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kiss-my-freckle · 2 months

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Full Episode Commentary

2x9: Katerina

I was gonna do something special with this episode, but it'll require too many gifs. I'm just gonna make it easy and say that the episode ends opposite the open. Stefan and Elena end opposite the open, Damon and Rose end opposite the open. That means Damon and Rose repeat a lot of their conversation.

This is also a flashback episode for Katerina Petrova. I love that they used her real name for the title. She has her moments, but this episode is when I liked her most. tbh, I hate her 99% of the time. A flashback to 1940 shows her giving birth to Nadia and she's quickly taken away. Her father is saying she disgraced the family. This is a shared thing for Damon and Katerina. Damon for deserting the war and Katerina for having a child out of wedlock.

I really love these doorway scenes. Damon is playing it cool now that his words of love are buried in Elena's head. He's fully committed to protecting her, but you can feel it in the way he talks and the way he moves. It's as if he put himself at a distance emotionally.

"That's not helping." Rose already knows that Damon's in love with Elena. He's being protective of her emotional state. He then assumes Elena is in denial because she lies about going to school. Denial is something Stefan and Elena have in common. He spent 145 years denying he fell in love with Katherine. Here, he tells Damon to shut up.

Jeremy basically asks Bonnie on a date. He wants her to shoot pool with him. They introduce Luka, and tbh, I hate these witches. I'm glad they chose to kill them off. Some characters have it and some don't. These witches don't. "You had to break out the girlfriend code. Okay. I promise." It's insane to me that Caroline won't tell Stefan that Elena is visiting Katherine, but she'll tell him that Elena slept with Damon.

Caroline: Why don't you want Stefan to know? Elena: Because he would never be okay with me doing this.

Scenes like this are the truth of 3x14. If Stefan wouldn't be okay with Elena talking to Katherine despite the fact that she's trapped in a tomb and can't cause any harm, then why tf would he be okay with her meeting with Esther. I never lie about what they show me. I love seeing Caroline at the tomb because she was human and with Matt when they opened it in 1x14, so she was never really there to actually see it. This is your Goodbye Katherine and Goodbye Caroline...

Elena isn't stupid. She knows Katherine needs blood, so she knows she'll get the answers she needs in exchange. "You have the Petrova fire." I believe this is Damon's attraction to the Petrovas. Katherine, Isobel, and Elena.

"I was banished to England and I had to learn to adjust. So I quickly became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a nobleman named Klaus. I was taken with him at first, til I found out what he was and what he wanted from me. And then I ran like hell."

Katherine tells Elena that Klaus wanted to drain every drop of blood from her body, so she ran like hell.

Rose hasn't even known Damon for a day, and she already reads him better than Stefan does. He tries to lie about his humanity, but she can see it. It's because his humanity is his weakness that it's the best way to piss him off… and torture him. They have to hit it the right way based on what they want from him. As I said before, this episode ends opposite the open. Here's an example...

Damon: Don't get on my bad side. Rose: Then show me your good side.

Everything in their initial conversation gets discussed at the end of the episode. Trevor, Elena, and both their humanity. I feel like all relationships happen for a reason, so even though I don't ship Damon with Rose, I still enjoy Damon with Rose. Rose is about to take Damon to meet her friend.

Damon and Elena are the only ones willing to actually get answers. Elena is getting her answers from Katherine. Damon is hoping to get his from Slater. Stefan just wants to obsess over Elena. Caroline stops him because she's not at school.

Stefan: What did you do? Caroline: Told Tyler I'm a vampire.

Stefan's reaction is hilarious. Katerina arrives at the cottage and tells the homeowner that Trevor sent her. That's when Rose allows her in and compels the homeowner to bring her some food and water. When Katerina shows Rose the moonstone, she realizes the trouble she's in. This tells me that Rose already knew about the curse and the role the moonstone played in it. She's like hell no. She plans to hand Katerina back over to Klaus and beg for his mercy. They really hype up Klaus with this story.

lol… scenes like this are the reason I believe Damon loves strong women. Look at the smile on his face. Slater is asking about Trevor like damn, him and Rose were truly family. Damon is the kind of person you wanna act completely ignorant to, as if you have no idea who he is. He doesn't trust people, and the more you know about him, the more he'll see you as a threat.

In flashback, Rose walks into the room and realizes Katerina stabbed herself. She's a vampire, so she knows damn well that she wasn't bleeding before, that she'd just stabbed herself on purpose. "I love her, Rose." Like Damon and Mason, Trevor died loving a woman that didn't love him in return. She was using them. Katerina hangs herself while Trevor and Rose are arguing. A vampire is of no use to Klaus, so she thought becoming a vampire was the easiest way to avoid being sacrificed. She offers Elena her blood, knowing what's gonna happen if she takes it... Elena's loved ones will be slaughtered.

Trevor: What did you do, Katerina? I would have helped you live. Katerina: You would have helped me run.

Katerina chooses death over Trevor, just like Elena with Damon and Liv with Tyler. Each parallel still different in their own way.

Rose tells Katerina that she just signed their death sentence, exactly what Stefan said when Katherine turned Caroline. "Better you die than I." Katerina feels her life is of value, but she does nothing with it but continue to destroy lives. "I was looking out for myself, Elena. I will always look out for myself. If you're smart, you'll do the same." This is why Elena has a better life than Katherine, and why I hate Katherine for trying to take Elena's life in season 5. It made her irredeemable to me. It's not like Katherine couldn't possess the body of some useless vampire. Any vampire body would've sufficed. She just had to take Elena's.

Stefan: Yes Caroline. As a matter of fact, I am a little mad. I mean, you put yourself a risk. If Damon finds out… Caroline: But you're not gonna tell him, are you? Stefan: No, of course not. He would kill you.

Stefan joined Caroline for lunch. He's so much himself around her. It's crazy they're not together, they have great chemistry. And for some strange reason, Stefan tells every blonde they remind him of Lexi. First Caroline, then Rebekah. Damon has no problem with people knowing his truth. He has a problem with people threatening him because he takes threats seriously. This is more or less the same Damon-slamming Stefan always does because he's a shit brother.

Bonnie runs into Luka and his father at the Grill. I'm already ready for them to die. I'm pretty sure Bonnie got a witch vibe from Luka, so she knows he's a witch. It also pisses me off that they continue to do this to Bonnie. Ben abducted her because she was the key to opening the tomb. Now new guy flirts with her, and it's the same damn thing. He's gonna screw her over. Damon is getting annoyed with Slater because he's a bragger with no point. Slater can't honestly believe Damon is there to hear about his level of education. His 18 degrees, 3 masters, and 4 PhDs won't help him find Klaus lol… his vampire information will. Slater knew about the tomb under the church, and likely from the remaining tomb vampires that fled.

"She's with Damon, isn't she?" Stefan just can't stop. Automatically assumes she's with Damon because apparently danger is all Damon can provide. As I said of Caroline's hate for Damon, it's really Delena hate. She only hates Damon whenever Elena is involved, so you get this "Ewww, no" from her. I've already lost count how many times Stefan shit on Damon. And why is he so jealous at the thought of her hanging out with Damon as if they can't be friends. Just as insane to me that Stefan expects Caroline to betray her best friend for him. Like Elena isn't allowed to do something on her own without her boyfriend up her ass. This guy is more than obsessed.

Damon: Stake her, rip her head off, something poetic. We'll see. Katherine: It could have been anyone I suppose, but I like the poetry of Caroline.

Katherine tells Elena the same thing she told Rose in her flashback. "Better you die than I." She will lose in the end because she wasn't the only one being "poetic" in 2x1. Jeremy's death changed everything for Damon.

I LOVE this scene to the extreme. This is when Elijah realizes Damon is dangerous, that he's always working an angle. It's because the moonstone can be de-spelled and because Damon is offering Slater a daylight ring in exchange that Elijah puts a dead-stop to their conversation. Damon is about to destroy his revenge plan before he even gets started. The tempered glass shatters and every vampire without daylight jewelry starts to burn, Slater and Rose included. Damon is trying to get his sights on who tossed the coins because he knows it took supernatural power to pull off such a stunt, but Elijah disappeared. This moment when he carries Rose is beautiful. I love Damon's caring nature.

Rose: He's real and he doesn't give up. If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot. Damon: Alright, we're shaking. You made your point.

Rose: It's Klaus, don't you understand? You don't know this man. We're dead, we're all dead.

They're starting to finish on the open. Damon is basically realizing he spoke too soon. It's in Rose's fear that he knows Klaus is a dangerous enemy. She's shaking, and he definitely got the point.

I'm already done with these witches. I forgot how long it takes for them to die, but they need to die.

Katherine is sealed in the tomb, so Elena is perfectly safe talking to her. Stefan has no reason to show up, but he does. I think he's less worried about Katherine telling Elena about Klaus and more worried about Katherine telling her about them. "But it didn't take long for me to figure out what was the important that you'd have to keep it from me." Girl can't have a Stefan-free day without him being up in it like she can't survive without him. Stefan was gonna turn to Katherine for help to find Elena in the episode prior, now claims Katherine is a liar all because Elena turned to her for answers without him. Apparently Katherine is only a liar when Elena turns to her for answers, not when Stefan does. This guy really is something. Katherine is about to tell them the best part of the story. Because she didn't wanna die, her family did. Klaus killed alll of them simply because she chose to become a vampire. I should point out the fact that Katerina had no forewarning. She didn't have anyone tell her just how vengeful Klaus could be. Had anyone actually warned her the way she's being kind to warn Elena now, it's possible she would've considered her family and chosen not to run. Stefan is so full of himself in this scene with Katherine and Elena.

"My freedom? That's where you're wrong, Stefan. I don't want my freedom because when Klaus shows up to kill us all, and he will, I'll be in the tomb where no vampire will enter because they can't get out. I'll be the safest psychotic bitch in town."

So Elena is left with the knowing that she has to die or risk losing all of her loved ones.

"And I will." I feel like this is the moment for Damon. He just got done watching vampires burn in the sun because Elijah shattered the tempered glass, now he's drinking alcohol and staring into his fireplace. I don't think it's just his confidence speaking. He's gonna save Elena because he's gonna put his life on it. There's a feeling in this scene that I can't explain. Like a finality. Rose joins him and apologizes. "You're right to fight it, the way you feel about her. Because if you want to survive, you need to not care about anyone." This is why Damon nearly dies from Tyler's bite. He refuses to flip his switch because if he stops caring about Elena, then she dies. All the more reason I feel this was his moment. "And why's that?" Opposite Damon's denial in the open. This is Damon outwardly admitting his feelings for Elena. "I will if you will." Opposite Damon's denial in the open. This is Damon outwardly admitting his emotions are on. I love their soundtrack in this scene as well, Amen Omen by Ben Harper. It's a track that I feel perfect for both Damon and Rose based on their current situation (Trevor and Elena). "Amen omen,will I see your face again?"

Trevor is just as much part of their conversation at the open and close of the episode. He died in the episode prior, so Rose is mourning. Damon is having to bury his love for Elena for the sake of protecting her, so he's basically mourning along with her. The beauty of Damon and Rose as it pertains to Katherine's comment in 2x1. "Come on. Kiss me. Or kill me. Which will it be, Damon? We both know that you're only capable of one." This is grief sex.

Even though Jeremy could get jealous of Lukas being all flirty, but he doesn't. He smiles because Bonnie is smiling. He seems to care a great deal about her happiness.

"That's not why everyone that I love is in danger. It's because of me, everything is because of me." This changes in season 3 as they pull a basic repeat. Klaus is coming to kill her in season 2. She either dies or she doesn't. Elena is supposed to be dead in season 3. She either dies or she doesn't. Stefan denies Elena the right to choose how they deal with Klaus and he becomes the danger.

"It's a lie, you know. There's no switch you can turn off. Sure, when you're a newbie. But after a couple of hundred years, you just have to pretend." This is the truth of their humanity switch. It only lasts for so long.

Elijah knows Damon is close to destroying his revenge plan... yeah, Damon is that dangerous to the Originals. He compels Slater to call Rose specifically about the moonstone because Damon can de-spell it. He has Slater mention that they need a witch to de-spell it, which puts Luka in play for the sake of conning Bonnie. Elijah could've killed Slater, but he has Slater kill himself. This would remove suspicion of murder. Damon won't know the deal with the moonstone until they find out Lukas and his father are tied to Elijah. So yeah, this is how Damon gets screwed in protecting Elena.

Damon: Because I do believe in killing the messenger. You know why? Because it sends a message. Elijah: It had to be done. He delivered his message. Won't be long now.

This moment here is a huge clue drop... Isobel will be coming back into the story.

And this... this is why Katherine pushes Stefan to take Klaus' family in 3x9. She wants her own revenge.

#Bite Me

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saadiestuff · 2 years

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4x13 pod squad scene extension & fix-it (short fic)

[This fic continues the last pod squad scene in 4x13, when Max tells them he is going to Oasis. After the fic there is a write up about why I felt compelled to write it.]

It seems like a long while before they release each other from their side hug.

Michael breaks the silence. “Max, we can’t let you go alone. You–”

Max interrupts him. “Look, this is something I need to do on my own.” He sighs. “Not in an I’m the almighty savior ego way, just… I gotta do it.”

“And you’re okay with this, Iz?” Michael asks.

“No,” Isobel says, “I keep thinking about what Tezca said, that you’re going to need the fiercest warrior by your side and–”

“You helped me defeat Clyde, you helped me prove to myself that I can control the blue flame, and you helped me accept my destiny. Tezca was right, I couldn��t have done any of it without you.” Max puts his hand on Isobel’s shoulder and gives it a soft squeeze. “But now it’s up to me.”

“You know what, this destiny shit is for the birds,” Michael says.

They all laugh, but the sound quickly fades into quiet, until Michael exhales sharply.

“I hope it's not heresy to say this on my wedding day but... when I was talkin’ destiny... you know, it's about more than Alex. I mean, it's a lot about him, but it's really about letting myself have the things that I want. And I still want to go to Oasis.”

“Your timing does suck, Max,” Isobel teases.

“Yeah, man, I had a whole decade that was wide open…” Michael says.

Max chuckles, but then his face turns serious.

“You can visit Oasis when it’s been brought back to life,” Max says gently. “That’s part of why I have to do this: for you, Michael, so you can see where we came from, and not just a hollow shell of it.”

A chill runs down Michael’s spine as he thinks back to the last time he encountered a tortured version of his heritage – at Caulfield. Isobel instinctively reaches for Michael and gives him a comforting rub on the back.

Max turns to Isobel. “And for you. And all the other aliens here and there.”

Isobel smiles sadly, in acceptance.

“Show him,” Max says to Isobel. “It’s his mom. He should see.”

“My mom?”

Isobel nods and takes Michael’s hand.

“Want to go again?” Isobel asks Max.

Max takes Isobel’s other hand, and Isobel brings the three of them into Tezca’s memory.

When they are back in Max’s living room, Michael sighs.

“You better come back to us, Max. Because I was planning to write a lot of new pod squad chapters in my life too.” Michael playfully slaps Max on the arm. “I may be going off on my honeymoon, but I’ll be back in two weeks.”

Max smiles. “Well, with any luck, I’ll beat you home.”

Isobel pulls them both into a real group hug this time. And that feels like home too.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Why I wrote this fic

I wrote this fic to fix some issues I had with the finale:

(a) Michael and Isobel not going with Max needed discussion on the show.

(b) RNM is all about a large found family and how much they mean to each other, and what they want for their lives. Then the finale says that Alex is Michael’s destiny and whole life now. That really bothered me.

This is a big reason why in general I don’t like weddings in tv finales – they usually end up putting out a message of romantic love above all other relationships, hopes, and dreams.

Truly no offense meant to Alex or Malex. Alex is great, and Alex being Michael’s home is lovely! But I want Michael to have all the love and all the homes that bring him love and joy. (I want that for Alex too!)

I tried to reframe the bothersome bits from issue (b) in a way that still fit with canon:

Michael’s line about embracing his destiny was really about allowing himself to have what he wants. A big thing that he wants is Alex of course! But he has other wants too. I think this is a nice full circle from the pilot when Michael asks Alex “Is that what you want?”, and Alex says, “What I want doesn’t matter.”

Max’s line when gifting the typewriter to Michael: “...To remind you that as you start the new chapter in your life, it's gonna be written by you and Alex alone.” Max was referencing the new chapter called The Honeymoon, which will be written by Michael and Alex alone. There will be many more metaphorical chapters after that, which Michael can write alone, with Alex, or various other people.

