#alex gets adopted by the valentis au

[dr-lizortecho]

thanks to @rnmbingo for throwing together such a fun event every year <3 I had wanted to fill out the entire board but alas life happens, but I did however find a lot of wonderful fic to enjoy for the last month

F/F ship: Rivalry Series by @haloud (General Audiences, 1.6k, Isobel Evans/Anatsa Mufaro)

A Hockey AU, where Isobel and Anatsa are on rival teams. It captures the characters competitive nature’s perfectly while showing Isobel’s more awkward side.

Include a gif/image/emoji: in a little while by @jule1122 (Teen, 1.2k, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes)

An AU in which Michael and Alex are happily together, and Michael gets to reflect on what their relationship means to him (there’s a bit of angst but also a dog!!!)

A work you’ve commented on before: With These Hands by @impalachick (Explicit, 1.6k, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho/Kyle Valenti)

Au, post 3x05, what’s more to say then the three way handprint connection is still intact and Max starts a train of orgasms??? It’s a really amazing concept that’s executed perfectly, all three characters allowing themselves to indulge in fantasies of each other

PODFIC: [podfic] Stay With Me by shmaylor (Teen, 0-10 minutes, Maria DeLuca/Liz Ortecho)

an AU where Maria chases after Liz when she leaves for her road trip post graduation (post Rosa), and she asks her not to leave (warnings: slight Max slander but like- *whispers* he deserves it)

Mature or Explicit work: a gentleman’s guide to getting pegged by your girl by georgiehensley (Explicit, 1.1k, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho)

really well structured smut, where Max agrees to try pegging (WARNING: a real trigger this time, so there’s a line in here that assumes a point of view on the act of pegging that’s derogatory towards the concept of penetration, and has undercurrents of misandry)

A WIP: Surreal Estate by @beautifulcheat (Teen, 13.3k, Rosa Ortecho/Isobel Evans/Anatsa Mufaro)

AU, haunted houses (sorry stigmatized properties)! The vibes are spectacular, and the characters are beautifully conveyed in this setting. Not to mention there’s mystery and intrigue.

AU (Alternate Universe) Work: Love The Very Blood of You by soldierwitch (Teen, 13.3k, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho)

an AU where Max was adopted separate of his siblings, and instead of becoming a Deputy to help him sleep at night he becomes a priest, in walks Liz Ortecho an agnostic scientist who changes his world (warning: it’s a wee bit blasphemous, but as a person who subscribes to the religion in discussion it’s not actually upsetting, like I’m very personally picky about religious themes, idk if that makes sense)

“This Work Made Me___”: Charity Case With Benefits by @maeglinthebold (Mature, 1.5k, Maria DeLuca/Michael Guerin/Alex Manes)

delightfully fun, there’s only one bed and they’re all just so perfect, every single beat is timed to perfection creating a fun and heart warming scene

Author’s First RNM Work: The Powers of Flowers by incandescentchampagneproblems (Teen, 2.3k, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho)

a cute little au with a flower shop, and Liz being dead certain the last thing she’ll be doing is getting caught in a rom com (but the jokes on her cause she’s in a rom com)

A Poly Work (3+ People): The Consequences of Being a Tease by tv_obsessions (Explicit, 1.7k, Maria DeLuca/Max Evans/Liz Ortecho)

pure smut, in which Max and Maria enter a friendly competition to see who can make their girl feel good (in other words Liz Ortecho deserves all the orgasms) and like Max calls Maria ma’am

“I Loved ‘Quote from Work’”: I Z Z Y by @ajna-eye-cogitations (General Audiences, 0.3k, no pairings)

this fic was amazing as always (this is an author rec too guys <3) literally every single word was beautifully constructed, and like the fire and snake symbolism, truly captured Iz’s spirit in this fic

Free Space (Any Time of Comment): [fanvid] The Way - Max/Liz by @impalachick (roughly a minute each, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho)

Beautiful! Their 3x09 road trip to the music Max canonically selected for their highschool trip

Rare Pair of New To You Ship: I like my girls just like I like my honey by milzilla (Teen, 1k, Jenna Cameron/Maria DeLuca)

Fake dating! One bed! Must I go on? They’re also going to a fancy event, and the emotions are captured so wonderfully

Fanart: Every Night I Save You by @viaomens (Max Evans/Liz Ortecho)

A stunning Echo edit, that makes me wanna cry, it’s beautiful in the way visuals are but also conceptually and emotionally

“I Loved the Scene Where__”: Vision of Love by anonymous (General Audiences, 2.8k, Maria DeLuca/Liz Ortecho)

AU, Maria and Liz have a chance meeting after Liz gets an amazing job offer, their connection is flawless and the imagery is gorgeous

>50K FIC: The Truth is Right Here by @ladynox @beautifulcheat (Mature, 377.8k, Maria DeLuca/Michael Guerin/Alex Manes)

flawless, perfection, the reason I ship malexa, the world is so great, the characters so well translated (and fleshed out in beautiful ways canon could only have dreamed of). A must read IMO, joining a short list of fic I’d rec to someone unaware of the source material

Be The First to Comment on a Work: This Smile is a Loaded Gun by Limestone_and_Hemlock (Teen, 0.6k, Liz Ortecho/Isobel Evans)

AU, they’re assassins in a Charlie’s Angels esque scenario, and the tension is gorgeous (there’s also an edit)

Gen or Teen Work: what an imbecile! what an ultramoron! by @maeglinthebold (Teen, 0.3k, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho/Kyle Valenti)

hilarious! Also, just so many good little pieces of who the three of them are and how they naturally come together

Comment on a Work with <10 kudos: it’s the best thing that I’ll ever do by @thesquidkid (General Audiences, 1.1k, Isobel Evans/Anatsa Mufaro)

the seamlessness of it! It’s an anatsobel wedding full of so many feelings and history, completely incapsulating why I adore them as a ship

<1000 Word FIC: Kiss of Hope by creatureofhobbit (General Audiences, 0.4K, no pairings)

a simultaneously heartbreaking as heartwarming look at Max and Bonnie’s views of their abilities

A Comment That is 1000+ Characters: State of Love and Trust by @wunderlass (Mature, 18.1k, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho)

Canon Divergent 2x05, in which Max’s Darkness is a little more difficult to shake, it’s sexy and heartbreaking, and there’s Jones parallels galore

3+ Chapters of a Multichapter Work: Heart of Lightning: A Roswellian Tale by @suzteel (Teen, 20k, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho)

Knight Liz! King Max! Sorcerers and Seers, it’s all perfection, and the way it weaves canon flawlessly into the setting is stunning

[andrea-lyn]

While You Were Sleeping is my favorite holiday movie! I'd love this AU with Malex for the holiday prompt thing!!

deck the hallsmichael/alex, presumed kyle/michael, pg-13

The corridor of a hospitalis the last place in the world that Michael wants to be, but here he is.It’s been a hell of a day and he’d snuck off to talk to Isobel, curled up in awaiting chair, wondering how the hell he’s going to break the news of whathappened to her. “You sound like shit,” is the first thing she says whenMichael says hello. “And I thought that I was the miserable one.’

