I thought soon, but with everything that's going on, I'm wondering if maybe I should stay in longer. If I thought my Dad would stay away... But I don't think he will. And if I'm going to have to deal with him, better on the inside than the outside.
[And oh dear lord, why is he thinking of asking if Isobel can do her thing if he gets pulled in for testing? Life is just making him go a little crazy.]
[He does not like the sound of that, because no matter what the asshole in the White House says about bringing troops home, it's only a matter of time before he starts a war, and then who knows what might happen to Alex.
Also, this is killing his "lets go paint each other neon colors and get a little high and makeout under the black light and pretend we're normal twenty-somethings" glee.]
Yeah, except you could get orders to go anywhere--even just to move to a new base in the States--and, then, your dad could come back and start everything up, and you wouldn't even be here.
You're right. Logically, I know you're probably right. Especially the more my physical therapy progresses. But...Dad.
[There's an emotional component that he just can't break free of. He needs to be able to stop his father, no matter what. Especially because it involves Michael.]
I get that he's a threat. I just go back to - if you get sent away, he comes back, and then what? If you're here, you can still work against him.
[Michael's totally on Team "Stop Jesse Manes." He is not on Team "Alex Gets Sent to South Carolina or, God Forbid, Back to Baghdad".
He's also a bit surprised Alex is agreeing to go with him to the club. His enthusiasm might've dimmed a little, but he seizes back on it with an almost desperation.]
And that was what it came down to. As much as it had started as a way to get rid of his father for good - or at least for now - it had turned into something more. Into protecting Michael from whatever plots or plans his father had going. Because Alex wasn’t naive enough to think that this was over.
But maybe Michael was right, too. He couldn’t do anything from overseas. And he’d been planning on leaving before he was deployed again before he ever realized what was going on with his dad. And maybe he was right about tonight. He just needed a night where he wasn’t worrying about his father. About Michael. About them. And so he waited for Michael to come pick him up.
Michael was less concerned about Jesse coming back than Alex leaving, but he still tried to push it away, to recapture the ridiculous, silly, even, idea he'd had when he'd heard about the rave. It wasn't like he went to a lot of these things, and certainly not in Roswell. A time or two in Santa Fe, when he'd gone down to get parts, and he was away from people who knew him, away from questions he didn't want to answer without a good reason.
On the ohter hand, he might only be pretending to be a twenty-something-human, but that didn't mean he didn't feel a lot like one some days, and just want to have fun, preferably with the guy he loved, as complicated as that might be between them right now.
So, he focused on that part, and showed up at Alex's in black jeans and an older white shirt that didn't matter if it got ruined since it wasn't going to be on once they got there, and no cowboy hat, because no way was he getting black light body paint on his hat.
Alex had decided to change a few minutes after he'd told Michael to come. He'd changed into light blue denim pants and a tank top and actually styled his hair up like he used to. He wasn't the same kid he'd been back then, but he could at least pretend to be a twenty-something kid whose only responsibility for the night was making sure he didn't drive himself home.
"Coming," he called when he heard Michael knock and he tucked his wallet, phone, and keys in his pocket and then went to open the door, shutting off the light as he did. He paused before leaving the door frame.
"I almost don't recognize you," he teased. That hat had somehow become iconic Michael and it reminded him of better days to see it gone. Days that had had potential. He stepped out and shut the door, locking it behind him. "Come on and let's forget about everything but us for a little while."
Michael'd lost the hat, and Alex had his hair styled up, and they almost looked like they could be the grown-up, less-broken, versions of those boys they'd been. They certainly were going to act like it, if Michael had anything to say about it.
But, first...
He stepped in close as Alex stepped out, and wrapped his hand around the base of his neck to pull him in for a kiss that was breif, but searing, before breaking it with a grin. "If you need any more reminders..." he teased back, then stepped away. "You're on."
He gave him a crooked smile. "I've been assured they have paint there, which is good, because I'm not sure I'd know where to ask the nice lady at Walmart to find the glowing body paint. Even in Roswell."
Alex groaned when Michael stepped back and narrowed his eyes. "I was promised that kiss in the middle of the dance floor," he reminded Michael. Not that he thought Michael had any real problem with it. But they had made a deal and here he was, keeping up his end of it. And more than that, he was even considering Michael's other proposition. But that would have to wait until they were at the party.
He smirked at Michael. "You wouldn't. I, on the other hand, have been to one of these things before. Or at least a teenaged facsimile of one where alcohol subbed in for something stronger. So I do know where to get the paint. But maybe it's for the best that we don't have to. I'd only end up dumping the entire thing on your head."