Max’s line, “You, uh, said something earlier that made me realize that we all have a destiny to fulfill. Yours is with Alex.” Max is a dramatic hopeless romantic and the wedding made him emotional and he can’t help but have some tunnel vision about Michael today.

#roswell nm #roswell new mexico #michael guerin #max evans #isobel evans

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ravens-words · 4 years

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We burned down our paper house

"Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed. Epic."

Scenes from a lost decade.

Part 1

On AO3

................

Chapter 2 of 4

.................

Late 2008

Alex had given Michael his number a little over two months ago, and Michael hadn't called him. Alex was disappointed, but he couldn't say he was all that surprised. He'd probably been setting himself up for failure when he'd left while the other boy was sleeping, but the mere idea of saying goodbye to Michael had been like a vice around his heart.

He remembered woking up next to him, and for a second, allowing himself to fantasize about a lifetime of mornings waking up just like this, cocooned in the warmth of Michael's arms, feeling so happy he could burst with it.

But then the second was over and reality had set in.

He'd gotten up and gotten dressed, as quietly as he dared. He'd gathered Michael's clothes and folded them neatly. The next thing he'd done was to take out a blanket from the small dresser. He'd draped it cautiously over his sleeping form and then sat on the second bed in the room, taking a minute to just watch him sleep, wondering how it was possible for him to miss him already.

Alex remembered wanting to wake him up, to kiss him one last time. He'd wanted to say goodbye because he knew how much it hurt when Michael hadn't been there two months ago. But then he'd looked at Michael again and his heart had fluttered and ached and for a whole minute, all he could think was; I don't want to go. I want to stay here with him. Which had confirmed what Alex already knew.

If he'd woken Michael up, he would not have been strong enough to leave him.

So, he hadn't. Instead, he'd given him his number and had allowed himself to hope.

He'd planned on taking his leave after tech school to visit Michael, but after two months of no contract, he figured it would be better to save himself the heartbreak of being rejected and instead chose to spend his leave in Biloxi. He stayed close to Keesler for no other reason than his lack of desire to go home. Saving up the money and spending his days on the beach were just added bonuses.

A day before his leave came to an end, his cellphone rang. Alex spent a good three seconds staring at the number, trying and failing not to get his hopes up. He pressed the button to answer with shaking fingers and put the phone to his ear.

"Alex?"

His breath left him in a rush and he closed his eyes when he felt the pressure behind them.

"Alex?"

"I'm here," he managed to say and could hear what was probably a sigh of relief coming from the other end.

"How are you?"

Alex laughed at how awkward he sounded and realized just then that they'd never been ones for small talk. Nevertheless, he went along with it. "I'm doing okay. How about you?"

"I'm good."

Alex smiled. "You staying out of trouble?"

His attempt to break the ice fell flat. He'd only meant to tease him, but from the silence on the other end, something had gotten lost in translation. "Michael, I didn't mean it like that, I was just ki-"

"I know," he cut him off. "I know. And, I am staying out of trouble. Well, mostly."

Alex laughed quietly and dug his toes in the sand. "Michael?"

"Yeah?"

Alex gatheed up every bit of courage he had in him and asked the question that had been churning in his mind for the past two months. "What took you so long?"

Michael answered his question with a question. "Why didn't you come back? I know you're on leave."

Alex wondered how he knew that, but didn't ask. He sighed and lay back in the sand, staring at the clear sky. Part of him wanted to be stubborn and demand that he answer his question first, but Alex was tired, and he missed him so much it was like a constant ache at this point. "I didn't know if I had anything to come back for."

Silence greeted him on the other end and he he was afraid that Michael might have hung up on him. But then he spoke, "I didn't know if you really wanted me to. I knew you'd be busy at school and- you left, Alex. You just left."

"Michael-"

"I bought an airstream off Sanders a couple days ago," Michael rushed to say, changing the subject. Alex went with it, though he wanted to reassure him that there would always be space for him in Alex's life, that Alex would always make space for him.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm fixing it up now."

Alex could imagine the smile he heard in Michael's voice on his face if he tried hard enough and it made his heart ache.

"That's really good, Michael."

"I mean, paying for it is gonna be a pain and it'll take me forever, but-"

I'm proud of you, he almost said, but didn't. You could so much more. You deserve so much more.

He smiled. "Maybe the next time I'm in Roswell, you can show it to me?"

When he answered with an eager, "yeah!" his voice sounded considerably brighter, and Alex felt a spark of hope ignite in his chest.

"Hey, I-uh, I gotta go okay? Isobel's gonna kill me if I spend any more of her minutes."

Alex chuckled. "Okay."

"Can I call you again?" He inquired hesitantly.

"Yes, of course you can," he answered quickly and he sounded eager to his own ears. "We can e-mail each other, too."

"Yeah- I- Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"I miss you," he whispered.

Alex closed his eyes again, but not before a tear escaped and ran down his cheek.

He cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat "I miss you, too, Michael."

He heard what sounded suspiciously close to a sniffle before Michael let out a cough. "I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah." Alex smiled. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"You too." And with that, Michael hung up.

Alex smiled helplessly to himself and breathed in deeply. He rested his chin on his folded arms and watched the sun set, casting an orange- pink hue against the ocean water.

Hope burned bright in his chest and, try as he might, he couldn't stop it. So, he indulged himself and allowed it.

Tomorrow, he would think about all the reasons he and Michael couldn't really work.

Tomorrow, he would think about how hard it would be to maintain a relationship, if that was even something Michael wanted with him, when he had to hide it, when he had to hide who he was.

He would deal with everything that was wrong with his life, but only tomorrow.

For now, though, he was content to just watch the sunset and be happy that Michael wanted to give this a try, that the other man was making a life for himself despite what his father had done to him and that maybe, just maybe, Alex had a place in that life.

Late 2009

A little less than a year into his first deployment, Alex managed to get approval for a leave. He didn't tell anyone in Roswell, and in the years to come, he would regret that decision.

But for now, all he could feel was excitement and an eagerness to see Michael.

In the year after their phone call, Alex and Michael e-mailed each other at least once a week, but they rarely got to talk to each other over the phone, mainly due to time differences and the fact that Michael didn't actually have a phone yet.

They never talked about anything important, though, and there was always this feeling of disconnect between them that bothered Alex.

In an unspoken agreement between them; there conversations were never about anything too heavy or serious. They didn't talk about the war, they didn't talk about Michael's hand or his money issues, even though Alex wanted to know desperately. And the only people they'd ever mentioned were Alex's squad mates and Max and Isobel. And even then, they only tended to share the light-hearted tidbits of their lives. Alex, though he wasn't proud to admit, had lied a few times, made up a cheerful or funny story or two to share with him on the days there weren't any, because the alternative would have been the truth and the truth was this:

Alex was miserable.

Almost a year in and he still lay awake at night, most nights, and thought about all the ways his life could've been different if he'd been braver, faster, stronger. On the bad days, he wished he'd never tried to kiss Michael in the shed. On the worst days, he wished he'd never offered him the shed in the first place.

Those thoughts never lasted long, though; they were always chased away by memories of Michael's kisses, his touches, his smile. The thoughts never lasted because he could never regret Michael, no matter what.

Michael had saved him in ways Alex suspected he never realized. If it weren't for him, Alex would never have known what it felt like to be completely safe with someone.

Before he left the Roswell airport, he hurriedly changed out of his fatigues in the airport bathrooms and stuffed them carelessly in his duffel. It didn't take him long to find a cab and thirty minutes later, he was about half a mile away from the junkyard where Michael had parked his airstream.

He'd decided to walk the remaining distance, wanting to have a clear head, maybe get rid of the nervousness too, before he saw Michael. The night air was cool on his skin and it soothed him.

When he got to Sanders', all Alex could hear was the frantic beat of his heart. He tried to take deep breaths, he told himself it was just Michael, that he didn't have to be so nervous about seeing him.

He walked ahead and was just a few feet away from the airstream when he heard it; a giggle, high-pitched and obviously female. It was followed by Michael's deep laugh and Alex froze, unable to do anything but breathe raggedly. When he could get his feet to move a little, he saw them.

Michael was sitting in a lawn chair, and the girl was in another one next to him. His hand was buried in a her hair and when he moved closer and said something, too low for Alex to hear, she laughed and then they were kissing. Alex turned away and all but ran away. He ran for a long time.

The thing was, he and Michael hadn't promised each other anything. They hadn't defined what they were to each other, had skirted around the subject masterfully, so was it any wonder that Michael moved on?

Alex couldn't really fault him for it. They were young and they weren't ready. Maybe it was better this way, for the both of them. Maybe they were never meant to last and Alex had just held on to the hope because Michael had been the one person in his life who'd given a damn about him.

Alex gathered all the heartache, the pain and the disappointment, put them in a neat little box and put it away.

And he ran.

He ran for what felt like an eternity.

He didn't see Michael for another five years after that night.

#alex manes #michael guerin #malex #malex fic #EJ Writes

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isitgintimeyet · 5 years

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Road To The Aisles

AO3

Another weekend, another chapter. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Thanks to everyone once again. Your response has been great x

Thanks to @mo-nighean-rouge @happytoobserve @wickedgoodbooks for all their support

This chapter is not really nsfw, just a bit suggestive in places

Chapter 9: A Nuptial Intention

Mary: You are exquisite. You're timeless. And you have the love of a man named Steve. A man who, while you were away having meetings about mozzarella, said to me: 'I can't believe she picked me. I can't believe I'm marrying the most incredible woman I've ever met.' So that tells me that this marriage of yours is not only gonna work, it's gonna last forever.

-The Wedding Planner

The sun was just beginning to set as, with stomachs full of Mrs. Crook’s chicken casserole and apple pie, they made their way outside to sit by the fire pit that Murtagh had prepared. Jenny and Claire wrapped tartan blankets around themselves as protection from the chill of a typical Scottish summer’s evening. The post-prandial whisky they were all freely drinking also helped to fuel their internal heating systems.

“Is this the whisky that we’re launching in Japan?” Jenny swirled the amber liquid around her glass before sniffing it and taking a large sip.

“Aye,” Brian responded. “What ye’ll be working on when ye come back tae work.”

“I’ve loved ma time at home with the bairns but I’m ready fer work now, and the Japanese launch sounds so exciting. Ian was telling me about the advertising agency and --“

Brian laughed. “No shop talk this evening, lass. Ye’ll join us fer our meeting Monday morning, then?”

Jenny hesitated and glanced across at Claire.

“No, go Jenny. Seriously, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Actually I’ll look after the kids for you, if you want.”

“Ye want tae look after all three children? On yer own?” Murtagh smiled.

“Nah, only two. I’m taking William intae the distillery wi’ me. I want tae show him round, ye ken.”

“Show him off, more like.” Murtagh commented.

“Aye, weel, why don’t we all go in Monday morning?” Brian joined in. “Claire can mind the bairns for a while, if that’s alright, while we have the meeting. Then we can all have a bite tae eat in our new café, see what we think about it. Sounds good?”

There was a general murmur of agreement. Brian rubbed his hands together. “Right, it’s a plan.”

Jamie watched Claire, sitting on the other side of the fire pit, next to Jenny. She shifted in her chair and tucked her feet under her bottom with the blanket tight around her. The firelight played with the natural highlights in her hair, glimpses of gold and auburn amongst the brown. Her whisky eyes gazed into the fire, unfocused, dreaming. Those whisky eyes, Jamie thought. Whisky eyes…

He filed that thought away for Monday’s meeting and brought his attention back to what he really wanted to discuss with his family.

“Speaking of plans…” Jamie began as he felt Claire’s gaze switch to him, burning as hot as the fire. “... er… plans, aye. Claire and I would like tae get married this year. Here at Lallybroch.”

“That’s great news.” Brian was genuinely pleased. “But, Claire, is that what ye want? Dinna do it tae please us. It’s yer day, after all.”

“It was my idea, Brian. I would love to be married here at Lallybroch.”

“As long as it’s what ye want. So, we’ll need tae hire a marquee. When were ye thinking of having it?” Brian pulled his phone out of his pocket and started rolling through screens, hunting for the calendar. “Time’s pushing on fer this year, ye ken. It’s July now.”

“You hire a marquee for the Hallowe’en party every year, don’t you?” Claire looked over at Jamie. Memories of that party ran through her mind. Instinctively, she caught her lower lip between her teeth. Jamie smiled softly, her glass face making her thoughts obvious to him.

“Ye’re no’ thinking about a Halloween-themed wedding, are ye?” Murtagh’s blunt question brought Claire back to the present.

“Weel, I dinna think we have tae look verra far for a witch, ye ken,” Jenny muttered.

Murtagh burst out laughing. “Ye’re no’ wrong there.”

“We thought tae have the wedding the week before the Halloween party, then that gives time for the marquee tae be redressed with pumpkins and cobwebs. And if Isobel could take William back tae Geneva on Sunday, then Claire and I could have a week’s honeymoon somewhere, providing she lets me change ma days with him.”

“And we’ve already asked Jamie to be the ring bearer.”

“Aye, I ken. He was that proud. He’s going tae wear a kilt wi’ the men and stand at the front wi’ his Da and his Uncle… that’s what he said.” Jenny hesitated. “Och, sorry, that sounded awfa presumptuous there, about Ian. I mean, I…”

“Weel, I’m sorry Jenny but…” Jamie paused for a second before a broad smile crossed his face as he looked across at his oldest friend. “Dinna fash. Of course I want ma childhood friend tae be ma best man. So Ian, will ye do me that honour?”

“Weel, I’m no’ really sure. I may no’ be available on that day.” Ian returned Jamie’s smile. “Joking. Of course, I would be honoured tae stand by yer side. Thank ye.”

Brian raised his glass. “I think this call fer a toast. Tae Claire and Jamie… slainté.”

As the fire died down, blankets and whisky were no longer enough to ward off the chill of the night. With silent agreement, they all gathered up glasses, blankets and, in Jamie’s case, empty biscuit wrappers, and headed for bed.

Murtagh walked alongside Claire and, with a hand on her arm, pulled her back from the others.

“Jes’ wanted tae check on ye. Are ye alright... wi’ Jamie taking William intae the distillery tae show him off? I dinna want ye tae be upset or…” he looked slightly uncomfortable with his display of concern.

Claire smiled. “Murtagh, thank you but I’m fine with it. Truly. I wouldn’t want Jamie to treat William any differently than he would any child we’ll have. And I know this is exactly what he will do with them. So don’t you worry about me… but I do appreciate it.”

“As long as ye’re alright, lass. Our Jamie can sometimes be a wee bit headstrong, ye ken. Let me tell ye, ye’re the best thing that could have happened tae him. And tae get married here at Lallybroch. It’s jes’ wonderful. His Mam would have loved it.”

And with that Murtagh reached in his pocket for a handkerchief and quickly walked off ahead of Claire, back into the house.

****************

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny with not a cloud in sight. With six adults and three children to feed, breakfast was a slightly chaotic event. Jamie sat and gave William his bottle while Claire made toast topped with Mrs. Crook’s home-made raspberry jam. Ian took wee Jamie upstairs for teeth cleaning and a wash.

Jenny sat with Maggie, sharing a bowl of porridge. “Ye still taking ma son fer a walk this morning, man tae man?”

Jamie nodded as William gave a soft milky belch in agreement.

“He’s verra excited tae go with ye. He’s been thinking about yer wedding and has some suggestions fer ye. I’m no’ sure quite what they are but Ian’s been reading a lot about cowboys tae him. Jes’ warning ye.”

Claire excused herself and left Jamie and Jenny chatting in the kitchen as she headed back to their bedroom to prepare for the morning.

She came back downstairs to find Jamie alone in the hallway. He caught her arm and backed her against the wood panelling, his body close to hers, one hand resting on the wall either side of her head.

“Where’s William?” Claire looked around.

“Och, Mrs. Crook has dropped by and doesna want tae let hold of the wee man. He’s fine, being royally entertained. She didna approve of ma actions, but is besotted with the result.”

He reddened slightly, remembering the tongue lashing Mrs. Crook had given him on a previous visit. She had drawn herself up to her full five foot one inch height, reaching up to shake her finger at him as she scolded him for his irresponsible behaviour.

“Anyways,” he continued. “What are ye up tae this morning, with those wee denim shorts on and that t-shirt with yer nipples poking through the size of cherries?”