“What happened?” Michael asks, more than happy to let Isobel talk his ear offabout her unfortunate life.The dismissive noise Isobel makes doesn’t bode well for her going on about it.“Nothing serious, just the guy I was seeing ghosted me.”“Asshole.”“Tell me about it,” Isobel harrumphs. “Why do you sound like shit?”“There was…an incident.”The reason why Isobel is his favorite sibling is because she lets him rantabout what happened on the subway late last night on his way home from a ridiculousshift. Around that time, there’s only ever him and another guy (who’s kindahot, admittedly), but happens to sound like a self-important asshole on thephone. He’s a doctor or something, but clearly he’d been out of it because he’dfumbled near the edge of the platform just as the subway had been coming.Michael had been too far away to grab him back.That didn’t mean he didn’t use his powers. He’d hauled hard and pulledthe man back until he’d smacked his head on the subway platform. Cut to a fewhours later and here he is at the hospital where someone’s at least identifiedthe guy as Dr. Valenti, who happens to work here. They’ve also called hisfamily. As of this morning, Michael happens to be part of it because he’s lied and saidthat he’s the boyfriend.

“Michael…” Isobel chides.“I know! I know, I fucked up. So now I gotta wait and see if this guy remembersme using my powers to save his life,” he complains sharply, glancing around tosee if anyone is close enough to eavesdrop. The early hour of the morning meansthat he’s safe, but he still hates that he’s in this situation. “I don’t knowhow long I’m gonna be here, but I’ll try and swing by at some point. We candrink to the shitty boyfriend you’ve got.”“I really thought this time was the one,” Isobel says quietly, and Michaelhates that even in this stressful hour, his first thought is to go comfort her.“Whatever. I’ll drink my feelings away. You go make sure our secret isn’t aboutto get blown to pieces.”“Can do,” Michael vows and tucks the phone back into his pocket before he getsback to his feet, trying to ignore the clinical and overwhelmingly sanitizedenvironment around him. When you’re an alien, you have a lot of nightmares about getting dissected in aplace like this, but it’s worth it to endure to guarantee that doesn’thappen. Michael trudges back into the hospital room and stares down at KyleValenti’s comatose body in the bed. The doctors keep saying that his brainswelling has been going down and he could wake up any minute with allthese hints of promise in their voice like they want to cheer him up. Then,Michael’s the one who lied about being his boyfriend, which means they want tokeep his spirits lifted. It’s a necessary lie, because if Kyle Valenti wakes up and finds out that theguy who saved his life used alien powers to do it, Michael might be under amicroscope real fast. He settles in beside the bed, digging out his book so he can pass the time. ItMichael’s lucky, then he’ll wake up and he’ll figure out if he knows anything(and if he does, then Isobel’s down here instantly to wipe it away).If he’s lucky, this will all be over soon. Of course, since when has Michael ever been lucky?“My baby,” a mother’s lament is the first thing Michael hears when a womanbursts into the room to make a bee-line to Kyle’s side, collecting his hand inhers. Behind her is a man her age and a young woman who’s trying to keep herdistance. Michael knows that they’d alerted the family, but he’d been hoping they’dshow up a little later, that maybe Kyle would wake up before then. The mother kisses Kyle’s hand rapidly, fretfully, and then looks up at Michaelwith a suspicious eye. “Who are you?”Michael stands slowly, rubbing his palms anxiously over his thighs. “I’mMichael,” he introduces himself, knowing that this isn’t going to go over well,but it’s lie or die (maybe literally if his secret gets out). “Kyle’s myboyfriend,” he says, because he needs to be here, and it’s not like ‘goodfriend’ is going to do the trick. “I was with him when he went into the comaand I’m so worried, I…”The parents eye each other, then glance back to Michael, before their gazesland on Kyle.“Rosa,” they say to the young woman. “Did you know…?”Whatever reaction Michael’s anticipating, he doesn’t get a chance for it,because the chaos only grows when Kyle gets yet another visitor. “I heard the news, is Kyle…” The man skids to a stop inside the hospital room,gaping at Michael holding Kyle’s hand. “…okay? Is he brain damaged?” he demandsinstantly to Rosa.“Easy,” Rosa mutters under her breath.“Who the hell are you?”“I’m Michael, Kyle’s boyfriend. Who are you?” he retorts, his hackles up.“Alex Manes, his best friend, who he tormented in high school for beinggay.”Fuck.“What can I say, Kyle’s grown recently,” Michael lies (badly). He awkwardlypats Kyle’s hand a few times as if that’s going to help him out while he staresat Alex warily. “We’ve been keeping things quiet,” he says, hoping that maybethat’ll go over better.“He did say he was seeing someone,” Kyle’s mother says in the corner. “Wedidn’t think it was a…”The awkwardness practically bleeds in the room, which makes this Alex guy rollhis eyes and look like he wants to take Kyle’s IV bag and hook it into his ownveins, if only to escape the idiocy. Michael thinks that this is a tense familysituation that he absolutely doesn’t belong in. Still, it’s not like he can getout of there without completely blowing his cover, so Michael awkwardly takesKyle’s hand even tighter into his own and threads their fingers together,trying to ignore the way Alex is staring at him.Luckily, Rosa and Kyle’s parents descend on the situation and ignore Michaeleven though he’s right there. He probably should be more irritated about thefact that they’re ignoring him like this, but it’s a relief. Besides, not everyone is ignoring him. Michael’s pretty sure Alex hasn’t takenhis eyes off him since he showed up in the room. He’s also the most stubbornwhen it comes to leaving, as Michael soon finds out.Even though Michelle and Jim head home for new clothes and Rosa heads out whenshe starts falling asleep, Alex stays. Alex always stays, and for the firstnight, Michael sits awkwardly with him in silence, but the second night, hedecides the lack of conversation is ridiculous.“Why are you so pissed at the idea that Kyle might be bi?” Michael questionshim. It's probably not smart to poke the bear (so to speak), but Michael’s genuinelycurious why it’s such a big deal. Alex has been scribbling in a notebook andlooks up, alarmed and somewhat surprised that he’s being addressed, but thepart Michael doesn’t understand is why the tips of his ears go a little red. This is gonna be good, he realizes. “He bullied me endlessly in high school because I was gay,” Alex protests. “Heshouldn’t get to just suddenly have a surprise hot boyfriend like you.”Yup, definitely good.Michael hides his smile behind his hand, shifting in his chair to give Alex afond look. “Hot boyfriend, huh?” There’s something about Alex that Michael’sreally enjoying. For one, that sassy and sharp in-your-face opinionatedpersonality reminds him of Isobel, but god, he’s so much hotter. The eyelinerhe’s wearing makes his eyes look soft and big, and Michael keeps glancing downto his fingers, imagining those varnish-coated nails and how they’d look whilehe gave Michael a handjob.Meeting someone when you’re posing as someone else’s boyfriend is absolutely ashitty way to connect, but Michael feels like somehow, he can make this work.