He pressed his lips to Michael's jaw on the way to his truck and then got in on the passenger's side.
"And you'll get another one in the middle of the dance floor," Michael promised. He didn't have a problem with it; everyone seemed to think he would, but, honestly, the only reason not everyone knew about them was sheer lack of opportunity to make that perfectly clear after realizing Alex would be okay with it.
He shivered at the brush of Alex's lips on his jaw, but sighed and made himself get in the driver's seat.
"I'm pretty sure that you're supposed to do something a bit more artistic than dumping it on someone's head," he said, shaking his head as he shifted the truck into gear. "Also, seems like putting it on a bit more...carefully might be more fun..." What with the rubbing all over each other.
"That wouldn't be artistic," Alex said, glancing over at Michael and grinning a little. "That would be just sheer perverse pleasure. Just imagine your poor locks drowning in paint." He reached over and ruffled Michael's hair a little. He had to admit that one of his favorite things to do with Michael's hair was run his fingers through it and of all the things about Michael that had stayed the same over the years, that was what he was the most glad about. Well, that and that his feelings for Alex hadn't changed.
"So where is this party again? You said down by the railroad? Please tell me it's not going to be a bunch of teenyboppers."
He wasn't even going to get into Michael's suggestion that they put the paint on more carefully. The less careful, the better. Unless he meant it in a different way than Alex did.
Michael didn't mind the hair ruffling in the least--he liked Alex's hands in his hair, but he looked horrified at the idea of his hair covered in paint. "...Do you know how long that would take to get out?"
He nodded, though. "Yeah, in one of the warehouses. It's twenty-one and up, so, barring a slew of great fake IDs all in one place, it should be mostly adults."
It was very possible that they meant something different by "carefully" in regards to the paint.
Alex gave a full on laugh when he saw the expression on Michael’s face. “I’ll tell you what, Guerin. If I get paint on your poor hair, I’ll make sure you don’t have any problem with the amount of time it’ll take to wash it out. Deal?”
He ran his fingers along Michael’s neck. He could think of a few ways to keep Michael occupied in the shower. Not that any one of them would do a thing to actually wash the paint out of his hair and, come to think of it, several of them would have to be adjusted because of his leg, but he could absolutely make sure that Michael had a good time in the shower. And maybe by the end of it, he’d let Alex slowly work the paint out of his hair.
“Well, that’s a relief.” At least he wouldn’t have to worry much about underage hands trying to grope Michael and he was more than capable of dealing with the people who were his own age or thereabouts.
Michael glanced over and felt himself smile slowly at the implication there. The brush of Alex's fingers along his neck heated that up and made him shiver a little bit. He was trying to remember exactly why they were going to this party instead of back to Alex's cabin. Except, going out, doing things together, was part of this whole thing of getting to know wone another and being more than just...two guys who tumbled into bed, but never did much outside of it.
So, he didn't turn the truck around, just cleared his throat. "Deal."
He huffed a bit of a laugh. "You were worried about the teeny boppers?"
God, that smile. He forced himself to move his hand away because they had a plan and the last thing they needed was for Alex to suggest that they pull over into some dark corner of the desert and skip the party altogether. He was a grown man. He could avoid sleeping with Guerin for a few hours.
"Believe it or not, Guerin, I was actually a teenaged boy once and you look like sex on a stick. It's not you I don't trust. It's them." He shrugged. "Besides, there's wild and crazy and then there's that kind of wild and crazy."
And he was at the point in his life where he might actually feel responsible if he knew there were a lot of underage kids there. He didn't want to feel responsible or else he'd never have let Michael talk him into coming.
Michael felt the loss of Alex's hand keenly, but it was probably for the best if they were going to have any fun at the rave. But he still missed the touch as soon as it was gone.
He gave a startled laugh Alex's comment, though, not having excpected anything like it. Ducking his head just a little, he shook it, trying not to get too flustered. "Well, they can look, if they're there. No one but you gets to touch..."
Michael probably wouldn't feel quite as responsible for the kids, but it would end up making him feel very old, when what he wanted tonight was to feel young and normal.
“You have to promise to let me take care of them if they try.” Not that his solution would necessarily be violent. He would just make sure that he - or she - knew in no uncertain terms that there was only one person going home with Michael. And then maybe the hand that had touched Michael would be useless for ten, fifteen minutes. That wasn’t violence; that was just firm conditioning.