Claire glanced down. “They aren’t poking through, Jamie.”

Jamie moved even closer, placing his legs either side of Claire’s. His breath was hot against her skin, still carrying the scent of strong coffee and sharp raspberry. “Weel, I ken they are no’ at the moment, Sassenach, but if I nibble yer ear jes’ so… and run my tongue around yer sweet lips…”

Claire playfully pushed his chest. “Jamie, no, not here. You’ve promised your nephew a walk and…”

Not discouraged, Jamie continued to lightly kiss along Claire’s collarbone. She reached her fingers into his hair and pulled his head away.

“What is it with you and Lallybroch? Every time we come here, you’re like a sex-starved adolescent.”

“But with a better technique, I hope Sassenach.” He muttered quietly into her ear. “I dinna ken… all I want tae do is take ye tae ma bed and fuck ye. I want ye tae make those wee noises when ye come and then I want tae make ye come again as ye cry out and call ma name. And tae ken that it’s me and only me that does that tae ye, there’s no’ greater feeling than that. Ma cock is hard jes’ thinking about it.”

He ground his hips against her to prove his point.

A small cough came from somewhere behind Jamie.

“Unca, are ye no’ ready fer our walk? Mam has put sun cream on me and William, so we’re ready tae go. Are ye, Unca?”

Jamie took a couple of deep calming breaths before answering.

“Aye, lad. Jes’... er… jes’ give me a moment. I need to have a quick word wi’ yer auntie. Tell yer mam I’ll be there presently.”

As the little boy ran off, Claire dissolved in giggles. Jamie discretely adjusted himself as he pulled away from her and sat on the stairs, still breathing deeply before eventually following his nephew into the kitchen.

“See you later,” Claire called after him. “Looking forward to it.”

**************

With William firmly strapped to Jamie’s chest, Jamie set off on the familiar path to the grove of trees and then onto the nearby pond. His nephew strode alongside, occasionally having to do a quick run to keep up with his uncle. Jamie reduced his stride and slowed down to accommodate the four year old’s legs.

At first they walked together in companionable silence, broken only by the sound of their feet on the well worn path and the occasional squeal from William. He kicked his legs excitedly.

“William likes this.” Wee Jamie commented.

“Aye, he’ll like the feel of the sun on his bare legs. I dinna think he likes his sun hat, mind. But there’s a lot of new sounds and sights fer him to learn.”

“And smells.” Wee Jamie spoke mischievously. “I just did a bottie cough back there.”

“Ah well, better out than in, I dare say.”

As they reached the pond, Jamie’s memories turned to many years before, when Murtagh had taught him how to skim stones. Now it was Jamie’s turn to pass this onto his nephew, and eventually his son.

Under Jamie’s instruction, the little boy scoured the waterside for suitable stones, bringing them to him for approval. With a large enough supply to hand, Jamie crouched behind his nephew, guiding with his hands until, on his own, the little boy managed to set a stone skimming once across the still water.

Flushed with success, Wee Jamie went to join his uncle, now sitting on an old tree trunk.

“That was grand,” the little boy told his uncle. “D’ye think I could teach Maggie and William tae do that?”

“ I dare say ye could. But no’ yet. They’d be too busy trying tae eat the stones, would they no’?”

Wee Jamie sat quietly for a minute, kicking his heels against the tree trunk.

“About yer wedding, Unca, I been thinking. Mebbe ye, me, and Da can arrive on horses… come galloping over the fields.”

“Weel, that's a grand notion. But think about the mess. All the people in their finery treading in the horse shi- poo.”

Wee Jamie giggled. “Ah no, I dinna think about that.”

“And we’ll all be in kilts, ye dinna want yer thighs chafing, do ye? And remember we dinna wear anything under the kilt, we dinna want tae be getting a sore willie either now, do we?”

“I suppose no’... Da says kilts are handy -- ye can stand up and piss anywhere. Can I do that then Unca?”

“Aye lad, and if it’s snowing I’ll teach ye tae write yer name in the snow. Anyway we best be heading back, William’ll soon be wanting his milk.”

Jamie started walking away from the pond with his nephew skipping alongside him. He looked down as Wee Jamie took his hand.

“And remember laddie,” Jamie smiled. “Not a word tae yer mam about the pissing.”

“Nah,” Wee Jamie agreed. “That’s jes’ between us men.”

#outlander fan fiction #outlander fanfic #Road To The Aisles #Jamie Fraser #claire beauchamp #modern au #chapter 9 #More wee Jamie

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echo-bleu · 5 years

Note

Okay, for the prompts, breaking a glass on accident. 😭

Molly!!! Happy birthday!! ❤️❤️❤️

You gave me this prompt ages ago. I started to write a fic about teenage Alex, and your birthday coming up gave me the motivation to get on with it, only it got super angsty and not appropriate for a birthday fic, and also so long that I couldn’t finish it. So I decided to write another little ficlet that’s actually birthday themed just for you, and keep the long one for later. You’ll get two fills!

I hope you like this. It’s set in the future sometime, with established Malex.

[mentions of abuse, PTSD, flashback (all fairly light)]

Also on AO3

Michael turns just a fraction of a second to late. He sees it all inslow motion, unable to stop it. Max gives Alex a casual smack on theshoulder, and Alex flinches, dropping the glass of water in his hand.Before Michael can even reach out mentally, the glass shatters on thetiled floor and shards fly everywhere.

Alex blanches. Michael can recognize the signs bynow, the marks of a flashback or a sudden panic. He doesn't thinkthis is brought on by the noise, though everyone in the room startedat it. No, it's something else. It's Jesse Manes. There's this lookon Alex's face, and today is the perfect day for it, on Alex'sbirthday.

Maybe inviting everyone over was a bad idea, afterall. Michael thought it would be a nice gesture, and it might helpAlex loosen up, but he's been extra jumpy all day. Manesactually called him this morning, before the other showed up. Hisfirst contact in nearly a year, since Isobel went into his mind andmade him forget about aliens.

Michael comes closer to Alex, who hasn't movedsince the glass hit the floor, despite the fact that his shoes arecovered in shards. Max looks horrified and sorry, but Michael waveshim away before he can do anything.

“Alex?” Michael calls softly.

Alex is mouthing something, which finally comesout out loud. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Sorry.”

“Alex, it's okay. It's fine, it's just a glass.”

Alex still looks blank. Michael places himselfinto his line of sight, barely registering that he's walking onbroken glass. Alex matters more. “Alex. You with me? Come on.”

Alex blinks and shudders violently. He coughs,then looks around. “Sorry,” he repeats, but it actually soundslike him. “It just...dropped.”

“Yeah, it's alright. I'll clean it up, okay,just go sit down.”

“I can−”

“No, Alex, go on.” Michael carefully doesn'ttouch him as he shakes his legs, one after the other, to remove theshards on his shoes. “I'll take care of this.”

Alex nods and take a few steps back until he's outof the debris range. Michael levitates thelargest pieces of glass straight into the bin. Liz takes charge then,getting the broom and quickly sweeping the rest away. When Michaellooks up again, Alex hasn't moved.

“You okay?”

“I−yeah,” Alex nods shakily. “Sorry.”

“Stop saying that and get your ass on thecouch,” Michael waves him off. “Can I touch you?” he asks in alower voice, once Alex has sat down.

Alex thinks about it, then nods. Michael dropsdown beside him and gathers him closer. “Was that−”

“I keep thinking of him,” Alex murmurs. Theothers have scattered, studiously ignoring them. Isobel and Kyle arehaving an animated discussion about a recent charity event at thehospital on one side, while Liz and Rosa are keeping Max away in thekitchen. Maria hasn't arrived yet, sinceshe was visiting Mimi before coming over.

“Your father?”

“Yeah. Hearing his voice, his veiled threatsagain...I feel like I've gone straight back to childhood.”

“That's why this shook you up so hard.”Michael states.

“For a moment, I expected him to yell at me andpunish me. I just−”

“I know,” Michael murmurs. He has his moments,too, when something stupid and mundane will send him straight back toa bad place. They're further apart, and less strong than Alex's, buthe knows how awful it feels. He squeezes Alex tighter against him.

“I'm just gonna hug you till he's gone, okay?”he says.

Alex laughs weakly. “Thanks.” He lets his headrest on Michael's shoulder, his breathing slowly evening out. “Ithelps.”

“Can I join in?”

Michael looks up to find Liz standing close. Helooks back at Alex, knowing that it has to be his decision.

“Yeah,” Alex gives a little smile.

Liz drops on his other side, and hugs them both.“I love you, you know that?” she tells Alex.

“I love you too,” Alex murmurs.

“And I love you,” Michel chimes in. He saysit, often. Alex has only recently started saying it back, at least ina romantic way−he says it to Liz and Maria, often, but that'sdifferent. Right now, he softly kisses Michael's chin.

“I love you all too,” Isobel shouts suddenlyfrom her corner.

“Birthday hug!” Liz proposes. She still waitsfor Alex agreement, before she drags him and Michael to their feet.Soon they're engulfed in three more pairs of arms.

“Is it hug time?” Maria's voice comes from thedoor of the cabin.

“Hell yeah!” Isobel shouts, waving at her tojoin them.

Maria weaves her way in until she's cheek to cheekwith Alex. “Happy birthday,” she murmurs in his ear.

Alex closes his eyes, and Michael feels his handtighten around his waist. “Thank you,” he whispers.

Michael smiles. Today is a hard day, and they'llbe short of a glass, but Alex is getting the love and affection thathe deserves. That's all that matters.

#roswell nm #alex manes #michael guerin #malex #malex fic #birthday ficlet #hope you have a great day molly #mine #echo's fanfiction #chamblerstara

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salmonthestoryteller · 5 years

Note

Fic prompt: this was supposed to be a new start. Malex

I should save this for October since it's from the Spooky Prompts list, but… nobody has ever sent me a prompt from a list I reblogged before, so I got really excited.

Two Plus Two Equals...

A Roswell New Mexico Fanfic

"There's this old house for sale."

Alex wasn't sure which one of them looked more confused, Michael or him, as they stared at each other over cups of cooling coffee at Bean Me Up. He'd accuse his boyfriend of reading his mind if he wasn't blinking his eyes in such astonishment at him.

"The old one by the dry creek?" He finally asked.

Michael nodded. "It needs a lot of work, and it's more room than we need."

"It's a great price, though. And there's a lot of land included."

"It's a pretty old house, can it really handle all your computer jumbo?"

Alex rolled his eyes at the taunt. "My computer jumbo? Like you aren't going to turn the tool shed into a science lab?"

"I mean, I'd probably have to lay down some wire to do that."

"Apparently a previous owner paid to modernize the electricity. Including the toolshed."

Michael glanced at him over the rim of his coffee cup. "So you already talked to the owner?"

"I may have called the real estate office and asked the agent a few questions."

"Nobody's currently living there. The previous owner moved out, probably months ago."

Alex shot him an unimpressed look. "Did you break and enter?"

"Of course not. I just took a brief look at the place. Newspaper ads don't tell the whole story."

"You read it in the newspaper? That's so cute." Alex teased him, and Michael balled up his napkin to throw at him.

"Yeah, and what were you doing looking at real estate online?"

"I wasn't. It was one of those ads that pop up because I had my location settings turned on."

"Mm-hmm. You do know the algorithm for those things aren't actually random, right? They look at recent sites visited, recent purchases made-"

Alex threw the napkin back at him.

-----

"I'm so proud of you two. Settling down in a place with modern plumbing and more than two rooms." Isobel teased them the day they moved in.

"My cabin has more than two rooms." Alex protested.

"And terrible water pressure." Isobel was perched on the kitchen counter, using her now developed telekinesis to unwrap dishes and put them away in the cabinets. He'd call it cheating, but he'd honestly just asked Michael to move the couch into the living room with his mind so he'd be a hypocrite. Of course asking Michael to use his powers had the added bonus of that look of concentration on his face and the beads of sweat sliding down his neck when the item was heavy.

Isobel shot him a look that said she knew what he was thinking about, and glanced at the counter she was sitting on suspiciously. "Make sure to utilize the cleaning supplies I brought. They sanitize." She sniffed.

"You do know this was the house everyone used to say was haunted when we were kids." Kyle decided to offer as he brought in another box. "We used to dare each other to come here."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Haunted, right."

"I'd make a joke about crossing the streams, but that would sound vaguely sexual."

"Valenti, I brought bleach for the house, not for my brain." Isobel scowled at him.

"The fact that you've both made more dirty jokes during this whole thing than Michael makes me seriously question my friendships." Alex pointed out.

"That actually suggests you're the bad influence in your relationships if you think about it." Isobel countered with a smug grin.

Alex opened his mouth to deny it, but then grinned, and studied the counter again. "I mean, when it comes to being a bad influence on your brother…"

"Ew! Ew! Stop it right now, Manes!" Isobel jumped off the counter. "Liz! You need to invent brain bleach!"

"Being a mind reader must suck." Kyle tormented.

"Oh, I can share these images with you if you like, Valenti." Isobel took a threatening step toward him, but Kyle was quicker - dodging out of the room.

"I think there's one more kitchen box!"

"Someone needs bleach? What are you spilling?" Liz entered the room.

"Brain Bleach, Ortecho. I demand you invent a way for me to unsee the filth that is in your best friend's mind." Isobel pointed at him.

Alex shrugged at Liz as if he had no clue what she meant, and escaped back to the living room.

"Don't play innocent, Manes!" The angry shout followed him.

"Geez, what did you do to upset the Princess?" Rosa asked him.

"I'm being falsely accused." He told her.

"Uh-huh."

"Coming through." Michael was using his powers to float pieces of the bed frame through the room and up the stairs.

"Wipe up the drool, and maybe I'll believe you." Rosa patted his shoulder and moved away - ignoring his spluttered protest. She headed back outside, but paused when she spotted Maria staring at the house. She had a box in her hands, but she wasn't moving. Her head was tilted to one side and her eyes distant - almost vacant. "Maria?" She approached her.

"Someone is here."

"Yeah, there's a lot of us here."

"Something happened - someone is missing?"

"I'm pretty sure we're all here." When she didn't respond right away, she reached out a hand to touch her arm. "Maria?"

Maria gasped, nearly dropping the box. She shook her head and stared at her blankly for a moment before she seemed to realize where she was. "I'm sorry, I just felt…" She glanced back at the house, and trailed off.

"Felt what?"

"I don't know. It's gone now."

Rosa frowned, but grabbed another box. "Well, come on. I'm gonna con Michael into buying us all pizza."

Maria laughed, and followed her inside.

-----

Leftover pizza from lunch was dinner. Michael couldn't seem to keep a smile off his face as Alex and he curled up in front of the fire. He was exhausted, both physically and powerwise. Maybe not the wisest choice, but right now things were quiet so it wasn't that concerning.

"Want anything?" He asked, despite the fact he didn't want to move.

"You." Alex replied, pulling him closer for a kiss. Michael went eagerly, letting their lips glide invitingly against each other's. Alex's hands were just beginning to tangle in his curls when a deafening crash echoed through the house.

"What the hell?" Michael was on his feet, and moving toward the sound.

"Michael, wait a moment." Alex hissed, struggling slightly to rise to his feet.

He cursed when Michael didn't listen, but caught up with him just as he was surveying the dining room. Nothing seemed out of place, and they moved into the kitchen next. They both relaxed when they saw things from the counter had fallen to the floor.

"The pizza boxes must have slid and knocked stuff." Alex picked up their paper towel holder.

"I'll grab the broom." Michael volunteered, and Alex only nodded in response.

It seemed like things had fallen pretty far. He frowned as he picked up the spaceship sponge holder Rosa had given them. It shouldn't have been anywhere it could be knocked. The air in the room felt chilly - he could feel goosebumps prickle up his arms. Placing the sponge back by the sink, he waited for Michael to return. He was ready to get back to the warmth of the fire.

-----

Over the next few weeks, Alex detected a pattern of things moving and falling. At first he thought they were simply misplacing things as they adjusted to the new house, but soon he was certain something more was going on.

Mysteriously moving belongings and telekinetic alien boyfriend. 2+2 = 4.

He thought it would be a simple conversation.

"I'm not moving things."

"Ever since we moved in here things have been moving." Alex pointed out.

"Or maybe we've been misplacing them because we aren't used to the house yet." Michael contradicted.