“I’m not exactly a catch. I don’t even rank high enough at the school I teachto get lab time other than the late shift. That’s how Kyle and I…” He clearshis throat and shrugs. “It’s how I met him.” His gaze slides over Alex and hegestures to the notebook. “You a writer?”“Singer,” Alex admits. “I’m not famous or anything, but I was hoping that oneday maybe I’d have at least one good song.”Michael can only imagine the songs Alex might play and he lets out a soft catchof breath to think of Alex singing to him, his voice soft in his ear, hisbreath warm on his neck. “Maybe you can sing some to me,” he offers, swallowingpast his dry throat.Alex is staring at Michael’s lips, Michael swears he is, as he says,“Maybe I will.”From there on out, Michael makes sure that he’s always in the room at nightwhen Alex is visiting so they can spend time together. Alex brings his guitar,and they end up talking about the songs Alex writes and how they remind him ofhis terrible childhood before the Valentis adopted him. They talk aboutMichael’s career and how he’s feeling like he’s swimming upstream because hedoesn’t like the networking aspect it takes to get tenure. Their conversationsonly get deeper and eventually, they end up curled up together under one of thebigger couches, Michael’s jacket draped over them like a blanket.Nearby, Kyle lies in a coma, and Michael’s supposed to be his boyfriend. He really needs to wake up soon, because Michael feels weird dumping a guy whenhe’s unconscious.Luckily (or unluckily, given how there’s no knowing how it’s going to go) forMichael, he gets his wish. Michael’s in the middle of getting coffee for himself and Alex when he hears ahuge commotion nearby and sees nurses rushing into Kyle’s room. Given the chaosof beeping noises nearby, along with a man’s voice he vaguely recognizes, itcan only mean one thing. “He’s awake!” Rosa says gleefully, passing Michael in the hall as she bolts forKyle’s room from the waiting lounge. Michael swears under his breath and checksthe time. It’s late, which means his parents aren’t there, but Alex and Rosaare. He’d really been hoping to be there alone when Kyle woke up, but it’s notlike he’s getting lucky today, is he? Trudging along, Michael marches towards his fate, hoping that he can somehowconvince a complete stranger to play along. He plasters a smile on his face andstands in the doorway as the nurses go through the routines, checking vitalsand coping with Kyle’s stubborn demand that he can help, since he's a doctor.He can feel Alex’s hand at the small of his back, which makes him startleslightly as Michael looks at him, wishing that Alex didn’t look so worried andupset. “This is good,” Alex says quietly, even though he sounds miserable aboutit. “He’s awake.”“Yeah,” Michael agrees, feeling the lump in his throat grow. He's glad he has the excuse to stay out of the way while the nurses check hisvitals, but eventually they leave and the doctor’s given Kyle the all-clear tosee his family and friends, which means that Michael now has to approach theterrifying reality of figuring out what Kyle knows, while Rosa and Alex linger(and Kyle’s parents arrive soon, given that they were called the moment Kyleawoke). Michael stands frozen at the side of his bed, forcing a smile on his face,trying to communicate his best, ‘play along with me’ look using only hiseyes.“Hey,” he says with a softness in his tone, watching as Kyle swivels his gazeto make eye contact with him. Lucky for him, annoying sisters (even half ones) are always going to demand attention,which means that before Kyle can blow his cover, she intervenes. “Yourboyfriend was worried,” Rosa teases, poking him in the shoulder. “Also, fuckyou for not telling me that you got cool!” she accuses, as she shoves Michaelinto the visitor’s chair so he can be close to Kyle. Michael goes, even if he looks up at Alex with a guilty expression, thinking ofall the hot chocolates they shared together, all the times they slept curled upunder Michael’s jacket, and all the secrets they’ve confessed to one another inthe early hours of the hospital’s garish lights. There’s only one man in thisroom that Michael wants to date and it’s not the one in the hospital bed.Plus, he’s been lying his ass off and Michael closes his eyes tightly, fistingthe bedsheets, waiting for the impact of his lies to come home to roost.“Hey, baby,” says Kyle, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “I’m glad you came tostay with me, even with things the way they’ve been.”Wait.Hold on.What the fuck? Did Michael have a stroke? Did Kyle? Out of the corner ofhis eye, he sees Alex’s face fall. Michael gets it, because right now, he’sstruggling to understand what’s happening. Does Kyle have some weird amnesia?Did Michael gain a new alien power or is he learning from Isobel? Finding his voice, Michael hears himself croak, “Could I have a minute alonewith Kyle, please?”Rosa and Alex glance at one another, then to Kyle. “Dad and your Mom are goingto be here soon,” she warns.“One minute,” Kyle insists. “We’ll be quick.”They both look wary about leaving, but there’s no argument from them as they go,with Michael watching Alex the whole time, forlorn and freaking out about howhe’s going to explain this, and wanting so badly to go after him instead ofstaying here, but he’s taking advantage of this chance to find out what Kyleknows. The moment they’re alone, Michael turns towards Kyle instantly. “So,” Michael says, when he’s pretty sure no one is eavesdropping. “You’re a handsomeguy, don’t get me wrong, but what the fuck?”Kyle struggles to sit up in bed and on impulse, Michael bolts forward to helphim with the pillows. Kyle really is handsome, but he’s a stranger to Michaeland everything that he’s learned about him means that he seems great, but healso seems completely not Michael’s type. He’s way too responsible and puttogether and he doesn’t feel that spark the way he does with Alex.“You saved me on that platform.”“Yeah, I grabbed you back with my hand…”“No.” Kyle says it firmly. “You saved me with your powers. I’m guessing that’swhy you’re still hanging around my hospital room weeks later and lying toeveryone,” Kyle says, narrowing his eyes. “You were worried that I was gonnatell someone that an alien saved my life?”What the actual fuck?“What the hell is going on?”“Can you hand me my phone?” Kyle requests, groaning as he reaches out.“Isobel’s gonna have my head if I don’t text her soon. I’ve been in the comafor what, thirteen days? Fuck,” he says, shaking his head. “If she hasn’tbroken up with me already, she’s going to now.”Kyle is the guy. No, not just the guy, he’s The Guy. He’s Isobel’ssteady boyfriend who she’d told their secret to (something Max had hated, butIsobel felt strongly that she had to do it, because she’d told Michael that shecould see herself marrying him someday).“What the fuck?” Michael says out loud this time.