And maybe he was sounding - and feeling - a bit smug and so even though he knew he shouldn’t, he reached over and slid his hand along the inside of Michael’s thigh.
“And I promise to let you go after anyone who tries for me.”
Michael arched an eyebrow at him. "'Take care of them'? That sounds suitably ominous," he said with a teasing grin. "I promise, you can defend my honor if it gets threatened."
He shivered slightly at the slide of Alex's hand over his leg, before grinning again.
"There won't be any need to hide bodies," Alex promised. He wasn't interested in hurting anyone. Just emphatically making sure that if they decided that Michael was fair game that they quickly changed their minds.
"Murder is not one of the sins I plan on committing tonight. Most of the seven deadlies, though, to some degree or other."
Technically, Michael was his, so he couldn't really count envy. Maybe greed was closer. Gluttony, since he was letting Michael have his way. And definitely lust.
Michael flashed him an amused smile. “That’s good. I’d like to keep the night murder-free, if possible. I mean, I can dig a hole pretty easy and all, but that’s not exactly the kind of effort I’d like to expend...”
His smile turned a little wicked. “The rest I definitely support. Except maybe wrath. Unless it’s at anyway who tries to insert themselves into any space between us.”
Alex raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask what kind of holes Michael had been digging. He knew Michael and he knew that he wasn’t some violent maniac. But he was also a secret scientific genius, so who knew what he’d planted out in the desert.
“I wasn’t going to take out my wrath on you,” he agreed instead. As for anyone who got between them, they deserved what they got. It wasn’t as if he was showing up alone and hooking up with Michael once they got there or something. No, this felt a lot more deliberate. Especially the part where he was going to take something.
God, he felt like he was eighteen again. He should have been used to the feeling since he always seemed to feel it around Michael. Or his father.
“Not unless you give me a reason.” And Michael wasn’t that kind of guy.
Michael's grin grew, and he chuckled. "Not planning on giving you any reasons. Or letting anyone come between us tonight, for that matter."
He was practically giddy with the fact that he had convinced Alex to come out to something so frivolous. It wasn't something that Michael usually did--and certainly never with someone--but he was excited. He was also pretty sure he'd rarely shown up somewhere with the person he intended on leaving with, so that felt fresh, too.
"How are you planning on fitting in sloth? 'Cause that's a bit hard to do at a rave..."
Less hard to do the morning after, though, but he was curious to see what Alex would say.
“I’m going to fall asleep at some point,” he answered, echoing Michael’s thoughts. “And I’m not planning on any kind of early morning.” He’d had too many of those over the last…ten years. Since he was taking the night off, he was definitely also planning on taking the morning off. And maybe early afternoon.
“Of course, to take full advantage of sloth, I’m going to have to be active - very active - tonight, so that my body ignores the fact that I’m usually up by six.”
Not that he was worried. He was pretty sure any activities that Michael had planned for the evening would end up exhausting him. And if Michael didn’t have them planned, then Alex would make absolutely sure they were in on the rotation.
"Ahh, I see. So, you're planning to laze away in bed tomorrow morning, if you're active enough tonight?" He gave him a teasing look. "I dunno. I'm pretty sure 'sloth' isn't rest and recovery so much as lazing around without being properly exhausted..."
He knew his Bible, courtesy of his last foster parents who'd drilled it into them, though the way they'd done so hadn't really impressed Michael with the virtues of their religion. Didn't help that his mere existence disproved some of their beliefs--the Bible didn't really take into account other worlds with non-human people on them, after all.
"But...I'll allow it as an example, just so you can check one off your list. I don't think your being actually slothful would be a whole lot of fun tonight."
Not for the rave, or for after, and where Michael definitely hoped the night was headed.
“If I planned on sleeping the normal amount for the amount of exertion, then you might be right. But I plan on sleeping in and for me, that is sloth.”
Alex couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually slept in. He had the opportunity to on the weekend, but he never seemed to take it. He was always up early, either doing some errand or other or doing something for his father. But this? Spending time with Michael and then falling asleep with him? He planned to spend as much time in that bed as he could, even if it was just sleeping.
He did grin when Michael said that slothful wouldn’t be fun tonight.
“Have some plans for how the night’s going to go, then?”
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2019-04-19 03:01 am (UTC)[And oh dear lord, why is he thinking of asking if Isobel can do her thing if he gets pulled in for testing? Life is just making him go a little crazy.]
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Date: 2019-04-21 02:08 am (UTC)Also, this is killing his "lets go paint each other neon colors and get a little high and makeout under the black light and pretend we're normal twenty-somethings" glee.]