"Michael, my crutch was against the far wall this morning. So unless you did it on purpose--"

"I didn't touch--"

"You must be doing it subconsciously."

"I have not moved things while sleeping since I was thirteen, Alex."

"Well, I'm not saying that moving in together is like puberty, but since your powers do react to your emotions--"

"My emotions?" Michael crossed his arms. "Just what emotions do you think I'm having?"

"It's a big step, maybe you're nervous."

"I haven't been nervous, I've been happy. I thought you were too."

"I am happy, Michael. But something is clearly happening with your powers, and maybe making this big of a commitment has something to do with it."

"You're the one who's scared of commitment, Alex. Not me."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe this new level of commitment has you questioning us like you always do. And blaming me, which you always do, too, so you don't have to question your own motives."

"Or maybe your fear of being abandoned is clouding your judgement and you refuse to see what's happening."

When Michael slammed out the door a moment later, Alex sunk down onto the kitchen stool with a groan. This was supposed to be a new start, how had things gone bad so quickly?

-----

Michael hadn't returned by nightfall and Alex stayed up late, hoping he'd finally cool off and come home. It wasn't really like him to stay out late drinking anymore, not unless they were together. He finally fell into a restless sleep filled with hazy dreams where he searched endlessly for Michael but couldn't find him.

He awoke briefly when a cool hand touched his forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Michael." He murmured back, glad the other had finally returned home. Something nagged at his mind, something about the hand that had brushed against his skin, but he was already drifting toward sleep again.

Cold. Cold hands. Michael's were always warm. Hot even, due to his alien biology. He shot up in bed, eyes scanning the darkness around him. "Lights." He ordered, and was glad he'd thought to install the program when the lamp turned on at the command.

Nobody was in the bedroom, it was empty.

Alex shivered, and grabbed his crutch - foregoing the prosthetic for speed. He went room by room but it soon became clear that nobody was there. He returned to bed, but sleep was a long time coming.

-----

He didn't feel very rested when the ding of his phone awakened him the next morning. He heard footsteps from the living room and was glad Michael had finally made it home. The screen showed the message was from Michael starting with "I'm sorry."

The idea of Michael pacing restlessly while sending a text message a room away made him smile fondly, and he sat up slowly. Both his crutch and prosthetic were across the room and he frowned at that - he was hoping the incidents with Michael's powers could be resolved by talking things out.

He clicked open the message to read the rest, and his blood ran cold.

"I'm sorry.

I spent the night at Liz and Max's. She and Kyle are going to run some tests to see what's going on with me. I'll be here all morning, but I'll bring lunch home."

The footsteps started down the hallway towards him…

#roswell new mexico #malex #alex manes #michael guerin #rnm fanfic #spooky prompts #prompt fic #rnm asks

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planetsam · 5 years

Text

someone sent me this: I need a fic where Alex is like catnip for queer male aliens. After they find more aliens they all vying for his attention showing him their ‘gift’ and Michael is all like ‘yeah levitate the fuck out of here asshole’

“I have come to court the fair Captain Alex Manes,” the alien announces, “I was blessed with the gift to make fire and I offer it to the Captain, to use as he will.”

Alex looks stunned.

Michael looks between the both of them so quickly he thinks he may strain his neck. Alex looks stunned but not offended or upset or any of the things Michael is hoping he would. The alien recognizes and seizes this opportunity. The plume of fire he creates is blue and orange and gold. It flares up, folds down on itself and then rises in the shape of two birds that soar around the room before flying in a heart in front of Alex and exploding into more rainbow tinted fire.

“That was amazing,” Alex says, “what did you say your name was?”

“I am Arun of Antar,” he says.

“You’re very talented,” Alex compliments.

“You flatter me,” Arun says.

Michael decides Arun better start thinking of other planets to be ‘of’ because he’s going to kick him off this one.

“Did you see that?” Alex says excitedly, “Darany is so talented.”

“Darany is a dick,” Michael says, “what good is making sparkles?”

“I think it’s cool,” Alex says with a shrug.

Michael feels sick. When the three of them decided to bring ‘Team Alien’ to Antar, they knew they were going to get a heroes welcome. And it was great to see their friends be lauded for everything. It wasn’t like they were going to get the credit they deserved on earth. Antar is a culture of warriors. Battlefield warriors. Which means that Alex, the one of them with any battlefield experience, is suddenly surrounded by more admirers than he knows what to do with. A female Antarian works up the courage to ask to court him. She is so nervous and looks so crestfallen that Alex, being Alex, tells her that if he was attracted to women she would be top of the list and inadvertently outs himself in the process.

And that is when the men start arriving.

Alex tries not to look flattered by the attention which only makes him more attractive somehow. He also tries to not look interested but Michael can see how he shifts depending on the guy. He stops trying to hide his prosthetic after he realizes the society treats him like a warrior who has done something honorable instead of a burden. Seeing the change in Alex, Michael is happy. Happy for his friend. Alex deserves to be happy with whoever he wants. Michael repeats it over and over again, but if Alex falls in love with a different Antarian and stays on Antar then Michael thinks he might die.

“I am Nimith,” the latest man says and Michael swears silently because this guy looks like he walked off of the cover of Rolling Stone, “I make music.”

Oh hell no.

“You do?” Alex sits up, genuinely interested and Nimith’s hot guy persona cracks into something equally interested in Alex the man, “what do you play?”

“I am master of the Antarian Lyre,” he says, “may I play for you?”

Alex nods and leans forward as Nimith produces a stringed instrument and starts to play. He’s good. Fuck him he’s really good. Alex’s gaze softens and it’s a knife to Michael’s gut. This guy looks like a rock star and plays his instrument and Alex’s fingers tap to the beat of what he’s playing. Michael’s stomach drops with dread. Nimith strums out some phenomenal solo something that makes his fingers dance and all Michael can see is those fingers working Alex. Alex is thinking the same thing too, if the color on his cheeks is any indication. This asshole is making Alex blush. Michael watches as he finishes and Alex applauds—which isn’t new—and gets to his feet—which is—and comes over to him.

“I don’t know anything about Antarian music,” he says.

“May I teach you?” Nimith offers.

“I’d like that,” Alex says.

Nimith extends a hand and Alex leaves with him.

Michael goes back to his room, screams into a pillow and has a new appreciation for the years Alex spent watching him sleep his way through Roswell. The music is just salt in the wound, but if he thinks about it it’s more deserved than he wants to admit.

“So are you done with suitor hour now that you’re making music with Nimith?” Michael asks.

“Am I what?” Alex repeats with a laugh, “what are you talking about?”

“Suitor hour, where all the available guys on Antar come and introduce themselves and show how big their ‘abilities’ are,” he says, “you gonna stop that now that you’ve got a boyfriend.”

“That is not what’s happening,” Alex says, his face red, “and I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Michael shouldn’t be nearly as relieved to hear that as he is. Alex picks at the bowl of noodles, his eyebrows drawn together and Michael’s relief turns to nausea as Alex does that deep breath thing he does when he’s about to say something he doesn’t want to. He focuses his gaze on Michael and Michael desperately wishes that he could look away.

“Do you have a problem with it?”

“What? No!” Michael lies, “of course not. We agreed things didn’t work between us, I want you to be happy.”

“So if I stayed on Antar and was with one of them, it wouldn’t bother you?”

“No,” he says, “I’d be happy for you. You should stay for someone you love,” he continues, “I can’t think of a better reason.”

Alex gives him a look that turns the nausea into a literal ache. He stands up. They said no more walking away. They promised each other. He opens his mouth to remind Alex, to say something that will make him come back so they can go back to how things were five minutes ago. Alex looks at him cooly and Michael wants to yell.

“We said no more walking away,” he says.

“We also said no more lying,” Alex replies, “I have to go get ready for my ‘Suitor Hour’” he says. Michael looks away, “don’t bother coming to babysit.”

“What? That’s not what I’m doing,” he protests, getting to his feet.

“I don’t know what you’re doing,” Alex tells him, finally looking at him again, “but I’m going to go meet the men who have come here because they want to get to know me. I don’t want to do it with you glaring at them anymore.”

“I’m not glaring at them!” Michael protests. Alex gives him a withering look. Right. Shit. No lies. “They aren’t good enough for you,” he says finally.

Alex shakes his head.

“That isn’t for you to decide.”

Michael knows that people said the same thing about him. And God, they were right weren’t they? He isn’t good enough for someone as incredible as Alex. He never will be. Everyone knew it, even Alex eventually figured it out. He feels sick as he looks at him. He’s jealous of everything that runs through his head as Alex folds his napkin, nods at the staff and walks away. Because he won’t keep all the men who are here to recognize how good he is waiting. Because in addition to being possibly the best person Michael has ever met, Alex is also punctual.

Fuck, no wonder he’s still in love with him.

“Would you like refreshments brought to the chamber?” One of the servants asks, “since you and Captain Manes didn’t finish?”

He looks at her blankly.

“He just banned me,” he says.

“But, sir,” she says, “this is your palace. Technically, he can’t ban you from anything.”

Michael doesn’t wear authority particularly well.

On Antar this is thrown into sharp relief when he keeps forgetting that he’s technically second in command of an entire fucking planet. He remembers thumbing through one of those tabloids Isobel used to get and reading about how the new royals kept scandalizing everyone by opening their own doors and shit. It’s not until he sees his face on the Altar equivalent because he held open the door for someone who was technically a servant that he understands. He does a better job after that at least attempting to follow protocol.

But he does keep forgetting just how much power he has now. He ignores it a lot of the time. Even when the guys come to court Alex, they always look at him. He glares because he hates them, but he never outright stops it. Because he’s a jerk in a lot of ways but even he’s not that much of a dick. He can’t use his authority against Alex. Or Alex’s endless stream of suitors. Alex kicks him out of Suitor Hour and he forces himself to respect that. It’s Alex. Alex doesn’t love him like that and he has to keep reminding himself of it. Alex gets to be happy.

Alex doesn’t speak to him but Suitor Hour stops happening as frequently. Which Michael is initially relieved about but then bolts up one night overcome with the terror that Alex has stopped it because he’s found someone. It’s a palace, his palace, and it doesn’t take much for him to find out the last name on the list is Rith. Rith is in the army Michael technically commands and is gifted with the power of air manipulation. He could be his evil twin. So Michael does the thing he’s been avoiding and visits his army, incognito. He has Rith’s training interrupted and the man brought to him.

“General Rath, Sir!”

Seeing his evil twin/Alex’s boyfriend flatten himself in a deep bow is going in his head under those truly great moments in his life. Like the time he rolled Max’s first jeep. Rith stands when he motions for him to and goes into a formal military posture as Michael tries to see why he’s so much better. They barely look alike aside from curly hair and their general build. Rith’s eyes are blue. Maybe Alex has a thing for blue eyes. After a moment of being inspected, Rith glances at him.

“Sir?”

“I’m in charge of this whole place,” Michael says, trying to sound stern but winding up just sounding like Max, “I could ruin everything for you.”

“Sir, I know, Sir,” Rith says.

“So if Alex isn’t the picture of happiness, if I hear one breath that you’re not treating him right, I will ruin you,” he says.

“Sir?”

“What about that is confusing?” He demands.

“Nothing, Sir, if I was with Captain Manes I would do anything to make him happy. But—“ Michael glares, “sir, Captain Manes and I are not together. He thanked me for coming but said he couldn’t be with me. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“Did he say why not?” Michael asks before he can stop himself.

“No, sir,” Rith says, “it’s what he’s said to everyone.”

Michael nods. Rith hesitates for a moment. Michael waves his formality off, signaling that he can speak. Rith still looks nervous as hell which is fair. Michael’s not great at authority and this puts him squarely in the ‘Max Zone’ of using it poorly. Not exactly a place he ever wanted to be. Rith seems like an okay dude so maybe he’s the evil twin in all of this.

“Sir, Captain Manes is waiting for you.”

“Where?” Michael asks, looking around. If Alex sees him he really is never going to speak to him.

“Not here, sir, I meant in general. Captain Manes always speaks highly of you,” he says, “actually, he only speaks of you. And if I may, sir, everyone else has noticed how you look when Captain Manes shows interest. Everyone except Captain Manes.”

“Well I sit behind him so—“ Michael winces. Rith clears his throat instead of smiling, “what’s your point? Alex and I agreed to be friends.”

“On earth, sir,” Rith says, “you aren’t on earth anymore. Do you have such an agreement on Antar?”

Michael makes a note to promote him.

“Okay I’m here,” Alex says, “what’s this about?”

His voice is tight with frustration. But he doesn’t scoff or do any of the things he usually does when he’s frustrated with him. Actually Michael hears his feet stop mid step and pause completely. He knows the look on Alex’s face without turning around. He doesn’t blame his confusion, God knows he feels completely ridiculous. He never played dress up as a kid and until very recently, all of his clothing was multipurpose. The most formal thing he owned was a black suit that was a rental he never returned. He rarely felt comfortable in his own skin, let alone dressing it up.

As it turns out, Antarian Ceremonial Amor makes earth dressing up feel like a joke.

It’s heavy and guided and Michael thought it was stupid to have actual armor and ceremonial armor but now he sees the distinction. His only available combat move is to roll into a ball and hope he hits what he’s aiming at. Don’t get him wrong, the thing is a work of art. Thousands of metal plates overlap each other, each placed so artfully that all together the design they create is visible from every angle. It’s a silvery color but it’s made of an Antar alloy. His skin is saved by what he privately thinks is the nicest onesie in existence, but what he has been informed is the proper undergarment. Draped along his back is the cloak that bears Max’s sigil and his own, showing the unity of their two houses.

He looks good.

That doesn’t mean he’s not nervous as fuck when he turns around. Alex’s jaw drops and if Michael was comparing himself to any of the other suitors, he would say that gives him almost as wide a lead as Nimith. Alex’s eyes drag over his body and if he didn’t have heavy ass armor on, he’d feel like he was being undressed. They settle on his face and Alex’s jaw closes and clenches. Michael knows he’s still in trouble. That’s okay, he’s good at being in trouble. Especially when he’s dressed up like a fucking storybook character.

“What is this about?” Alex repeats.

“I’m here to announce my intention to court you,” he says.

“No.”

Flat out refusal is something no-one else has gotten. Alex at least humors them. Alex doesn’t look amused and he doesn’t look like he’s going to give him the chance. Michael glares.

“What do you mean no? Why not?” Alex scowls, “you said yes to Prak. Prak had no gift and wrote you a bad poem!”

“Prak was nice.”

“Prak was almost as useless as Borey. He did origami for an uncomfortably long time.”

“That city was impressive.”

“Why are they allowed to court you and I’m not?!” He demands, “why do they get to try to make you fall for them and I can’t?”

“Because I’m already in love with you!”

It’s not the answer he was expecting.

Alex makes a noise and turns around as Michael stares at him in confusion. They’ve established the love each other, but they aren’t in love. Except apparently they were both lying about that. Michael toys with the edge of his cloak as Alex takes a deep breath before turning around to face him. He’s trying for calm and collected but Michael can see the turmoil in him. Alex doesn’t want to have this conversation, but maybe Alex does want to be with him. Michael isn’t sure which emotion to choke on.

“You’re in love with me?”

“Of course I’m in love with you,” Alex says.

“But why—“ Michael frowns, “all those guys—“

“We agreed we didn’t work,” Alex says, “and I like meeting new people,” Michael frowns, sensing this isn’t the whole story, “and I knew you would be there.”

“The dude parade was an excuse to spend time with me?” He blurts out.

Alex looks away and gives the smallest nod.

“We didn’t work on earth,” Michael says abruptly, remembering the crux of his speak to convince Alex to let him take him out, “we’re not on earth.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Alex says.

“Okay,” Michael looks down and then looks at him, “then let me court you because I love you.”

Alex stares at him. Michael knows he’s been hopeless in the actually saying how he feels department. Even now it’s been that he feels the same, it’s always Alex who says the words. Names the emotions. But Michael has never been more sure of anything in his life. He steps forward, determination in everything he is.

“Let me court you, because I was trying to let you be happy but I felt sick every time you liked a guy. I’m in charge of a lot here,” he says, “I could have sent them all away,” Alex glares, “but let court you because you never cared that I didn’t have any of this. Let me court you because I’ve loved you on two planets and could love you anywhere. Let me give you every reason to stay here.”