“Isobel showed me some pictures of her brothers,” Kyle says, as he texts,staring down at his phone. “I kept staring at you on the platform while wecommuted, trying to figure out how to broach the ‘hey, I’m dating your sisterand thinking about proposing’, but it never felt like the right time. I guessit serves me right nearly dying and you having to save me.”There are so many things happening that Michael needs to process. “So, you met my family, huh? I mean, it was gonna happen eventually, but alittle ahead of schedule,” Kyle jokes, his voice rough. He stares at his phoneand sighs with relief, not paying Michael any attention. “Well, I’m definitelyin trouble, but she’s not dumping me. She says you’re in a shitload of trouble,and…” Kyle trails off, glancing up at Michael. “And that you’ve got a stupidbig crush on Alex?”Michael swears under his breath, regretting all those texts to Isobel askingfor advice about his problem. “Look, just tell me you’re not about to go shouting about my secret to anyone,”Michael insists. “And I’ll get out of your hair, okay? I mean, I’ll do thefamily dinner thing when you propose to Iz, but I think maybe this is all gonnabe awkward when suddenly you dump me and hook up with my sister,” he scoffs.“Maybe.”“Oh, right, maybe,” Michael mocks.Kyle gives Michael a challenging lift of his brow. “Hey everyone,” he calls, alittle louder, like he knows that they’re all lingering outside the room likethe nosy assholes they are. “You can come in now.”It’s a flurry of activity when they rush in. Jim and Michelle rush Kyle andpress kisses to his forehead and hair, the three of them exchanging whispersabout how much they love each other. Michael clears his throat to look away,not wanting to feel jealous about the supportive parents Kyle has. The onlyother place to look is at Rosa, who’s beaming at Kyle and looking like she’sirritated to feel that way about him, or Alex, who’s still looking crushed.Better to focus on Rosa, then. Kyle reaches out for Michael’s hand in the midst of this sweet reunion,forcibly yanking on him to get him back by his side (his elbow actually popsout, so what the fuck Valenti). “I wanted you guys to be the first to know thatMichael and I have decided to call it quits,” he says, acting chagrined andsorrowed. It’s not a half-bad performance, especially when you consider thatthey’re both getting something out of this.“Oh, honey, why?” Michelle asks. “You only just woke up again and Michael’sbeen here every day waiting for you.”“Things have been tense between us for a while, seeing as I’m in love withanother woman and I’m pretty sure Michael’s got feelings for someone else,” hesays.Michael glares at him, ready to have his head for selling him out like that.“Kyle,” he hisses.“Alex, he’s got a crush on you,” Kyle says bluntly. “The girl I’ve been seeingfor a while behind Michael’s back, she’s his sister and she spilled the beans.”“Kyle Manuel Valenti!” his mother snaps.“No, it’s okay,” Michael ekes out. “It’s true. Things were tense, like we neverspoke. It was like we didn’t even know one another,” he says, staring at Kyle.“If Isobel is the one who makes him happy, then I want him to be with her,because I…” He turns to stare at Alex, knowing that he hadn’t planned to dothis with an audience, but it could be worse. “I really like you,” he admits.“While Kyle was asleep, I learned all about you and you’re this wickedly funnyand sharp and sweet guy, and you’re super hot, and I love that the first timeyou met me, you thought I was out of Kyle’s league.”“Hey!”“Oh, please, he is,” Alex snorts, but he’s clearly enraptured by Michael’swords. “Go on,” he says teasingly. “Now you’re just fishing,” Michael gets out with a strangled laugh, finding hisway to his feet so he can cross the room to stand in front of Alex. “Look, Iknow we only met because of this insane circumstance, but I think maybe I’dlike to go out to dinner with you. I feel like I already know you, like weconnected, like something…”“Cosmic,” Alex fills in the blank for him, his voice soft. “I know. I felt ittoo and I was so jealous that you were here for Kyle, but if what you’re sayingis true…”“It is,” Michael hurries to cut him off. “I was here out of obligation, but Istayed for you.” He reaches out for Alex’s hand, tugging him in towardsMichael’s personal space. “Come have dinner with me? Please?” he asks quietly. “Alex!” Rosa interrupts, when a second passes with an answer. “Don’tleave us hanging!”“Meddling family,” Alex says fondly, shaking his head. “Yes,” he says, andgrins at Michael. “Yes, I’ll go out with you.”It’s probably not the right place for it, but Michael grabs Alex’s face so hecan kiss him, leaning forward on his tiptoes to trip right into it, desperateto have the kiss that he’s been thinking about since the day he met Alex inthis hospital. Alex grabs at the collar of Michael’s jacket and hauls him infor a deeper kiss. Kyle says nothing, but Michael swears he can feel the smug satisfactionradiating behind him. In response to that, he does the only thing he thinks is right in this particularsituation. He kisses Alex even harder. *The next time that Michael sees Kyle at the subway station, he heads over toknock into him with his elbow. “Hey, future brother-in-law,” he greets, seeingas the proposal had clearly gone well, from the way that Isobel had screamedover the phone at him. “How about you stay off the tracks this time?” he jokes,even though it’s not the first time he’s seen him here since the incident, butMichael never lets a day go by without making the joke.Kyle raises his brow in that infuriating know-it-all way.“Did my coma not get you a boyfriend out of my adopted brother?”God, he’s annoying and he’s marrying into Michael’s family, which means he’snever going to escape him. “Gonna hang that one over me the rest of my life,huh? It couldn’t be that I was a super devoted fake-boyfriend through yourcoma, or maybe I was worried about the stranger I saved?”“You wanted to make sure I’d keep my mouth shut and then stayed for the hotguy, so uh, yeah. Nope. I’m definitely hanging this over you for the rest ofyour life.”He’s got him there, but then, Michael thinks he’s probably allowed to feelsuperior and smug about the fact that he helped to get Michael and Alextogether, because without Kyle’s coma, then Michael never would have met him,never would have learned about him, and never would have loved him. For that, Kyle can have bragging rights for centuries.“I’ll see you at the rehearsal dinner,” Kyle says, when he gets onto his trainand they part ways. “Don’t propose to Alex there, please?” he begs. “I want oneday for me and Isobel, not for you to marry into my family because you missRosa so much.”Michael shrugs, waiting until the doors are closing and will separate them.“No promises!” he shouts, and indulges in the frustrated look on Kyle’s face asthe subway carries him off to a day of worrying that he’s going to get upstagedat his own rehearsal dinner. Perfect. It’s going to be a great day and this is just the start. Even if he doesn’thave any intention of proposing to Alex at the dinner (he has the ring pickedout, but he intends to do it way more romantically, with a self-penned song andeverything), there’s only one thing he loves almost as much as he loves Alexand it’s winding Kyle up.Given the annoyed text he gets from Isobel pleading with him to stop annoyingKyle, Michael gets on the train heading uptown with a smirk on his face,thinking that it’s definitely working out, for all of them. 