Yeah, except you could get orders to go anywhere--even just to move to a new base in the States--and, then, your dad could come back and start everything up, and you wouldn't even be here.
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Date: 2019-04-23 07:13 pm (UTC)[There's an emotional component that he just can't break free of. He needs to be able to stop his father, no matter what. Especially because it involves Michael.]
All right. Come get me.
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Date: 2019-04-24 11:47 pm (UTC)[Michael's totally on Team "Stop Jesse Manes." He is not on Team "Alex Gets Sent to South Carolina or, God Forbid, Back to Baghdad".
He's also a bit surprised Alex is agreeing to go with him to the club. His enthusiasm might've dimmed a little, but he seizes back on it with an almost desperation.]
On my way.
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Date: 2019-04-25 06:00 pm (UTC)And that was what it came down to. As much as it had started as a way to get rid of his father for good - or at least for now - it had turned into something more. Into protecting Michael from whatever plots or plans his father had going. Because Alex wasn’t naive enough to think that this was over.
But maybe Michael was right, too. He couldn’t do anything from overseas. And he’d been planning on leaving before he was deployed again before he ever realized what was going on with his dad. And maybe he was right about tonight. He just needed a night where he wasn’t worrying about his father. About Michael. About them. And so he waited for Michael to come pick him up.
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Date: 2019-05-05 01:59 am (UTC)On the ohter hand, he might only be pretending to be a twenty-something-human, but that didn't mean he didn't feel a lot like one some days, and just want to have fun, preferably with the guy he loved, as complicated as that might be between them right now.
So, he focused on that part, and showed up at Alex's in black jeans and an older white shirt that didn't matter if it got ruined since it wasn't going to be on once they got there, and no cowboy hat, because no way was he getting black light body paint on his hat.
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Date: 2019-05-05 08:03 pm (UTC)"Coming," he called when he heard Michael knock and he tucked his wallet, phone, and keys in his pocket and then went to open the door, shutting off the light as he did. He paused before leaving the door frame.
"I almost don't recognize you," he teased. That hat had somehow become iconic Michael and it reminded him of better days to see it gone. Days that had had potential. He stepped out and shut the door, locking it behind him. "Come on and let's forget about everything but us for a little while."
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Date: 2019-05-06 03:49 am (UTC)But, first...
He stepped in close as Alex stepped out, and wrapped his hand around the base of his neck to pull him in for a kiss that was breif, but searing, before breaking it with a grin. "If you need any more reminders..." he teased back, then stepped away. "You're on."
He gave him a crooked smile. "I've been assured they have paint there, which is good, because I'm not sure I'd know where to ask the nice lady at Walmart to find the glowing body paint. Even in Roswell."
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Date: 2019-05-06 05:02 am (UTC)He smirked at Michael. "You wouldn't. I, on the other hand, have been to one of these things before. Or at least a teenaged facsimile of one where alcohol subbed in for something stronger. So I do know where to get the paint. But maybe it's for the best that we don't have to. I'd only end up dumping the entire thing on your head."
He pressed his lips to Michael's jaw on the way to his truck and then got in on the passenger's side.
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Date: 2019-05-06 05:31 am (UTC)He shivered at the brush of Alex's lips on his jaw, but sighed and made himself get in the driver's seat.
"I'm pretty sure that you're supposed to do something a bit more artistic than dumping it on someone's head," he said, shaking his head as he shifted the truck into gear. "Also, seems like putting it on a bit more...carefully might be more fun..." What with the rubbing all over each other.
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Date: 2019-05-06 06:49 am (UTC)"So where is this party again? You said down by the railroad? Please tell me it's not going to be a bunch of teenyboppers."
He wasn't even going to get into Michael's suggestion that they put the paint on more carefully. The less careful, the better. Unless he meant it in a different way than Alex did.
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Date: 2019-05-08 03:17 am (UTC)He nodded, though. "Yeah, in one of the warehouses. It's twenty-one and up, so, barring a slew of great fake IDs all in one place, it should be mostly adults."
It was very possible that they meant something different by "carefully" in regards to the paint.
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Date: 2019-05-08 08:08 pm (UTC)He ran his fingers along Michael’s neck. He could think of a few ways to keep Michael occupied in the shower. Not that any one of them would do a thing to actually wash the paint out of his hair and, come to think of it, several of them would have to be adjusted because of his leg, but he could absolutely make sure that Michael had a good time in the shower. And maybe by the end of it, he’d let Alex slowly work the paint out of his hair.