Alex stares at him, wide eyed and parted lips. They’ve moved closer throughout the conversation to the dais where they sat and Michael gently pushes Alex onto his chair. Moving fast in ceremonial armor is not easy but he makes it to the entrance in record time and approaches the chair and the stunned Alex all over again. He ignores any nerves as he does the best bow he can manage, following every one of those stupid ass Antarian court rules that he’s been drilling.

“I am Michael of the Airstream, alternately known as Rath of Antar. I am blessed with the ability to move things with my mind, play the guitar, hold my own in a bar fight and I can make a truly life changing quesadilla,” he says, “I offer it to Alex, to use as he will. For as long as he wants.”

Alex closes his eyes and dips his head. When he looks up, Michael feels his heart explode with hope. Alex gets up and starts towards him.

“Can I court you?” He asks again.

“No,” Alex says. Michael frowns. Alex smiles, “courting comes before being in a relationship. There’s no touching involved.”

“Oh, shit,” Michael vaguely remembers hearing that somewhere, “we should skip that. If I can ever get out of this stuff—“

Alex kisses him, catching him off guard but it only takes a moment for him to catch up. The entire time he’s been in his palace, he’s felt like an imposter. It’s truly mind boggling how all it takes is Alex kissing him to make him feel like he’s home. It doesn’t matter that he could fit about a billion airstreams in the palace. Alex kisses him and he’s back in the airstream, almost bumping into all four walls. This, he thinks dimly, must be what people mean when they say home is a person. He can barely feel Alex through the armor but at the moment it’s worth it just to stand there and know that Alex has heard him say he loves him. That it got him another chance he has no intention of wasting. Michael opens his eyes and looks up at Alex who finally looks happy. Happier than Michael has seen him in far too long.

“So you know more about Antar courting rituals than I do,” he says breathlessly.

“I can also play the Lyre,” Alex tells him, equally breathless.

“Hot. How much touching are we allowed?” Alex kisses him again in response, “how are you with taking off armor? Think you can figure it out?”

Alex drops his cloak in response.

Michael barely remembers to lock the chamber.

#michael guerin #alex manes #michael x alex #malex fanfic #roswell new mexico #roswell nm fanfic #prompts #malex fic

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andrea-lyn · 5 years

Note

Know how Michael tells Isabel that love was worst thing that ever happened to him in the finale? Prompt idea: Michael in the future realizing how love is actually the best thing to have happened to him. Perhaps an epic Michael & Alex get back together? :)

If anyone ever asks him when he’d changed his mind, he’s going to lie.Michael can’t have anyone know how much of a cliche he is, but he thinks that anyone would be swayed if they were in his shoes. After they had resurrected Max, he and Liz had found their way together and strengthened their foundation, soaring together just as quickly as Michael and Maria had crashed amidst a pile of miscommunications, lies, and his inability to be vulnerable around her for fear of being in pain and ruining that, too.He’d still ruined their chances at anything, only leading him to really feel that love’s the worst thing in the world.Tonight, though, after listening to Liz and Max speak at their wedding about how love is what’s given them a new chance in life, how they don’t plan to waste it, and how it’s made things incredible, even if scary, he feels like he’s been struck by a comet.Liz had stood there and talked about how loving Max was like standing on the edge of a cliff, feeling like she was about to fall, but she said it like it was a good thing. She talked about the terrifying hurt like it made her stronger, and for the first time, Michael realized that all this time, he’d been thinking about loving Alex being like a crash landing in the wrong way.He hates that he had this epiphany at a wedding, but he did.Yeah, the crash landing is messy and visceral and violent, but it makes you remember that you’re alive and to make you focus on what’s important in your life. He feels like he must look like he’s been smacked across the face, sitting at the head table and facing all the guests. Lucky for him, Isobel and Maria keep sneaking off to the closet and it’s given him something else to focus on. Fortunately, no one else has noticed, and definitely not Alex Manes.Alex, who’s been chatting politely with all of Liz’s family. Alex, who’s been running interference on everything wedding related just so that Max and Liz can focus on the day. Alex, who looks stunning in eyeliner and his suit, and who Kyle keeps nudging him to notice.He’s noticed.That’s the trick of it – he never stopped noticing, it’s just that he’s thought that love is the worst. Tonight, watching Max and Liz, he’s starting to think that love is terrifying, but worth the leap. Of course, he’s also spent two years breaking up his relationships and straining them because he hasn’t been brave. He’d managed to fix his friendship with Maria through months, he’d managed to make it work with Max after his resurrection, and he’d even found common ground with Valenti. He just hasn’t figured out how to take something that he’d buried to avoid causing himself pain and rekindle that relationship.The question is, how does he turn it around?He starts at the wedding. “Hey,” he says, offering a hand out to Alex. “Wanna dance?”Alex looks at his hand warily, then down to his prosthetic, and Michael can tell there’s a smart remark coming.“I’m not exactly a foxtrot kind of guy myself,” he cuts off whatever Alex intends to say. “We can just do the awkward high school shuffle, but come on,” he begs under his breath. “I love this song.”He doesn’t even know this song, but it’s worth it when Alex takes the first step and follows Michael onto the dance floor. It’s a single dance before Alex gets dragged off to do shots with the bridal party and then helps with the cake cutting, but it’s a step in the right direction. From there, he makes sure he’s back in Alex’s life. It’s easy when Max and Liz leave to travel on their honeymoon, seeing as it leaves a gap in both their social lives. When the newlyweds get back, Michael comes up with even more excuses for seeing Alex, which usually mean he’s purposefully breaking his laptop so Alex can help him fix it. There’s something developing again between them. Beyond the friendship, Michael can feel that spark reigniting and he knows that if he lights a match, he can get that flame burning once more.It never really went out, Michael just started to ignore it.One night, when he’s watching movies at Isobel’s place with Maria and her, he tells them about his plan. “You know that time when I said love’s the worst thing that ever happened to me?”Maria shares a look with Isobel, raising her brow. “And he wonders why we didn’t work out. What a romantic.”“Thanks, DeLuca,” Michael sarcastically replies, rolling his eyes. He takes in a deep breath and he knows this isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but he needs to admit to his mistake. “I was wrong. It’s scary and it’s terrifying, but only because that’s all I ever focused on. I missed the softer parts, the trust, the adrenaline of the fall,” he admits with a scoff, rubbing a hand through his hair. “Having someone to love...”“Maybe it’s not so bad?” Isobel suggests.He definitely doesn’t think it is. “So what do I do?” He feels like he’s doing a dangerous thing by putting his love life in the hands of two women who terrify him. One of them, an ex-girlfriend that he’d spent a year tangled up with and then untangling from as best as they could. The other, his sister, who had swooped right into that rebound to show Michael what fireworks actually looked like when you kissed someone.If he ends up with a boombox outside Alex’s house, he’s gonna lose some of that trust in their abilities.“You want to show Alex you love him? That love is a good thing and you’re happy that it happened to you?” It’s rhetorical, given that it’s Isobel, so Michael doesn’t say a word. “Then crash land again, but pick up the wreckage together.”“I really regret that metaphor,” Michael says, but he leaves that night with a plan in mind.Actually, that’s the nice version, the cleaned up version.He leaves that night, drives right to Alex’s cabin in the woods, and they crash land together into bed. If there were oxygen masks to pull, then Michael would definitely grab one during the six crashes they have that night, but he kind of gets Isobel’s point.In the morning, amidst the wreckage, Michael burrows in closer to Alex. “You stayed,” Alex murmurs, sleepily blinking awake and letting his gaze slide over Michael, letting his fingers drift over his hip. “You don’t have to go anywhere? You don’t want to pretend last night never happened?”Michael could point out that those are plays from Alex’s playbook, but he’s not here for that. He’s here because he’s figured out that love is the best thing that’s happened to him, at least when it’s being in love with Alex Manes.“Actually,” he says, “I thought that you and I could get breakfast together, then maybe see what we think about working out that creak in your front door.” Love doesn’t always mean crash landings.Today, love means breakfast and a visit to the hardware store. No crash positions needed at all.

#Anonymous #malex #malex fic #future fic ish #maria/isobel background #echo background #love is a many splendored thing #and not just a crash landing

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frankchurchillsaysrelax · 5 years

Note

Malex prompt "It’s feels like I’m suffocating.” Michael sensing that Alex is in danger as their bond amplifies.

“Isobel!”

A wave of blonde flies through the air as Isobel turns toward Michael’s frantic voice. Few people are on the street at this time of day but those that are look on in curiosity.

“Michael, what’s wrong?” She drags him closer to the nearest storefront. While it offers them no further privacy it does give him a place to lean and catch his breath for which he is grateful.

“Is, you gotta help me. It’s Alex.” He pauses, attempting to fill his lungs with air but meeting resistance. A force comprised solely of fear and worry is lodged in his chest, unrelenting in its grip on his heart. “Please, Isobel, we need to find him.”

She pulls him into a hug, concern obvious in the way her hands flit over him in search of an injury that’s not there.

“Alright, tell me what’s going on and we’ll fix it.” She speaks slow and calm and it only serves to agitate him more. This isn’t a moment for calm, this is a moment for panic and action.

“I don’t know!” He steps out of her hold feeling trapped, needing the ability to run if he has to. “It’s just this feeling I have and he isn’t answering his phone.”

“Are you sure he’s not just screening your calls?” Isobel holds her hands up in surrender at the furious glare he throws her way. “Sorry, ok what kind of feeling are we talking about here?”

“It feels like I’m suffocating.” Michael runs his hands restlessly through his hair, tugging on the ends. They shouldn’t be standing here, they should be doing something.

“But it’s not me, Is. I can’t explain it but I think it’s kinda like you and Max. I know something is wrong.” He latches onto her hands, staring at her with wide, unblinking eyes. “Please, Izzy, he’s my—”

“I know what he is to you.” She smirks, not unkindly, and raises a challenging eyebrow.

Michael’s frenzy comes to a standstill, quickly trailed by incredulous fury.

“How does everybody know about that?!”

“Michael, please. You’re not as aloof as you like to think.” She raises a hand, brushing her thumb across the skin next to his eye. “Your whole, energy for lack of a less new agey word, would change every time he came back to visit. It was such a rare occurrence that after a while the two couldn’t be considered a coincidence.”

“Fine.” The tightness in his chest prevents him from taking the deep breath he needs after the turn this conversation took. “I love him. We can talk about that later, after we find him.”

Isobel’s face turns serious. “Do you think it’s Noah?”

“I don’t know, maybe? It could also be his dad.” Michael pauses, chewing on his lip. The who doesn’t really concern him right now, he’s more preoccupied with the where. “We need a plan.”

Isobel looks around them, determination settling into her features.

“Come with me.” She grabs his hand, gently dragging him down the street toward The Crashdown and ignoring his protests until they’re seated in a booth.

The cafe is quiet but Liz leans against the counter ready to assist any customers. Her friendly greeting is cut off by a worried glance between them. Isobel takes the menus from her and whispers something Michael can’t hear.

Liz retreats, Isobel opens her menu, and Michael snaps.

“Goddamnit Isobel! We don’t have time to fucking eat. If you’re not going to help me I’ll just do it myself.” He moves to stand, already planning the route of places he’s going to look when Isobel’s hand grasps his wrist, nails digging in like barbed wire preventing him from going any further.

“Sit down,” she hisses. She waits for him to obey. “We’re not here for lunch, I just needed somewhere quiet. I have an idea but I’ve never done it before.”

Michael nods, desperate for anything to work. The weight in his chest is heavier and the thought that Alex might be running out of time leaves him feeling helpless.

“After I figured out what was going on with you two I realized that there had always been something there. Ever since high school there was this connection between you. I’d never felt anything like it, I couldn’t name it but I knew it was there.”

Her words mend something deep inside that he thought would always remain broken before tearing it to pieces all over again. Validation of a truth he’d always known but had been forced to question too many times, followed by the eternal question: if what they have is so real, why can they never make it work?

Now isn’t the time for that, not while Alex is in danger. You can’t worry about your future if the one you want to spend it with is dead.

“I want to try and reach him through you.” She looks skeptical which isn’t very reassuring. “I don’t know if my powers even work this way, but if you direct your thoughts toward him then maybe I can follow them and locate him.”

“Like an antenna.”

“Yeah,” she breathes out, looking relieved that he understands. It could work, he concedes. It could also be a useless waste of their time. Either way it’s a better option than driving around aimlessly.

He gives a sharp nod, sitting up straighter on the bench. “Let’s give it a shot. What do you need me to do?”

“Well you need to think about Alex, think you can handle that?” He glares and she settles into her seat grabbing her menu and motioning for him to do the same. “Just focus on Alex, call out to him in your mind. I’m not promising this will work.”

Michael rests a hand on hers giving it a comforting squeeze. “I trust you, Is. Just remember it’s a mess in there.” He taps the side of his head. “Only gotten worse since we were kids.”

Isobel nods before locking her eyes on his, ready to start. He does his best to quiet his mind, though judging by Isobel’s quiet cursing as he drifts into his mind he’s not doing a very good job.

He focuses on his memories of Alex, mindful of Isobel being in his head. He recalls his smile, so joyous and carefree when they were kids. Something he’s only seen break through a handful of times in the last decade. He remembers the feeling of waking up and finding Alex had stayed, how hopeful he was in that moment. The first time he’d let himself feel that kind of hope in a long time.

Alex, please hold on I’m trying to find you. Wherever you are I’m always gonna find you, I’ll never look away, I promise. Just please, please hold on. Y’know, Is says our connection is stronger than anything she’s ever felt. I told you we were cosmic. You just gotta come back to me so I can prove it. Please, Alex, please. I love you.

A hand shakes his arm dragging him out of his head. He opens his eyes to see Isobel, pale and looking like she’s about to puke. Liz stands next to her holding out a glass of clear liquid, her other hand still on Michael’s shoulder. Both of them wear matching victorious grins.

“Got him.”

#anonymous #my fic #prompts #michael guerin #isobel evans #malex #malex fic #roswell new mexico #this was originally a concept for alex tracking michael but i think i flipped it pretty well #just shiny happy things huh? lies christine l i e s

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bestillmyslashyheart · 6 years

Text

1x05 Coda

Isobel tugged the blanket tighter around her shoulders. Even sitting close to the fire, she was still cold. Part of her was sure she wouldn’t be able to get warm. Not tonight at least. Not after Noah left.

Beside her she heard Michael shifting in his seat. Neither one of them had spoken in a while, enjoying the company without needing to fill the silence. She knew at some point they’d need to talk. There was no way she could stay in the trailer tonight, there just wasn’t enough room. She’d go to Max’s but neither one of them had a car at the moment. And she didn’t exactly have her phone.

She moved so she could lean her elbow on the armrest and put her head down on her hand. She had been running their previous conversation over in her head. Maybe she should tell Noah. Be done with the secrets for good. But something held her back and she wasn’t sure what. She just couldn’t bring herself to be wholly honest with him, no matter how much she loved him.

She picked her head up. Michael sent her a worried glance but she ignored him. She was thinking. Michael had said they should finally be honest with the people that they love. But- who did Michael want to be honest with? She turned to him with a furrowed brow. He was still eyeing her and just raised an eyebrow.

“Earlier,” she started, “you said we should let ourselves be honest with the people that we love.”

Slowly, he nodded. He looked a bit confused. Isobel couldn’t blame him. She was trying to continue a conversation they’d had almost an hour ago.

“Who would you tell?” She asked. “I mean, just the other week you were saying there wasn’t anyone you cared about enough to risk everything for but now there’s someone you want to let in on our secret?”

Michael looked down at the beer in his hands. He didn’t answer.

“I thought we just agreed to have no more secrets between us, Michael.”

Michael leant forward and ran a hand through his hair. He stared into the dwindling fire in front of them, the flames reflecting in his eyes.

“I, uh,” he cut himself off with a humorless laugh. “So there’s-”

This time it was the crunch of tires over gravel that cut him off. Both of them turned towards the entrance as a truck pulled up next to them, slamming on its breaks. Isobel didn’t recognize it; she pulled the blanket even tighter to cover herself while beside her Michael tensed. She wanted to look at him but the car door opened and she was too curious who the driver was to look away.

Isobel could honestly say she was not expecting Alex Manes. She watched as he slid from the car and limped towards them, walking without a crutch but with something clutched tightly in his hands.

She looked over at Michael. What was Alex doing visiting him at this time of night? He wasn’t looking at her. He wasn’t even looking at Alex. No, he was staring off into space shaking his head as he took a long sip of his beer.

“Guerin.” Alex greeted.