[planetsam]

S2 prompt if you ever feel so inspired: Michael Sanders AU. Walt spends the time between asking to adopt Michael and when Michael returns to Roswell getting his life cleaned up. Not being able to help Michael was the shake up he needed. When Michael returns to Roswell Walt is able to become a foster parent. Gruff!Dad Walt is able to eventually adopt Michael. Michael learns about his mom from Walt much earlier and when Caulfield comes around they are more prepared and get Nora out safely.

Michael’s perched on the bed and all Walt can think about is how he looks like a bird about to take flight.

He’s been told a messed up story about the kid and though he’s grateful for him to be out of those hell places, there’s a difference between knowing a thing’s going to be hard and having it sitting perched on a makeshift bed in a makeshift bedroom clocking the exits. Michael’s eyes are focused on him even before he knocks on the wall to ask for entry. Michael says nothing and Walt fights the urge to smack his head against the wall. He’s lost his damn mind doing this.

“You gonna let me come in or should I try again later?” He asks and Michael flinches.

“It’s your house,” he says.

“And it’s your room,” Walt reminds him. Michael looks down and mumbles something along the lines of thank you and it makes Walt want to build a time machine, go back and kick his own ass until he gets his shit together a lot sooner, “you don’t gotta thank me.”

“Sorry,” Michael mutters.

“You don’t gotta apologize either!” He winces at the own exasperation in his voice. This kid needs professional help and neither of them is in a position to do that. Michael seems to curl in on himself, his eyes squeezing shut and his fingers clenching on the bed sheet, “be careful of your—“

“I need to get some air,” Michael says and scrambles to his feet.

“Don’t—“

“Excuse me.”

Michael doesn’t make it an option as he barrels past him and scrambles out. Walt hears something thud and fights the urge to reach for the bottle. He can tell why someone would think the things that are in Michael’s too thick file. Demons are a easier sell pretty much anywhere that isn’t here.  Walt scrubs his face and looks over at the shape watching from the couch. The damn dog is more judgmental than the people of the town but she helps.

“Well don’t get up and help or anything,” he says and goes after him.

Michael’s standing a few feet away breathing hard. Walt walks past him and looks at the other side of the car, the one that was facing the house. He sighs at the massive dent in it and looks back at Michael who looks like he’s going to be sick. At first Walt thinks it’s with fear, but then he doubles over and spews the contents of his stomach. No-one’s puked here since he went through withdrawal but he supposes that’s as good a run as he’ll ever get. He waits for Michael to be done and collect himself before he straightens up.

“Can you pop it back out?” He asks. Michael goes pale, “the dent, can you pop it back out?” He asks.

“I didn’t do that,” Michael blurts out.

“I’m not deaf,” Walt snaps, “or as stupid as your other fosters,” Michael looks stunned and it’s an odd look for such a young kid, “and I’m not going to hurt you.”

It’s clear Michael doesn’t believe him and Walt can’t say he blames him. The world’s a messed up place, he figures he knows that better than most people. He was probably younger than Michael when he learned it, but Walt’s not one to compare. No-one should be in that fucked up contest. Walt sighs and scrubs his face and pushes the itch for a bottle out of his head.

“I can help you fix the car,” Michael says abruptly, “I’m good with my hands.”

Briefly Walt wonders if the feeling of ‘this is never going to work’ is ever going to go away. Maybe it’s just part of being a parent. Walt remembers that he never wanted kids for a damn good reason. But one’s here and he’s gonna have to deal with it.

“Let’s go inside,” he says.

“You don’t have to call them,” Michael volunteers abruptly, “I didn’t mean to lie—“ he freezes as the sound of groaning metal echoes, “that’s not me!”

“Would you stop lying long enough to catch your breath? I know damn well it’s you,” Walt says, “why the hell else do you think we’re in a junkyard?”

Michael’s so surprised that whatever he’s doing cuts off and Walt hears something snap. He looks over to see one of the racks has cracked and watches one of the cars slide off and land on it’s roof. It looks almost comically like a bug that’s been turned over. Walt’s known for a long time he wasn’t cut out to be a parent to a regular kid. He’s got no idea what he’s going to do with a god damn alien. He figured this was a good place to start but he wasn’t expecting it to involve so many broken cars from the onset.

“How—“

“I knew your mother,” Walt says, figuring it’s best to rip the bandaids off in one go. Michael sways on his feet, “you gonna be sick again?”

Michael manages a nod before he hurls this time.

It might be the first honest thing he’s said.

Walt supposes it’s as good a start as any.

He steers the boy back inside and gets him into the chair. Nora hops off the couch and trots over, laying her head on his lap. Walt doesn’t have ginger ale but he’s got ginger beer which he guesses will have to do. He sets the can in front of Michael who looks ill at the sight of it.

“What do you need?” Walt asks. 
“Acetone,” Michael says.

“You better not be killing yourself in this house,” Walt mutters, getting the bottle out, “what’s this do for you?” 
“It makes things hurt less,” Michael says.

“Don’t drink too much then,” Walt tells him. Michael takes a few mouthfuls under his watchful gaze and then sets the bottle down. Some of the color has returned to his face. Walt takes the acetone and reminds himself he’s gonna have to lock it up and hope the kid respects him enough to listen, “well you don’t look half dead.”

“Is my mom dead?” Michael asks abruptly. Walt winces at the swerve but Michael’s apparently not done, “when did you see her? Do I look like her? Did she talk about me? Who was she with? Was my dad there? Could she move things with her mind too or did she read thoughts or channel electricity?”
 He cuts himself off breathing hard. It’s the most desperate Walt’s seen the kid since he’s been back. He’s got no business dealing with a desperate kid like this. He can picture his own old man’s reaction. Michael keeps look at him like a starving man and Walt has to remind himself he’s a kid who just found out someone knew his mother.

“I don’t know is the answer to most of that,” Walt says, “I saw her when I was about your age. She wasn’t the worst last thing to see with two eyes,” Michael looks surprised, “she mentioned you. Said you had her whole heart. You do look damn like her,” he leans back, “she said her name was Nora.”

“Did she say what my name was?” Michael asks. Walt shakes his head and Michael looks down, disappointed.

“Michael’s a good name,” he says.

“What about her powers? What could she do?”

