and he could already tell she was no small town girl at heart. Maybe she wasn’t New York City either, but he figured they could find some middle ground if things worked out.
Because two days ago, he’d dared to think that he’d found someone who might want to be with him, not because she had to, but because she wanted to, and because she wanted him. Zan. Not the king. Just Zan. And he kind of thought that was something he’d never get tired of.
He turned suddenly to catch Ava smiling at him. “What?”
“Lemme guess. Picket fence an’ a minivan?”
He gave her a dirty look. “Piss off.”
She ignored the attitude, impressed that he didn’t deny it. “But yer thinkin’ long-term?”
He shrugged, hostility gone.
“Cool.”
They rode in silence a little longer, and then he caught her smirking again. “What now?”
“Ya gonna be a cowboy, Zan?”
He looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “Huh?”
“Ain’t it all ranches an’ shit out dere?”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’ be stupid,” he said, as if he knew one way or the other.
“So ... ain’t gonna take ‘r back ta N’York?” she asked, although she already knew the answer.
He shrugged. “Dunno. Prob’ly not.”
They rode in silence for a while.
“Cowboy?” Zan asked, with a sideways glance at Ava.
“Yippee ki-yay,” she drawled. “Cows ‘n horses ‘n ... ‘n stuff ... ever’where.”
“Shit,” he growled, though it sounded more like a sigh.
There was silence for a while.
Ava giggled. “Cow shit?”
He just shook his head in disgust, but one corner of his mouth betrayed his amusement. Inwardly he appreciated what she was doing, trying to divert him, make him relax a bit, but he could've told her it was useless.
Just one day ago, he’d actually dared to believe his dreams would come true. And today, they would.
This was some serious shit.
<>
They pulled up a few minutes after three, and the four of them just sat and
stared at the cheesy restaurant front for a few dumbfounded minutes.
“No waaaay,” Rath breathed, torn between contempt and a perverse awe. “Outta sight.”
Zan didn’t say anything. But the sight of the stupidest flying saucer thing he’d ever seen was doing bad things to his stomach.
“Fuck,” Lonnie swore, and for Lonnie, it sounded oddly gentle. “They really is hicks,” she mused thoughtfully, like it made a difference.
Ava was still grinning. She was openly disappointed that she hadn’t seen any cowboys yet but she was pretty sure a group of kids in one corner of the diner were the ones they were looking for. She nudged Zan and pointed. “Yo.”
Immediately Zan was out of the car. He waited for the others to climb out and take their positions behind him, and then started walking, slowly, focused on the hazy image of a short, dark-haired girl standing by a booth. She was wearing antennae and a blue dress, and her back was to him.
As he pulled open the door, he saw her stiffen. She knew he was there.
He didn’t say anything, ignoring the curious stares they were getting from around the diner.
He came to a stop about five feet behind her, and waited.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see their dupes. Isabel was unsurprised but anxious, Michael suspicious, and Tess watchful. Max was unreadable but looked tense. The humans looked exactly like their pictures, and they looked jumpy too. They were all looking back and forth between him and Liz.
Finally she turned around, and everything else just faded into the background.
“Yo,” he said.
Liz smiled. “Nice to finally meet you, Zan.”
She stuck out her hand, and he just laughed.
The End
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