Michael finally looked at him. “Whatever it is, no. Just. Just come back tomorrow. Or don’t. I don’t really care.” Isobel couldn’t quite figure out the look that was on his face. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen it before.

Alex clenched his jaw. “I need to talk to you.”

Michael scoffed. “I can’t imagine we have anything to talk about. And if we do, we don’t need to do it tonight. Seriously Manes. Come back tomorrow.”

What the hell was going on? Isobel kept looking back and forth between the two men. Both had closed off expressions on their faces so it was hard to discern what was truly going on here. God knows, the conversation didn’t give her any clues.

Alex looked away then looked at her. She watched him make a decision. He fiddled with the package in his hands, unwrapping something. Isobel looked at Michael but he seemed as confused as she was.

Finally, Alex revealed a piece of glass that seemed to glow. Isobel leaned forward. At first, she thought it was the reflection of the fire but there were too many colors for that.

“We need to talk.” Alex insisted, his face set and his eyes never leaving Michael. She turned to look at her brother. He seemed surprised but also resigned?

“Michael?” She asked. He barely glanced at her.

“And why would we need to talk about a piece of glass?” Michael asked. He was trying to play nonchalant but it didn’t fool Isobel for a moment, and if the scoff was anything to go by, it wasn’t fooling Alex.

“I’ve only ever seen this once before.” Alex answered. He gestured to the Airstream. “You’ve got a piece in there. So you’re gonna tell me what it is.”

Isobel furrowed her brow - when was Alex in Michael’s home? She sent a quizzical look in Michael’s direction. This time, he met her gaze. He seemed to be trying to convey something to her but she wasn’t picking up on it.

Luckily, he appeared to reach a decision pretty quickly. He let out a deep sigh and drained the bottle, tossing it aside. Rather than shattering, it gently landed in the recycle bin set up a few feet away. Isobel’s eyes widened at the blatant display of his powers. Alex let out a quiet sound of surprise.

Michael shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “We’re aliens. And that is a piece of alien tech.”

#roswell new mexico #roswell nm #rnm #michael guerin #isobel evans bracken #alex manes #ficlet #my fic #malex fic #sort of

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scarlett-ice · 6 years

Note

How about Coldflash, slight canon divergence. Barry is in love with Len, but Captain Cold only has eyes for the Flash?

This is a bit more than a slightcanon divergence and takes place relatively early in season 1. Like all the other prompts I’ve been given,this could have been so much longer and it was a struggle to keep it short! Thank you for the idea:)

“Sorry Barry. I like you but…you’re not cut outfor the kind of life I lead. We wouldn’t be good together. Besides, there’s someone else I’ve got my eye on.”

Barry didn’t miss the way Len glanced over to the TV, stuck in the corner of the room and playing news coverage of the Flash’s latest fight. He just barely stopped himself from slamming his head against the bar.

Barryhad thought his only problem was falling for a criminal. He hadn’t anticipated Captain Cold fallingfor the Flash. And only the Flash.

When Barry first entered Saint’s ‘n’ Sinners, he’d been undercover in an attempt tofind out about some underground metas. He’d entered with the plan to keep to himself, subtly listen to some conversations, and get out again but of course, things had gone downhill within a matter of minutes.

“What’s a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this? What’s your price then?”

Before things could get ugly, however, there’d been another guy there joining thefirst. A much more handsome one.

“Now,now, Kenny. We don’t want a repeat of lasttime, do we?”

‘Kenny’ had scurried away quickly and that was when Barry learnt that Leonard Snart,thief extraordinaire, had known his father in prison. It took a bit of quick thinking, aided by Wells and Caitlin, to explain just what Barry was doing there but somehow, they developed a story convincing enough to justify him returning afterwards. More often than not Len would be there too and even when he wasn’t, he might as well have been considering that the other patrons made a point of keeping their distance.

Despite the fact he had fully admitted to being a criminal, Barry ended up turning his comm off after the first few visits.

And then the Flash met Captain Cold. His distinctive voice was unmistakable and it was only quick thinking on Barry’s part that he masked his own voice. That’s when things got complicated. While the Flash’s relationship with Captain Cold was tremulous at best (or, so he thought), Barry’s relationship with Lenimproved. He saw where Len and Captain Cold merged, saw what motivated him, and realised that despite the cool exterior Len liked to portray, there was a good heart hiding beneath.

And that’s where Barry’s initial problem came in. Problem number 2…he had no idea how that even happened.

After Len’s rejection, Barry decided to visit Saint’s less. He still had a job to do there (he’d managed to pick up a few good leads) and so he decided to change his times a bit. If Len happened to also be there, he’d risk doing what Wells had made explicit he should not do under any circumstance –reveal his identity.

Throwing himself into his work as the Flash helped. Like now, he didn’t have time to think about Len, or handy his cold gun would be, while fighting a fire-breathing meta while her partner was busystealing some valuable artefacts.

“My,it looks like you really need to chill out.”

Well,that really wasn’t helping things.

“Cold?” Barry yelped, only just managing to disguise his voice in time as he narrowly dodged another stream of fire. “What are you doing here?”

“I wasin the area and saw you were in a hot spot. Thought I’d offer my services.”

“In the area. With your cold gun,” Barry said bluntly, watching as the approaching flames met a blast of ice.

“What can I say, I always come prepared. Besides, this is my favourite museum, I’d hate for things to get damaged.”

Barry rolled his eyes, fighting a grin. “Okay. Do you think you can take her? She has a partner.”

“Please Flash, this is kid’s work. Off you go.”

Whilethe Flash might not always trust Captain Cold, right then Barry was trusting Len to handle himself. It didn’t take him long to find the other woman and at the sight of him, she sighed.

“Isobel promised me she’d keep you busy,” she whined. “I knew we should have traded places. Oh well, come and get me Flash.”

Barry didn’t need any more prompting but the moment they locked eyes, he found himself frozen.

“Uh,Barry? Why’d you stop?”

Barry would have loved to answer Cisco but he literally couldn’t move a single muscle.

“Andsee, this is why we should have traded! So easy,” she muttered. “Now, you’re going to be a good boy and watch as I steal all this lovely jewellery.”

“Paralysis,” Caitilin breathed, as if Barry wasn’t unaware.

“That’s some Medusa shit right there,” said Cisco. “That’s gonna be her name!”

Despite the others coming up with ways Barry might be able to throw off the paralysis,nothing worked and minutes passed. Finally, she had all the jewellery in her bag and all Barry had managed to do was blink his eyes, a blessing for his dry eyes.

“I’ve always been curious who’s under the mask,” Medusa said, approaching him. “Someone famous, perhaps?”

With the gang’s protests ringing in his ears, Barry was helpless to stop her as she unmasks him. Her face fell slightly.

“Well,you’re no Tony Stark but you’re cute, I’ll give you that. I think I’ll just leave you here like this for the police to find you. Soon, your secret identity won’t be so secret anymore Flash.”

Medusa disappeared with a wink and now without the others in his ear, Barry didn’t know what he was going to do. He knew his friends would be able to delete the footage from the camera but unless he regained the ability to move soon, he’d be lucky if his face wasn’t on the news. Maybe they could get Joe up here…

“Someone’s being slow today. I thought they called you the Fla-Barry?”

Well shit. At least Wells can’t blame him forthis. Len stepped into view, the surprise on his face being replaced by a mask of neutrality. “So, this really explains what you were doing in Sinners then. So tell me, did Barry Allen really like me or were you just good little boy Flash in there, doing his duty to the city?”

Thankfully,Barry’s mouth managed to cooperate enough for him to say, “It’s not like that.”

Len took a step forward, corners of his mouth turning down. “Are you paralysed?”

“Yes.” It was an effort to speak but Barry was able to carry on with, “My cowl. Please Len.” There was the sound of approaching footsteps and Barry looked at Len desperately. Even if Joe was there, he wouldn’t be able to stop everyone who was with him from getting a good view.

Len’s lips pursed but he followed Barry’s request, pulling the cowl back over his face with more care than he expected.

“We’ll talk about this later Barry. I need to get out of here.”

Just as the police arrived, Len was gone and thankfully, his identity was protected.

Well,mostly.

As he nursed a beer that didn’t affect him, a shadow fell over Barry as the seat opposite him got occupied.

“So, I suppose you can handle this kind of life then,” Len said and Barry smiled.

#coldflash #prompt #sorry about the tenses in this #I kept changing my mind #hopefully i'll expand and improve this in editing #for some reason tumblr is fckin up the formatting

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pastelwitchling · 3 years

Text

It started with a phone call.

Michael had come to the bunker in hopes of looking through some of the Project Shepherd archives to find more information on his mom. Or, at least, that was what he’d told Alex. In truth, he’d been sitting in his own bunker beneath his airstream, hitting dead end after dead end, and staring at the constellation and planet alignments had started to eat away at his brain.

In truth? He’d been restless after countless nights of a lack of sleep, and he wanted to see Alex. He didn’t know why, but it was like Alex was the only one who could see through the mess of his thoughts to the small, coherent part that was always seeking comfort. With one look, one smile, one word, one touch, Michael felt himself at a peace around Alex he’d never known anywhere else. He could finally breathe.

And for about the first five minutes after he’d arrived, he’d dared hope that he would have Alex all to himself. He’d found Alex at the bunker, pouring over decrypted files on a computer, and felt his heart jump at the sight of him. Even with his hair tousled, with the dark circles around his eyes, with his brows pinched like his mind was always busy, he was beautiful. And Michael had been the only one around for his attention.

Until he hadn’t been. Until Forrest – goddamn Forrest – called him and his eyes lit up and he smiled in a way he didn’t really smile around Michael. Until Long suggested he and Alex visit the caves where he was sure the Air Force had camped out back in 1947, and he’d leapt up at the chance to see his ex.

Yeah. That’s right. His ex. But God, you really wouldn’t be able to tell that they’d broken up at all. Michael doubted they had, but Isobel had assured him with a knowing smirk that Alex had told her things were over.

“It was a totally mutual, healthy breakup,” apparently.

It’s just that they were still so close, they still hung out whenever either of them got the chance, they still looked at each other with such a fondness that made Michael want to punch a wall. He’d learned his lesson the first time though, after leaving the Wild Pony in the middle of Alex’s song, secretly hoping not much would come of it, and then finding out Alex and Forrest were very cutely, very frustratingly, very much in like with each other. He’d learned not to leave Alex with any other guys he knew would want to date him again, mutual breakup be damned.

So when Alex had told him where he was going, Michael insisted on coming along.

“You sure?” Alex had asked. Not with any reluctance in his voice, but genuine curiosity. “We’d have to do a bit of hiking up those caves.”

“I love hiking,” Michael had lied. “Besides, you’re gonna want me there to fend off any coyotes and giant birds.”

He’d meant it as a joke, but Alex had merely smiled at him and said, “I’d want you there anyway.”

Leaving Michael to melt into a puddle, Alex walked out ahead of him.

It made the lie a little easier to bear. See, he not only hated hiking, he hated hiking alongside Forrest Long who, like the perfect little prick he was, had been all too gracious about bringing Michael along.

“Adventure with an alien,” he’d said with that wide, perfect smile of his, and a shake of his head. “Only in Roswell.”

Michael knew, somewhere deep, deep down, that Forrest was an awesome guy. He understood why Alex had been so taken with him. But here’s the thing; Alex had been taken with him. Knowing, as they climbed the rocky terrain under the sun, today mercifully halfway obscured by clouds, that Alex and Forrest had dated, had kissed, had slept together – it did things to his mind that frightened even him. It unnaturally bothered him, and no matter how kind or friendly Forrest was, Michael couldn’t let it go.

It was made worse when he and Forrest both reached the peak of a rocky hill, Alex following behind them, and they both offered him a hand to hold for the last few steps up. Without thinking, Alex took Forrest’s hand, and laughed as Forrest tugged him up with an exaggerated show of strength.

“Thanks,” he’d panted, still smiling. At Forrest.

As Michael swallowed and put his hand down, trying not to feel dejected, he saw Alex glance his way. He saw realization dawn, saw his eyes soften at Michael, as if in silent apology for not taking him up on his offer. Michael could only look away.

Let it go, he’d told himself as Forrest surveyed the area below. Let it go.

Of course he wasn’t going to let it go.

“Why do we need him again?” he grumbled under his breath so that only Alex could hear him.

Alex didn’t seem offended or frustrated by the question. Instead, he smiled, amused. Michael loved that smile.

“He’s a history buff,” Alex said. “He’s done extensive study on the grounds here. He knows it better than anybody.”

“Yeah, study to support his conspiracies,” Michael reminded him edgily. “He’s a conspiracy theorist, Alex.”

“I found out about you through conspiracies,” Alex noted.

Michael blushed. “That’s different.”

He laughed, and Michael thought he might melt all over again.

“Babe,” Forrest said, and amended, “Sorry, Alex, come look at this.”

Michael’s eye twitched. “I’m gonna kill him.”

Alex patted his shoulder. “Shh.”

He went to Forrest’s side as he pointed at something below; a crater, just beside one of the larger caves’ mouths. “When I was going through the layout in the library, I found faint records of those kinds of craters.”

Alex moved dangerously close to the edge, his eyes narrowed. “What’s the story there?”

“Well, most of the records said about what you would expect; explosion of rocks from a volcano.”

Michael just barely resisted rolling his eyes as he tipped his hat back. “And the unofficial record?”

Forrest smirked. “Meteors hit the ground here when something broke through the earth’s atmosphere and let them in.”

Michael looked to Alex, already doubtful, but Alex looked focused, like he was thinking through the logistics.

“It makes sense,” he concluded. “It would definitely explain the Air Force encampments out here. Anything to do with the skies is their territory.”

“You mean, your territory?” Forrest smiled, and Alex scoffed.

Michael pursed his lips. The wind up here was a little colder, quickly drying the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead and the nape of his neck.

“If you even buy the whole encampment thing in the first place.”

Forrest, infuriatingly, shrugged a shoulder. “Fair.”

Oh my God, Michael thought, clenching his jaw.

Alex seemed to be able to read his thoughts, and he shook his head, smiling. “Look, I’m not saying it’s definitely what happened, but it fits with everything else we know so far. The Air Force had troops around this area, and there’s no way your pods broke through without opening up the atmosphere to residual space matters.”

Forrest groaned. “I love it when you go all military genius on me.”

Alex winked at him, and they both burst out into laughter. Michael looked around for help from the birds, hoping they’d at least recognize with him how ridiculous and unfair all of this was. He felt left out, like there was a bubble around Alex and Forrest that he couldn’t penetrate. He knew it was childish to be upset by it, but damn it, he was upset by it.

“So what do we do now?” he said a little loudly, hoping to cut in. “Take pictures? Call Max and Isobel? Write a blog?”

Alex stood, and Michael couldn’t fail to notice him wince, as if his leg pained him. “We should get a closer look,” he said. “The abrasions might give us a better idea of what we’re dealing wi—ah!”

Alex was cut off as a bit of earth beneath him crumbled away, and, his leg too stiff after climbing to move, he slid down the steep rock.

“Alex!” Michael and Forrest leapt for him, but he was already falling towards a cluster of sharp rocks at the base of the caves.

“No!” Michael yelled, reaching out for Alex and using his powers to avert his direction at the last second, rolling him onto a patch of grass instead.

“Oh my God,” he heard Forrest say before they were both up and running back down the way they’d come.

Alex was just pushing himself up onto all fours when Michael and Forrest fell at his side.

“Hey,” Michael breathed, gently pushing Alex’s bangs back from his eyes. Blood leaked from his forehead, trailing down his cheek, and dripping off his jaw onto his shirt. “Hey, baby, you okay?”

“Uh . . .” Alex shut his eyes tight, his expression twisted in pain. “Yeah, I’m – I’m fine.” He exhaled slowly, forcing himself up into a sitting position.

Forrest put his hands on his shoulders. “Maybe we should go to the hospital,” he suggested, his brows furrowed with concern as his eyes lingered on the patch of blood on Alex’s shirt. “That was a pretty nasty fall, Alex.”

“He said he’s fine,” Michael said, and stood, pulling Alex up with him. For a second, Alex swayed, looking like he might be sick. His grip on Michael’s arms was relentless, but, too soon, he let go and roughly wiped away the rest of the blood that was now staining his cheek.

Forrest looked doubtful. “Alex –”

“It’s okay, Forrest,” he said. “I’m okay, really.”