“Well I saw her make fields grow,” Walt says. Michael perks up, “and some other things but that was the most impressive,” he looks at the boy, “can you do that?”

“Kinda,” Michael says, “I’m not good at it though, I usually make the planters explode.”

Walt blows out a breath and tries not to think about how this is going south faster than he could have thought.

But they’re here and they’re just going to have to deal with it.

** “This is ridiculous.”

Walt keeps his mouth shut as Jesse Manes checks his watch again. He guesses it was inevitable that the two would go at it eventually. He just prays to every God he knows that Michael didn’t do any of that alien shit. It’s going to be hard enough to explain this to the social worker as it is.

“Have we been called in yet?” Jim Valenti asks as he joins them.

“No,” Jesse says.

Jim nods.

Walt wonders what the hell he’s doing sitting with two people who represent the government. He’s been in trouble with the law enough to not want to be here. He’s also been in trouble enough in his school days to not want to be in there either. But he’ll take the slap on the wrist over the cuffs. When they are motioned in he’s the first up. Michael twists the second he walks in and gives him the barest head-shake. Walt lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. No alien shit then.

“What happened?” He asks.

“Your foster son fought with one student and attacked another,” the principal says.

“Why?”

Michael doesn’t answer.

“I told you—“ Kyle Valenti starts up in a tone that makes Walt want to plug his ears.

“The question wasn’t directed at you,” the principal cuts in, “Mr. Guerin, would you care to explain?”

Michael flinches like he’s the one whose been hit and Walt wishes things were different but he can’t be Michael Sanders if the paperwork doesn’t go through. Kyle looks smug. Alex whose been silent the whole time shifts in his seat. The look his father gives him is eerily familiar to Walt, the urge to grab Michael and get the hell out of there is a strong one. Alex wavers and then looks at the principal.

“His name’s Sanders,” Alex Manes pipes up.

“Not yet,” Kyle says.

“I started the fight,” Alex continues, “I was teasing him because he doesn’t have parents. Kyle got involved because he can’t keep his mouth shut.”

“No, I got involved because I don’t want to be in the locker room with someone who likes boys.”

The air vanishes.

Walt’s surprised to see Michael look equal parts devastated and furious. Alex looks angry as well, but anyone can see how hard his father is gripping his shoulder. It’s only Jim Valenti who looks ashamed.

“So it’s Kyle’s fault,” he says.

“Huh?” Kyle whips around.

“It’s his fault, clearly. You going to suspend him?” The principal looks surprised, “I think being off the team for the rest of the year sounds appropriate too.”

“Dad!”

The principal nods slowly. Jim hauls his devastated looking boy out. Alex lets out a sharp breath that Walt might mistake for relief until he sees Jesse’s hand hasn’t moved. Michael has seen it too and though Walt wants to tell him to mind his own business he knows that’s not what’s about to happen.

“I think that’s a fair resolution,” he says and sticks his hand out to Jesse in a sign of friendship. The main claims to be full of honor but it takes him a moment to pry his fingers off, “you boys want to apologize to each other?”

They both mutter sorry and Alex seems hard pressed not to rub his shoulder.

They’re all sent home. In the front seat Michael looks straight ahead. Walt gives him a moment, then a few more. When it’s clear he’s not going to be speaking up, he finally looses whatever patience he has left.

“I’m waiting for a explanation,” he says.

“His family killed my mom,” Michael snaps.

“We don’t know that!” Walt shoots back, “do you think she wants you getting yourself locked up or worse?” Michael looks down, “that wasn’t a rhetorical question!”

“No,” Michael says finally.

“How did Valenti get involved?”

“I was fighting Alex and he tried to back me up. He said because Alex likes boys.”

Walt would normally say that you need backup in life, that Michael shouldn’t let his stubbornness get in the way of that. But he can see how this doesn’t fall under that. He doesn’t like the Manes family on principal, not after the shit they’ve done, but even he’s not stubborn enough to see that Alex is like them. He might one day be, but right now he’s the same kind of prepubescent nightmare Michael is. Walt wonders if that’s a nightmare across all universes or if being in earth has just made things like that for Michael.

“It sounds like you did the right thing,” Walt says, finally catching onto Michael hanging on his every breath.

“You don’t think it’s wrong Alex likes boys?” Michael asks quietly. Walt cringes and Michael’s face falls, “got it.”

“No, you don’t,” Walt says, “I don’t care who you like, I just don’t want to be called into school for you pulling anyone into the bleachers or wherever you kids are making out these days. We have your hearing in a few weeks and we’re on thin ice with the noise complaints as it is.”

It’s nauseating how fast Michael whips to look at him. And how quickly he dives forward to hug him. Walt claps his shoulder as Michael jumps back into his seat. Sure maybe he never counted on raising a kid liking other boys, but he didn’t count on a kid period. And in the face of being an alien, well, Walt’s seen what Max is doing with his blackouts. Michael’s in trouble no matter who he wants to make out with. At least Walt can console himself there’s no risk of a cross species baby. He’s not sure he’s ready to add being a grandpa to his list of jobs.

“How long’ve you known?” Walt asks.

“Always I guess,” Michael says, “it’s like being a—“

“Not on school property,” Walt cuts in sharply.

That’s the last thing they needed added to this mess. There’s only one thing that could make it worse. 
Thankfully he and the Manes boy hate each other.

** Michael staggers in and Walt sighs deeply.

He’s done his best to keep liquor out of the house, for one he’s not strong enough to deal with that and two Michael’s got enough reason to drink. He doesn’t need to throw temptation in his face. Michael’s grown up into a good man, a man Walt’s damn proud of. He hasn’t done any of the stupid shit the other seniors are doing. Walt knows he’s a good man, he also knows how one drunken night can lead to a lifetime of regrets.

“You know I’ve got half a mind to keep you from that and let you feel the hangover,” he says finding Michael fumbling with the medicine cabinet.

“M’not drunk,” Michael slurs out.

“Sure you’re not,” Walt says sarcastically, “come on,” he says, “let me—“

“No!” Michael gasps and Walt suddenly finds he can’t move. Michael doubles over with a sound that goes straight through him, “just gimme a minute.”

“Okay, okay,” Walt says, “take your time. Breathe.”

Michael sucks in air and sobs on the exhale. Something in Walt aches to comfort him but he’s being held back. It’s been a damn long time since Michael lost control of his powers like this. Walt waits and after a long time he finds he can move. He forces himself to approach carefully, though he doesn’t think Michael will hurt him. He just doesn’t want him to stop him either. He crouches down on Michael’s level where he can see he’s shining with sweat, snot and tears. Like the first night he came. Walt doesn’t ask anything stupid like what’s wrong, he can see the way Michael’s got his hand clenched to his chest.