“Well, that’s a relief.” At least he wouldn’t have to worry much about underage hands trying to grope Michael and he was more than capable of dealing with the people who were his own age or thereabouts.
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Date: 2019-05-10 12:18 am (UTC)So, he didn't turn the truck around, just cleared his throat. "Deal."
He huffed a bit of a laugh. "You were worried about the teeny boppers?"
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Date: 2019-05-10 09:01 pm (UTC)"Believe it or not, Guerin, I was actually a teenaged boy once and you look like sex on a stick. It's not you I don't trust. It's them." He shrugged. "Besides, there's wild and crazy and then there's that kind of wild and crazy."
And he was at the point in his life where he might actually feel responsible if he knew there were a lot of underage kids there. He didn't want to feel responsible or else he'd never have let Michael talk him into coming.
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Date: 2019-05-11 04:13 am (UTC)He gave a startled laugh Alex's comment, though, not having excpected anything like it. Ducking his head just a little, he shook it, trying not to get too flustered. "Well, they can look, if they're there. No one but you gets to touch..."
Michael probably wouldn't feel quite as responsible for the kids, but it would end up making him feel very old, when what he wanted tonight was to feel young and normal.
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Date: 2019-05-14 01:54 am (UTC)And maybe he was sounding - and feeling - a bit smug and so even though he knew he shouldn’t, he reached over and slid his hand along the inside of Michael’s thigh.
“And I promise to let you go after anyone who tries for me.”
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Date: 2019-05-15 10:55 pm (UTC)He shivered slightly at the slide of Alex's hand over his leg, before grinning again.
"I think that sounds fair."
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Date: 2019-05-19 11:14 pm (UTC)"Murder is not one of the sins I plan on committing tonight. Most of the seven deadlies, though, to some degree or other."
Technically, Michael was his, so he couldn't really count envy. Maybe greed was closer. Gluttony, since he was letting Michael have his way. And definitely lust.
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Date: 2019-05-31 03:32 pm (UTC)His smile turned a little wicked. “The rest I definitely support. Except maybe wrath. Unless it’s at anyway who tries to insert themselves into any space between us.”
There’d been enough of that through the years.
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Date: 2019-06-13 11:43 pm (UTC)“I wasn’t going to take out my wrath on you,” he agreed instead. As for anyone who got between them, they deserved what they got. It wasn’t as if he was showing up alone and hooking up with Michael once they got there or something. No, this felt a lot more deliberate. Especially the part where he was going to take something.
God, he felt like he was eighteen again. He should have been used to the feeling since he always seemed to feel it around Michael. Or his father.
“Not unless you give me a reason.” And Michael wasn’t that kind of guy.
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Date: 2019-06-14 12:15 am (UTC)He was practically giddy with the fact that he had convinced Alex to come out to something so frivolous. It wasn't something that Michael usually did--and certainly never with someone--but he was excited. He was also pretty sure he'd rarely shown up somewhere with the person he intended on leaving with, so that felt fresh, too.
"How are you planning on fitting in sloth? 'Cause that's a bit hard to do at a rave..."
Less hard to do the morning after, though, but he was curious to see what Alex would say.
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Date: 2019-07-01 12:57 am (UTC)“Of course, to take full advantage of sloth, I’m going to have to be active - very active - tonight, so that my body ignores the fact that I’m usually up by six.”
Not that he was worried. He was pretty sure any activities that Michael had planned for the evening would end up exhausting him. And if Michael didn’t have them planned, then Alex would make absolutely sure they were in on the rotation.
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Date: 2019-07-01 08:43 pm (UTC)He knew his Bible, courtesy of his last foster parents who'd drilled it into them, though the way they'd done so hadn't really impressed Michael with the virtues of their religion. Didn't help that his mere existence disproved some of their beliefs--the Bible didn't really take into account other worlds with non-human people on them, after all.
"But...I'll allow it as an example, just so you can check one off your list. I don't think your being actually slothful would be a whole lot of fun tonight."
Not for the rave, or for after, and where Michael definitely hoped the night was headed.
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Date: 2019-07-18 01:21 am (UTC)Alex couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually slept in. He had the opportunity to on the weekend, but he never seemed to take it. He was always up early, either doing some errand or other or doing something for his father. But this? Spending time with Michael and then falling asleep with him? He planned to spend as much time in that bed as he could, even if it was just sleeping.
He did grin when Michael said that slothful wouldn’t be fun tonight.
“Have some plans for how the night’s going to go, then?”
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