He didn’t look happy about it, but he offered Alex his arm, nonetheless. “At least hold onto me or something.”

Alex chuckled weakly, and leaned in, kissing Forrest’s cheek. “The second I start to feel sick, I’ll lean on you, okay?”

Forrest seemed a little more reassured and nodded, and Michael, his tongue in his cheek, walked off towards the crater. “We looking into this thing or what?”

Soon, they were each surrounding the crater, which was a lot larger up close than it had looked from the top of the cave. Alex knelt at one side, eyes narrowed. He stepped into the crater and ran a finger across the surface.

“Smooth rock,” he muttered, and rubbed his eyes with his forearm. “Strong.”

“That’s not right,” Forrest frowned.

“No,” he agreed. “It’s not.”

Michael nodded. Now he understood what Alex had been looking for. “The ground here is supposed to be rough, shattered.”

“Exactly,” Alex said. “It’s too clean to be caused by anything natural.”

Forrest looked to Michael. “Are you getting any, you know, feelings around this place?”

“What, like some Star Wars Jedi tracker?”

Alex raised a brow. “Since when do you watch Star Wars?”

Michael blushed. Since you looked at Kyle like he’d committed treason for not knowing what it was, and I wanted to impress you.

Before Michael could even attempt to make up some lie though, Alex fell down to one knee again, heaving.

“Whoa, Alex!” he slid into the crater and crouched in front of him. He put a hand between his shoulder blades, and felt his breaths turn heavier and shakier.

Forrest hurried to their side and knelt beside him. “What’s going on?” he demanded. “Alex, what are you feeling?”

“D-Dizzy,” Alex managed, and Michael was shocked to see sweat dampening the tips of his hair. “I don’t . . . I c-can’t . . .”

Michael knelt down, too. “Alex,” he tried softly. “Look at me, baby, tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m g-gonna be s-s-sick,” Alex managed through short breaths.

Michael clenched his jaw, cupping Alex’s cheek. Despite the sweat, his skin was cool to the touch, his teeth were chattering and he was shivering, his eyes heavily-lidded. He was turning pale way too quickly.

Michael’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening, and he swallowed past the lump in his throat.

“Alex,” he said calmly, trying very hard not to let the horror of the situation touch his voice. “I need you to get on my back, okay?” He turned his back to Alex, and gestured at Forrest. “Long, help him.”

Forrest looked between Michael and Alex worriedly, but nodded. “Right,” he said, and gently but firmly guided Alex onto Michael’s back. “What’s happening to him?” he murmured to Michael so that Alex couldn’t hear. “His forehead stopped bleeding, why does he look like he’s going to pass out?”

Michael glanced over his shoulder at Alex who had shut his eyes tight, his fists curled in Michael’s shirt, his knuckles white with his grip. As he turned and led the longer way back to his truck, he quietly said, “I think his fall was a lot worse than it looked. He must’ve ruptured an organ or something.”

Forrest glanced at Alex, terrified. “He’d bleeding internally?”

Michael nodded. “And he’s getting too tired too quickly. We have to hurry.”

Forrest was clearly terrified, but one glance at Alex and he must’ve known that he couldn’t show that fear on his face. Instead, he nodded once and kept a hand on Alex’s back as they moved as quickly as they could.

When they finally made it to Michael’s truck, Forrest insisted on staying in the backseat with Alex.

“He might need me,” he said, not caring at all about leaving his car behind. Michael could only set his truck in drive, silently grateful to have an extra set of caring hands with Alex. And he drove like hell, breaking every speed limit and getting more than a few angry honks along the way.

“Hold on, Alex,” Forrest said to Alex who had his head on his lap, trembling and gasping. When he started raking Alex’s hair back, Michael couldn’t find it in him to be jealous, only afraid. He hoped whatever Forrest was doing was making Alex just a little more comfortable, giving him a little more time.

“You’re gonna be fine, baby,” he promised, the words heavy on his tongue. It was when they were barely ten minutes away from the hospital that Forrest gasped.

“Guerin,” he sounded panicked, “he’s out.”

“What?” Michael looked over his shoulder. Alex’s eyes were closed, his body limp.

“Oh my God,” Forrest breathed. “Oh my God –”

“Don’t freak out on me now, Long,” Michael said. There wasn’t time to curl up into a ball and cry, there wasn’t time to be afraid. He had to save Alex.

The gas pedal was on the floor of the truck, Michael was glued to his seat as the wind howled past. When they finally arrived at the hospital, Michael didn’t bother going to the parking lot. Instead, the tires skidded as he curved to a stop in front of the automatic double doors. He barely parked the car before he was out. He opened the door and Forrest helped put Alex on his back.

Michael ran through the doors with Forrest behind him, keeping Alex securely in place.

“Help!” they both screamed. “He needs help!”

“Please,” Forrest said shakily to the nurses as they rushed forward to take Alex and put him on a gurney. “You have to save him!”

“What the hell?” Kyle appeared amidst the men and woman already starting to lead Alex away. His eyes were wide as they fell on his best friend, passed out and injured. “Alex?”

“He fell,” Michael tried, but Kyle was already in full doctor-mode, pulling out a small flashlight from his pocket. “We think he might be bleeding internally.”

“Damn it, Manes,” he muttered, and pressed two fingers to Alex’s neck. “Pulse is weak,” he said as they hurried down a hall. He opened one of Alex’s eyes with his fingers, shining a light across his pupil. “Unresponsive. Start an IV drip and prepare room 69 for a blood transfusion.”

“Yes, doctor,” a nurse said. They went through the set of double doors marked ER, and another nurse held up a hand.

“I’m sorry,” she said, and she looked it, “but you have to stay out here.”

“But –” Forrest tried.

“The doctor will do all he can,” she said. “Please excuse me,” and she disappeared behind the doors as well, leaving Forrest and Michael in silence.

Forrest slid down against the wall and stared at the ceiling while Michael ran a hand across his jaw. Neither of them said anything for a long time, the muffled sounds of heart monitors and ringing telephones echoing through the walls and somehow making the hallway feel even emptier than it already was.

Finally, Forrest hoarsely said, “I’m sorry. I – I shouldn’t have freaked out like that. You were so calm, I . . . how did you do it?”

“I wasn’t calm,” Michael confessed before he could help it, and even he could hear the tremor in his voice. He took his hat off and used his other hand to run his fingers through his curls. “I’m – I’m not calm.”

It was all he said, but it seemed to be enough as Forrest’s eyes softened and he nodded in silent understanding. Once again, Michael found himself grateful not to have to say the words he was thinking.

They sat in silence for another few seconds before Michael couldn’t take it anymore. “I didn’t want him to listen to you,” he said. “You wanted him to go to the hospital, and I didn’t want him to choose you again, so I pushed.”

He sniffed angrily, his eyes burning. He looked away. “If we’re really assigning blame, then –”

“We’re not,” Forrest cut him off. He looked as miserable as Michael felt, not as though he held Michael responsible at all. He whispered, “We’re not.”

Michael’s lower lip trembled, but he quickly rubbed his face, hiding it.

“Do you know why we broke up?” Forrest said. “Me and Alex?” Michael shook his head. “We both agreed that there was one person Alex loved more than anybody else in the world. And it wasn’t me.”

He held Michael’s startled gaze, and shrugged a shoulder, a helpless smile tugging at his lips. “What I’m saying is, Guerin, you didn’t have to do much pushing. Alex would go to the ends of the earth for you. He likes me, but . . . he loves you.”

Michael could think of nothing to say to that. He sat down opposite Forrest, his arm rested on one knee. Two men Alex had been with, two men who loved him beyond words could say.

Michael finally settled on, “You’re not so bad, Long.”

Forrest chuckled weakly. “’Course not. I just gave you the best news you’ll ever get in your life.”

And despite it all, Michael huffed a weak laugh of his own. “Yeah. Yeah, you did.”

Any semblance of a smile vanished in an instant as the silence and seriousness of the situation fell like a heavy blanket on Michael’s chest, as the wait turned from minutes to an hour, and the fear of news to come loomed over their heads.

When the doors opened and Kyle stepped out, the two were on their feet in an instant.

“Well?” Michael demanded.

“How is he?” Forrest asked.

Kyle glared from Forrest to Michael. He huffed, annoyed, and Michael felt such an intense relief that he almost sobbed right there and then. “He has rock debris imbedded in his skin and a gash in his forehead! Where’d he fall off, a mountain?”

“So he’s okay?” Forrest said, his hands still shaking.

Kyle sighed. “Yeah, he’ll be fine after a few days.” He pointed a threatening finger at Michael. “You are so lucky, Guerin, you got him here just in time. If he wasn’t so used to heavy military training already –”

“I want to see him,” Michael interrupted.

Kyle hesitated, but Forrest urged, “Let him. If anyone can help heal Alex faster, it’s him, you know it is.”

He shook his head at the ceiling, as if asking for patience. “Since when are you two BFFs? You know what? I don’t care, go see him, whatever, but if his vitals jump one nanosecond, I’m kicking you out. Got it?”

“I know you’ll try,” Michael said, patting Kyle’s shoulder as he rushed past him through the double doors.

There were two nurses on either side of Alex’s bed, one adjusting the IV drip attached to Alex’s arm, and the other securing the bandage on his forehead, just above his right eye. They finished up, and nodded once to Michael as they passed him on their way out.

Michael knew they’d transfer Alex to another room soon, and they wouldn’t have the privacy that they did now, so he wasted no time in taking his hand and kissing his fingers.

“You’re okay,” he breathed against Alex’s skin, pressing his fingers to the pulse at his wrist, if only to reassure himself. “You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay.”

The heart monitor’s steady beep beep beep was the only response Michael got, but he told himself it was a reminder that Alex was alive. He could make out the faint outline of bandages just beneath Alex’s ribs under the thin white blanket, and he swallowed thickly, willing himself to look away.

He gently pushed back Alex’s bangs without disrupting the bandage, and leaned in, pressing a faint kiss to his forehead. When he pulled back, he found Alex’s eyes fluttering open. He smiled, relieved.

“Hey, beautiful,” he whispered.

Alex took a while to answer, breathing deeply and softly. “Where am I?”

“The ER,” Michael explained. “You had internal bleeding, they had to sew you back up.”

“What?” Alex frowned and tried to sit up, but he winced and his mouth fell open in pain.

“Easy, easy,” Michael said softly, wrapping his arms around him to lay him back down. “You don’t wanna open your stitching.” He sighed, keeping his arms around Alex, even as he was settled against his pillows. “I thought, you know, with the military thing, it’d be okay to tell you without beating around the bush.”

“And you?” Alex murmured, his brows pinched with pain, his hand gripping Michael’s forearm tightly. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt, right?”

“Me?” he blinked, his face turning hot embarrassingly quickly. “No, I’m fine.”

Alex breathed a sigh of relief, his hand still holding Michael’s. “Good. That’s good.”

Michael huffed a chuckle, shaking his head. “You were cut open, and you’re thinking of me?”

“I’m always thinking of you,” Alex said without missing a beat, and Michael swallowed, all humor gone.

A few seconds passed in silence, then –

“You scared me, Alex,” he confessed. “I – I thought . . .” a lump formed in his throat and he cleared it. “I thought I’d . . .”

Alex opened his eyes to meet his gaze. Michael didn’t know what he was searching for, but he must’ve found it, because the next thing he knew, Alex was trying to move to one side of his bed.

“What’re you doing?” Michael said, covering Alex’s hand on his arm with his own. “I told you, you need to –”

“Get under the covers,” Alex said, throwing one side of the blanket back. Michael made out the edge of a bandage wrapped tightly around Alex’s waist. There was no sign of bleeding, so Michael took it as good news, but he was still hesitant to climb in.

“What if I hurt you?” he said. “If Valenti sees us –”

“Kyle, huh?” he smiled. “He knew what he was getting into, letting you in. Come on, Guerin, please.”

Michael bit his lower lip, and found he wanted nothing more than to obey. He kicked off his boots, set his hat on the ground, and slid into bed beside Alex. He was slow, careful, gentle. He ended up on his side while Alex stayed on his back, his forehead pressed to Alex’s temple. When they were as comfortable as they were going to get, he pushed his face into Alex’s hair and inhaled deeply.

His eyes burned, and a sob escaped his lips on the exhale. He reached an arm around Alex’s shoulders and hugged him as tightly as he could without moving him.

Alex didn’t seem surprised, and it occurred to Michael that inviting him into bed had been more for his sake.

“Shh,” Alex said softly, reaching a hand up to place in Michael’s curls, raking his hair. He whispered, “I’m okay. Breathe, Guerin. Breathe.”

Michael tried, his breath hitching as the tears kept falling, and he held Alex tighter. He placed wet, open-mouthed kisses on his temple, his ear, his cheek.

“You’re so warm,” Alex murmured as his eyes fluttered shut, but his vitals were still normal, so Michael knew he was just falling asleep again. “Don’t leave me here, Guerin. Promise me.”

“I’ll never leave you,” Michael promised. Alex drifted, but his fingers kept combing through Michael’s hair. “Never.”

***

It’s good to be back 🥰❤

#alex manes #michael guerin #malex #malex fic #malex fanfic #malex fanfiction #roswell new mexico #roswell nm #malex angst #malex fluff #tyler blackburn #michael vlamis

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thevampirediariesdiary · 6 years

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1.16 There Goes the Neighborhood

I’ve been going off on my own pet tangents for plenty of episodes in a row now, so how ‘bout we return to what is ostensibly the focus of the season? Let’s spend an episode talking about Stefan and Elena.

Turns out, that’s even difficult for them to do. “Damon hasn’t said a word to me,” Stefan tells Elena, “every time I try to talk to him, he shuts me down.” “Do you think he’s still trying to find Katherine?” she asks. “I don’t know,” he says, sounding reluctantly impressed by the drama of it all. “He waited 145 years only to find out that Katherine could not care less. I mean, that’s gotta hurt, right?” “And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy!” Elena says flatly. Stefan smiles at her, endeared by the rage coming from her tiny, loving person. “You have every reason to be upset with him,” he tells her. “Mhmm,” Elena agrees. “Have you thought any more? about what you’re going to do?” Stefan asks. “About what? Isobel, my vampire birth mother, who’s related to my vampire ancestor Katherine, who screwed over your vampire brother? Nah, I haven’t thought about it at all.” “Sorry I brought it up,” Stefan says. “It would just be nice if we could get through one day without having to deal with any of it,” Elena complains, “no vampire mother, no brother…” Stefan raises his eyebrows. “No vampires at all?” She softens, gives him the cutest smile in the world.

“No vampires but you!” He gazes back at her, completely smitten.

She goes on, “I just wanna get us back to normal stuff, like, school, and homework, and here’s a thought: fun.” Stefan faux gasps. “Oh, that sounds good to me, when do we start?” Elena giggles, and they walk off down the hall together.

Caroline and Matt are in the same hallway, trying to figure out what they’re going to do that night, which is complicated by 1) the fact that Matt’s mother has decided she wants to live in her house again, and Caroline doesn’t want to be nice to her, because “I’m sorry, it’s hard for me to show kindness to people who hate me. I’m not that evolved.” And 2) the fact that Matt gets distracted by Elena and Stefan kissing goodbye in the hallway. Caroline’s solution is to pitch a double date to them: “The couple dynamics have changed, and there’s been a little awkwardness…and I think it’s important for us to get over it.” Elena is extremely reluctant, but Stefan pipes up that it sounds like a good idea, it sounds like…fun. Elena agrees. Stefan truly is the most likable when he’s encouraging people to live life well, to be unafraid and joyful in all their everyday moments. Since that’s the theme of this episode, I unequivocally enjoy him.

I won’t be paying much attention to the tomb vampires’ unrest subplot, because I generally found the tomb vampires very blah as a big-bad. But I will say that Harper scares himself by accidentally opening a voicemail on Anna’s phone, and then cheerfully asks if it was her boyfriend, as if he genuinely couldn’t be happier for her. i.e., Harper continues to be too good, too pure.

Pearl and Anna pay Damon a visit, and remind us that they have no living person residing in the house and that therefore anyone can get in. Pearl is very happy to know that Damon has infiltrated the council, and wants to know everything he knows, and to stop the circulation of vervaine amongst townspeople. “What exactly are you trying to achieve?” Damon asks, finally. “Mystic falls is our home, Damon,” Pearl tells him. “They took that from us, our land, our home…it’s time we rebuild.” “What, are you crazy?” Damon says. “That was 1864, wake up woman, the world has moved on!” Pearl continues calmly, “As a reward for your help I’m willing to give you what you want most.” “I want nothing,” Damon shoots back. “Katherine,” Pearl says. He’s taken aback

But of course, recovers quickly.