“Jesus,” he says and Michael pulls it closer with a whimper, “easy, easy,” Walt says. Comforting hasn’t ever been his forte. He settles his hand on Michael’s shoulder and eases him down to sit on the floor. He crouches in front of him, “let me see,” Michael shakes his head, “come on, give it here.”

Michael sobs as he supports his hand and eases it away from his chest. Walt pulls back the makeshift bandage. His hand is a mess of torn and twisted skin and misshapen bones. It looks bad. Walt can’t imagine how it must feel. Michael hasn’t offered any bullshit like it’s an accident. So Walt has nothing to go on but that it isn’t.

“We need to call your brother,” he says. 
“No,” Michael tells him.

“Why the hell not?” Walt questions.

“This can’t just vanish,” he says, dragging in a lungful of air, “they’ll know.”

“I don’t give a damn—“

“Jesse Manes did it,” Michael says and Walt finds he can’t breathe, “he did it because I got between him and Alex.”

“Why would you do a stupid thing like that?” Walt demands, “Manes boys are trouble, you know that. I thought you and Alex hated each other.”

Michael’s throat bobs.

There’s a frantic knock on the door. Michael tries to push himself up so fast he nearly falls over. Walt stops him from trying to scramble up and helps him brace his hand on his other one. He gets to his feet and gives Michael a warning look before he goes to the door. For a moment he lets himself be stupid and say that it’s going to be Max here or Isobel, someone who can actually help. But the stupidity only lasts as long as it takes him to look through the peephole.

“What do you want?” He questions sharply.

Despite having been frantically knocking on his door a moment earlier, Alex jumps. Walt can’t say he likes Alex, the boy seems to put sticking out like a sore thumb above everything else. Like survival. But he can’t say he hates him either and there are definitely teenagers he hates. Alex sneaking around with his son though, that’s a big mark against him. The worry on his face lessens that mark only slightly.

“Sorry to bother you so late, is Michael home?”

“He’s home alright, you wanna tell me what happened to his hand before I press charges?”

Alex pales but his jaw clenches and he meets Walt’s eye. Which is more than Walt would’ve expected from the boy whose been sneaking around with his son.

“I can tell you but pressing charges isn’t going to do any good,” Alex says, “Sheriff Valenti won’t do it.”

“He will if he knows what’s good for him,” Walt snaps.

“He doesn’t,” Alex replies. He looks anxiously over Walt’s shoulder and even under the mess on his face, he fucking lights up.

“I told you to stay put,” Walt says, turning around to see Michael leaning against the wall. He looks back at Alex who looks maybe five seconds from charging through his front door if he doesn’t move aside, “oh now you two don’t want to sneak around?” He looks between the two of them, “well does Romeo or Juliet want to answer me?”

“I didn’t want my father finding out,” Alex says. He looks at Michael’s hand, “I told him not to tell you.”

“Jesus,” Walt repeats.

He’s not a praying man but he’s going to need all the strength he can get if these two are planning on continuously sacrificing themselves for each other. One of them is going to do something stupid if he doesn’t move and he’d rather not deal with the telekinesis part of that. So he steps aside and nods Alex in. Alex scrambles forward so fast they nearly add another injury to the growing tally. Michael sinks down with a pained sound as Alex falls to his knees, his hands fluttering over Michael like he doesn’t know where to touch him. Michael tries to smile up at him but winds up folding over his hand. Alex pulls him close and even though it’s his own damn house, Walt turns away to give them a moment.

Thankfully he hears the car.

He shuts the door.

“You boys better get upstairs,” he says, “I think your dad’s here.” It’s hard to say who goes paler, “upstairs,” he repeats.

“I should—“ Alex starts.

“I wasn’t asking,” Walt says, “be glad I’m letting in you in his room at all after this,” he adds, helping get Michael to his feet, “and keep the door open.”

He takes the eye patch off. When he opens the door and Jesse goes a shade paler at the sight of that mess, he’s glad he did. It takes him a moment to recover and Walt wonders if he knows how involved his family is. He supposes that’s a question for another day. 
“Is my son here?” Jesse asks.

“Why would your son be here?” Walt counters, “did something happen?”

Jesse’s got some major balls on him to stand there.

“My son is involved with your—“ he begins

“Let me help you out, my son,” Walt says. Jesse presses his lips together, “don’t tell me you have as big a problem with adoption as you do with your son liking boys,” he says.

“You’re noble looking after him,” Jesse says.

“I’m not,” Walt shoots back, “I’m keeping a promise to a friend,” Jesse’s eyes narrow. Walt figures if he’s in for a penny, he’s in for a pound, “you’re damn lucky my boy’s a better man than the ones they produce here.”

“I’d watch your tone,” Jesse starts.

“I’d get the hell off my property,” Walt says.

Jesse holds his gaze for a moment longer but Walt’s faced down worse than some insane army man on a power trip. He’s sure as hell not folding. Not once Michael’s been hurt. Jesse at least seems to have enough sense to know Walt’s insane enough to take him on. Hell Walt’ll be insane if that’s what it takes. Jesse glances up and Walt ignores it. Michael’s barely standing and he sure as hell ain’t stupid enough to be by the window.

“If he comes by tell him I’m looking for him.”

“Do I look like a damn answering machine?”

It’s not easy to turn his back on a man he knows would shoot him, but for Michael he does and gets back into the house, making sure to slam the door behind him. He can’t tell if his heart is racing because of that, because Michael is hurt or because Michael’s got the boy he’s been sneaking around with in his room. He figures one thing at a time and goes for the first aide kit. Only to find it’s gone.

The door’s not closed all the way—because Michael has yet to meet a rule he doesn’t like to skirt. But it’s closed enough that he can peer inside quietly. Alex is splinting Michael’s hand. Michael barley lets him see him cry but both of them are snot nosed and teary, though Alex seems to have his wits about him. It’s not the worst splinting Walt’s ever seen. It’s on his lips to announce that Alex is sleeping in there over his dead body, but Michael’s laying his head on Alex’s lap and Alex’s fingers are moving through his curls.

He’s sleeping there for one night and one night only.

** “Is Michael here?”

Walt turns to look at Alex. It’s almost normal now to see him without his makeup and piercings, though Walt’s not sure he’ll ever get the image of him shipping off and looking out the window for a boy who wasn’t there out of his head. He’d ripped into Michael so badly that the boy had stopped whatever spiral he was on. College hadn’t been his favorite time but at least he could say he got his boy through that. Even if he’d continued to live at home. Walt’s not about to take that from him.

“No,” he says, “can I help you with something?”

Alex stares at him long and hard like he’s trying to read Walt’s mind or find out his secrets. He looks like he’s in shock, not an easy thing for someone whose been through the shit that Alex has been through. Walt sighs.