He points out that Pearl has been in the tomb, and can have no way of knowing where Katherine is. Pearl insists they were friends long enough that she knows how to find her. Damon isn’t swayed: “I no longer have any desire to see Katherine ever again, and there’s no way in hell I’m going to play the role of your little minion.” But, as it turns out, Pearl wasn’t looking for a negotiation. She’s 400 years older than Damon, and he will do what she tells him, or she’ll rip him limb from limb. To prove the point, she sticks her thumbs in his eyeballs. It’s gross.

Stefan picks up Elena at her house for their date, and brings flowers, by which she is delighted. “I figured it’s a date, why not do it right,” he says.

She tells him it’s not too late to cancel, that maybe they were never meant to get to the normal part of dating after all, but Stefan says that worry is exactly why they ought to go. “We’re gonna go out, have some fun, try to remember that we don’t have to be so serious.” For Elena “I carry everyone else’s hurt in my heart” Gilbert and Stefan “Brooding is my cardio” Salvatore, this is great advice.

Damon turns back up at the bar, orders his usual. Kelley Donavan ogles him. “You’re new around here.” “On the contrary,” he answers, “I am very old.” As much as Kelley, to use Caroline’s phrase, “oogs me out”, what becomes very obvious in this scene is that she and Damon are alike in certain ways. When Damon asks where she’s been, she answers “Around, about”, and he echoes “Been there.” She says she thinks the manager blew off her interview, because last time she was in town she slept with her boyfriend, and when Damon says that’s not very nice, she simply says “It happens”. “Yes, it does,” he agrees. Damon and Alaric have in common that they’re both spurned and abandoned – but Damon and Kelley have in common their coping mechanisms. And what appears slightly comical and even a little sexy on Damon, reveals itself as selfish and hurtful, and a bit pathetic on Kelley. And he’s had a century and a half longer than her to learn that lesson, and still hasn’t.

Damon and his new friend are joined by Jenna, who begs off a drink, claiming that she’s “all responsible now”. “Take a night off,” Kelley tells her, “it’s good for the soul!” “It’s great for the soul,” Damon puts in. Jenna sits down, accepts a shot; “This is not gonna end well.” “Can’t wait,” Damon says. The kids’ double date is at a booth just across the way, and they rapidly notice that three out of four of their legal guardians (spurious, in the case of Damon) are getting trashed at the bar. Damon salutes them with his empty glass. But actually, it’s not quite as unwholesome as it first appears – Jenna, at least, is trying to get through to Damon: “Don’t be grumpy, it can’t be that bad.” “You’d be surprised,” he says, depressively. “The primary reason for my existence has abandoned me, and after today’s events, the remains of the shaky ground I walk on are about to go kaboom.” He bobs his eyebrows at Kelley, and suggests, “Let’s get hammered.” “Let’s,” she agrees.

“At least they’re having fun,” Caroline says, a bit bitterly since she’s being subjected to her current boyfriend talking about his ex-girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend blatantly flirting with her boyfriend’s mom. “They’re drunk,” Elena corrects.

It can be both... More reminiscing takes place, which Caroline initially participates in and then which becomes another Matt-and-Elena story. Caroline excuses herself, asks Elena to come with. This is when the legal guardians finally realize their charges are under the same roof as they are. “Quick, hide, we’re not here,” Jenna tells Kelley. “Why, where did we go?” “Children, under our care, five o’clock. This is not role modelish.”

Meanwhile, Jeremy has been all over the vampire chatrooms, asking for details about killing and turning, and asking people “are you a believer”. It’s painful. Anna turns up looking to hang out; he recovers from his shock and sets up a videogame. He tells her he’s working on another vampire paper – and despite initially encouraging him to take his ancestor’s journal seriously, she now claims she made it all up. Jeremy doesn’t buy it.

Stefan and Matt have been left alone to play pool together. “Is there anything you’re not good at?” Matt asks wryly. “Double dating?” Stefan answers. “This is all kinda new to me. I usually…keep to myself, I don’t always fit in.” “That’s because you’re that guy,” Matt tells him, probably taking this out of the same cryptic phrasebook from which Tyler got ‘we people’. “What guy?” Stefan asks. “The guy who seems like he has everything, so the people that don’t kinda run the other way,” Matt says. Stefan seems honestly taken aback. “Is that what I seem like?” “Pretty much,” Matt answers. “Huh,” says Stefan, “what a dick!” “Yeah,” says Matt, laughing.

Stefan has made a friend, and I am honestly so, so proud of him. I just wish Lexi was still alive so they could all be friends together.

The girls, on the other hand, are struggling. “The point of this was to show him how much you liked Stefan, not hopscotch down memory lane,” Caroline tells Elena accusingly. And when Elena comes out of the bathroom, she runs into a tomb vamp. But Elena’s picking up on how things work in this world of vamp hearing and sneaking around oblivious humans – she pretends to be texting, and lets Stefan read it over her shoulder: That man over there just called me Katherine. They consider cancelling the rest of the date, but Elena insists she’s going to get her whole day of normal: “If there’s another vampire in town, he’s still gonna be here tomorrow.” (Funny, that sentiment sounds a little familiar, I wonder where it came from?) They all go to the Salvatore house to avoid the dubious grown-ups, where Matt sticks his foot in his mouth about dating Elena again, and Caroline stalks off. Matt apologizes to…Stefan, which is an odd choice, but Stefan is incredibly sensible and mature about it: “You guys have a history, ignoring it doesn’t do anybody any good.” Nothing gets in the way of bromance. Elena tries to reassure Caroline, but doesn’t have much luck. “I’m Matt’s Elena backup, I’m your Bonnie backup,” Caroline tells her. “You don’t get it. Why would you? You’re everyone’s first choice.” The boys drive up in Stefan’s sports car that Matt fixed in less than five minutes, Stefan tells Caroline and Matt to take it for a spin. Stefan asks Elena if she’s alright, they hug.

Jenna ditches Kelley and Damon at the bar when things progress to cherry-stem shenanigans, and runs into the aforementioned tomb vampire. “Hot guy plus drunk me equals very bad things,” she tells him. He tried to compel her, and she just snorts and giggles. Thank goodness for vervaine.

Jeremy, as usual, is making terrible life decisions, like deliberately cutting his palm while making sandwiches in an attempt to out Anna as a vampire. Because nobody on this show has any self-control, it works. She slams him into the fridge and, at his invitation, feeds on him. It’s weird and uncomfortable, and I’m glad Jenna interrupts. “Jenna, hey, what’s up?” says Jeremy. “Regret,” says Jenna. Jenna, you have made so many fewer mistakes than almost everyone you interacted with this episode. Give yourself a teensy break.

Matt finally gets to make a speech! “Did I pass? The whole double date thing was obviously a test to see how I’d do around Elena…Look, it’s my fault, I made it pretty clear early on that Elena still means something to me. But, all that talk, that was just two old friends and some memories. Tonight wasn’t about me and Elena, I was there because I wanted to be with you. And I don’t know what this means or what we are, but I do know you are the only person I wanna be in this car with right now, and I don’t even know if that makes sense, because I’m not really that good at expressing myself –” “No, no,” Caroline interrupts, “I think you’re doing just fine.”

But what was finally shaping up to be a nice evening ends uncomfortably, when Damon brings Kelley home to a houseful of high-schoolers, one of whom is her son. Kelley makes a hasty exit, Matt follows her, Elena volunteers to drive Caroline home. “Normal people don’t have chaperones or bodyguards or babysitters,” she tells Stefan. And when he says he worries about her, she says, “Stefan I can’t live every minute afraid that someone’s going to come after me. I won’t. That’s not living.” Stefan goes back in; Damon reopens the lines of communication to say, “Don’t look at me like that.” “Are you crazy?” Stefan asks him. “Save the lecture,” Damon starts, but we don’t get to hear what I’m sure would have been a deeply awkward conversation, because two of the tomb vamps jump through the window and attack them. Stefan kills one, the other flees. “I remember them from 1864, they were in the tomb!” Stefan exclaims. “Yeah…about that,” says Damon.

I know Stefan has a chest wound, but he really looks like he’s pearl-clutching here, and I love it.

Elena calls Stefan to let him know she got home safe, and tells him, “I had a really nice time on our date tonight.” “Such a liar,” Stefan retorts. “No, in a way, it was exactly what it was supposed to be.” He smiles. “I had a really nice time too.”

Anna pops into the Gilbert house to scold Jeremy for being reckless. He says he took the risk because if it’s true that vampires are real, maybe it’s true that there is an explanation for what happened to Vicki – oh, and also, he wants Anna to turn him.

Music Moments: Erin McCarley’s “Lovesick Mistake” plays when Caroline is confessing that she feels like a backup: “I've gotta find someway/To fumble right through this new heartache, it's torn me apart/Oh lovesick mistake, turn me away”. And Parachute’s “The Mess I Made” plays during Matt and Caroline’s kiss in the car. “Should've held my ground/I could've been redeemed/For every second chance/That changed its mind on me.”

Eyebrow Watch:

previous episode // next episode

#rewatch #1.16 #there goes the neighborhood

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andrea-lyn · 5 years

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Hogwarts AU for Malex

(Disclaimer! These are just my opinions on sorting, but I know this can be CONTROVERSIAL, but please, enjoy!)

***

“Today, children, we delve into amortentia,” Professor DeLuca announces after she swans into the room with her portions collected up in a bag under her arm, bearing the look of a woman who knows exactly how much chaos she’s inviting by asking a room of seventeen-year-olds to make a potion that reveals one’s deepest desires.

From the other side of the class where the Slytherins are gathered, Valenti snorts. “Manes is gonna be smelling dick, huh?” Isobel, with them by virtue of loyalty, hauls her books up and plants herself at the Gryffindor table with Max and Alex instead of with her Slytherin classmates.

“Ignore those assholes,” she huffs, reaching over to help balance Max’s potions. “Kyle will be lucky if he smells anything but his own aftershave, he’s so in love with himself these days.”

“What about Liz’s perfume?” Alex suggests, measuring things out cautiously, not even paying attention to how Max blushes. “They are dating.” He’s not actually trying to rub Max’s face in it, but it’s good to remind him about that sometimes when Max starts talking about wooing Liz away.

The last thing he needs is to get in the middle of another duel that goes badly, all because of some stupid romance.

“Let’s just get to work,” Isobel suggests, leaning over both of them to start plucking ingredients. “I don’t need to worry about my brother getting petrified again because he’s dueling over Liz Ortecho’s honor,” she says with a roll of her eyes, throwing ingredients into the pot with a seeming lack of care, but Alex knows better.

She knows exactly what she’s doing.

Unfortunately, just because they’ve decided to move on doesn’t mean Kyle and his asshole cronies have. Alex can feel things being thrown his way and Mimi DeLuca is too busy helping other students to notice – not to mention Kyle conveniently keeps stopping whenever she’s looking.

“Oh, here it comes,” Kyle announces. “C’mon, guys, Alex should be salivating any minute, you know how badly he craves those hot dogs.”

Alex frowns and tries to put on blinders and focus on the potion, but when he takes a deep breath, he has the feeling he’s screwed up when he smells not a collection of items, but a singular person.

Behind the chaos of their two warring tables, Michael and Maria DeLuca are working steadfastly at theirs. She’s flicking his Hufflepuff tie out of the way before it lands in the potion again. It figures that the smell of Michael had wafted his way from the table, so he shakes his head and gets right back to making it again. It doesn’t make sense that he’d be smelling Michael like that, so he must have done something wrong to get an odorless amortentia.

Yet, when he finishes his re-do, it hasn’t changed.

Broom oil, varnish, and the cream Michael uses in his curls. Alex’s cheeks heat up when it occurs to him that it’s not because Michael is sitting behind them, but because Alex is smelling him in the potion. “What do you smell?” he asks Max in a hurry, trying to keep Valenti’s attention off him, even if he feels like it’s fixed his way.

“Liz’s perfume,” says Max, as miserably in love with the Ravenclaw prefect as he has been since they were third years. Isobel gives Alex a pointed look and he recognizes it as the ‘we have to do something about Max’ look.

Normally, he’d agree. Right now, he knows Isobel well enough that he knows what’s about to happen next.

“Well, I smell someone’s perfume, too,” she says, and it throws Alex for a loop. He really thought that she’d throw him under the bus, noticing that he’d had to remake his potion, but it quickly becomes apparent that Isobel’s cunning ambition to get something isn’t about distracting Max right now so much as it’s about getting something she wants.

Well, getting something she wants and putting Valenti in his place.

“Maria,” Isobel says.

From the Hufflepuff table, Maria glances up. “What?”

“Oh, no,” she says sweetly, her eyes fixed on Kyle. “Max and Alex were asking what I smelled in the amortentia. I was answering.”

The entire class goes silent.

Maria is staring at Isobel and Alex bites his lip. Isobel’s crush on Maria isn’t exactly a badly kept secret, but he hangs out with Maria and Liz enough to see all the looks that Isobel throws her way. Professor DeLuca has helpfully excused herself with the announcement that class is over. Maria’s got both palms on the table, leaning forward to make sure that her mother is out of sight.

“Evans,” Maria calls, and Isobel hums sweetly as she turns, which allows Maria to grab Isobel by her green and black tie, yanking her in for a kiss.

Valenti, who knows what’s best for him, is not making any comments about seafood, clams, or anything fish-related, which is handy, because Isobel happens to be one of the best students when it comes to legilimency and she could turn his brain to soup if she wanted.

It means that the torment for Alex is over, too.

He sighs in relief, though that’s only one problem down. Alex works on packing up his things, trying to hurry out of there before Valenti can take out his humiliation on him, but he’s not quick enough. Someone drops their books in front of him and he closes his eyes, hoping it’s not Valenti and his goons, or worse, Flint to come and pick up the baton.

When he looks up, Michael Guerin is standing there.

“Hey,” Alex greets him, nervously.

“I saw you remake your potion,” he says. “Did something go wrong? Do you need some extra help, because I’d definitely be willing to…”

“I thought I made it wrong because I smelled you,” Alex blurts out, because Michael can keep on being chivalrous and so nice and good to him. “You were sitting right behind me, so I figured that I wasn’t smelling the potion, but I was smelling you instead, only, then on the second time when it didn’t change, I realized that it was you…”

Michael doesn’t bolt. He doesn’t even look scared.

Alex’s heart pounds wildly in his chest, watching Michael settle into the stool beside him. “Black nail varnish, broom oil, and the smell of the detergent you use on your sheets that I smell when I visit…” He gives Alex a crooked grin. “I’d probably smell that muggle computer of yours if it had a smell,” he quips.

Alex is pretty sure his heart is going to explode from his chest and they’ll have to spell him back together. “…uhhhh…”

“So,” Michael keeps going, like he doesn’t even notice what he’s done to Alex. “I was thinking about going to grab some food and maybe heading out to study. I know you don’t need the extra help, but maybe, do you wanna come with me?”

Because his voice has clearly been stolen by some nefarious creature in the room, Alex has to resort to frantic nodding, grabbing his things to bundle them tight to his chest. He’s so glad that Isobel had distracted everyone else so they could have this moment.

“So, is that a yes?”

“Fuck yes.”

“Manes,” Michael says with a smirk. “Language.”

Later, when Alex is giving him a hickey and Michael is cursing up a storm in the Hufflepuff room, he’s not nearly as concerned about language. That night, when he sneaks back to the Gryffindor common room, he smells of broom oil and Michael’s curl cream.

Max gives Alex a knowing look, even if there’s a haunted look in his eyes.

Alex defiantly curls into bed, turning away from any comments Max feels compelled to make about what Alex smells like, instead thinking about how he’d left Michael with one last kiss, his black varnish painted nails buried in Michael’s curls, holding on tight.

Yeah. He’s pretty sure he’s not failing potions at all, because he got amortentia as right as he thinks you can get it.

#Anonymous #malex #maribel #echo #tw: homophobia #tw: bullying #malex fic #hogwarts au #maria/isobel #michael/alex #liz/kyle #liz/max #opinions about sorting #totally malleable #they just worked for this #harry potter fusion #tumblr prompts

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