“Let me guess: you know.”

Alex looks so relieved that Walt knows his guess was right. Michael’s an adult. Hell Liz knows already. So it’s not like this is the first person to find out. But Alex is a Manes who looks uncomfortably like his father when he’s in his uniform. But Walt knows that a part of him still loves his boy. The fact that he’s not here with a team of scientists is proof enough of that.

“Do you—“

“Of course I know,” Walt says, “he’s my boy,” he drops his tools, “I knew his mom too,” Alex’s brow furrows, “oh you don’t know about that?” He shakes his head, “your family goes way back with his.”

“We do?”

“Yeah,” Walt looks over as Michael pulls into the driveway. He gets out of the car and stops dead when he sees Alex standing there staring at him, “you’d better come over here,” Walt says.

“I thought we were avoiding each other,” he says. Alex’s throat bobs before he straightens up.

They’re both adults, entitled to make their own mistakes. But Walt’s not sure he’s got it in him to watch them act like fools for another second. It’s been ten years of this pining, dancing around each other bullshit. Even now that they’re in the same place, neither seems to be able to get out of each other’s way long enough to do something productive. Even just standing next to each other they’re both struggling to be taller, though they damn well know Alex has an extra inch on Michael.

“Can we stop the dick swinging contest,” Walt says, “you both are ridiculous,” he looks between them, “well?” He prods Alex.

“I know,” Alex says.

“Know what?” Michael jabs. Walt swears he raised a smarter child. Alex looks annoyed, “what do you know?”

“He knows you’re an alien,” Walt says. Both whip to look at him, “I’m not standing here watching you two be idiots,” he says.

“Could you go inside then?” Michael asks. Walt raises his eyebrows, “please?”

He figures he can give them a moment before they need anything filled in. But if they start making out in his yard he’s going to ground them both. How that will work, he doesn’t know, but he figures it’s a start. There’s no making out, there’s just some arguing and a lot of gesturing from Michael. Alex eventually sits down because he’s still getting used to his missing leg. Michael paces like a wild animal. Walt watches and wonders if parents of straight human children have to go through shit like this. When they come inside neither of them is moving slowly or has shut up. What he isn’t expecting is for Alex to stay in the doorway and Michael to go upstairs and return with a bag.

“There’s an alien prison we’re going on a rescue mission,” Michael says.

“Bye Mr. Sanders.”

They’re both gone just like that.

It’s a full day before they pull up and Walt has decided he’s going to murder both of them so it’s a moot point. But he wants an explanation first. Just so he doesn’t have to have any guilt on his conscience when it comes to it. He’s fully ready for the murder too when Kyle ‘no longer an asshole’ Valenti gets out and jogs around to the passenger side. He’s not ready to see Michael helping out an old woman. She’s old and bald and wearing rags, but he’d know her anywhere. When she looks at him, she’s so surprised she nearly faints. But Michael keeps her upright.

“Walt Sanders,” she rasps, “you’ve gotten tall.”

Funny because he doesn’t feel tall.

Especially when she takes his hand.

“Hi Miss Nora,” he says.

“I guess I have two dance partners now.”

Walt looks over his shoulder as Alex gets out of the car. Even though he’s holding his mom’s hand, Michael is already watching him. Miss Nora sees it too. She squeezes his hand to get his attention and Walt looks at her. He has no idea if this is a thing where she comes from, but there’s nothing but soft pride in her eyes when she looks at Alex and Michael. And nothing but sharp humor when she looks at him.

“Well maybe just the one,” she says, “but I think you’ll do.”

[lambourngb]

Nailing that Dynamic- Recs - Day 1

Day 1 for Creator’s Week, and I gotta say, this is my favorite fan event, mainly because it was the first one I participated last year. This little rec set is devoted to dynamics, divided into friendship, found family, and finally romantic (and yes, that’s Malex with me.)

We’ve had two seasons of this show, and while I can’t really relate to aliens or even the immigrant story, I do relate strongly to the stories behind friendship. I can say my appetite for fic with a good friendship dynamic will always be there.

Will You Be My Friend- Circle Yes or No (recs)

Finding You by @myrmidryad  (122,000) - If by chance the canon from high school bums you out, this is the story to read. Gin writing malex is always a ‘no-brainer I’m gonna read it story’ for me, but what really set this epic apart was how beautifully Gin writes the friendship dynamics between Michael & Liz, and Michael & Max. It’s a canon-divergent story with no-murder of Rosa or the shed scene, where in order to avoid enlistment, Alex disappears from Roswell and joins the Max & Liz road trip with Michael in tow. They just need to fill that gap between high school and the opening of the dorms at UNM so they can start a life together. And fill it they do with this road trip. There were moments where I sobbed with how badly Michael needed this in canon and didn’t get it. It also made me like Max, so, yeah. Great writing and characterizations here.

Hit the Road by @bestillmyslashyheart - (7,100) - One of the brightest spots for me in season two was Rosa Ortecho, and one of the most frustrating parts of season two was the fact we didn’t get any interaction between her and Alex. *screams* At least I had a few crumbs of Rosa & Maria (not nearly enough!) but still. Where there’s a glaring gap in canon, thank god there’s fanfic. Marlo treats us to a delightful story written post season 1, but had some surprisingly psychic lines about Malex, number one how they don’t think they are good for one another. I really enjoyed what this story says about leaving-  and honestly, the town of Roswell has so much pain tied to these characters, they should all take long road trips away from it.

a few drinks and some conversation by @christchex / @michaels-blackhat (5,600 ) - this one is set post-season 2, with all the complications of Michael deciding now wasn’t the right time for him and Alex, while also working on giving Maria the right space after their breakup.  I think it’s pretty clear that Michael needs a friend he’s not related to and someone he hasn’t slept with - to provide him so low-stakes genuine company outside of the alien bullshit and love triangle dynamics. Christi does this beautifully through the eyes of an OC and the number of times I’ve read this story is like 10, and also, it’s inspired my current story about Michael going on dates.

and headin’ out singing our song by @stars-and-sunshine (4,100) post season 2, Alex and Michael head off on a road trip (okay, this is a trope I apparently like since I’ve recced three stories now, hahaha) after Alex’s car breaks down. There’s a careful space in this story, of two men building a friendship again. The roadtrip details are beautiful, but what stayed with me is a scene in the museum. That summer of 2008 had some ghosts to address.

If I Follow You Home, Will You Keep Me? found-family dynamics

When You’re Gone by @bestillmyslashyheart (8,200) - Before I tell you why I love this story, I want everyone to follow the next link and read this story about email and messages and grief in the digital age [trigger for cancer death] chat history by Rebecca  Armendariz. (She also wrote a follow up called Timelines published by the Hairpin that talks about the memory function on facebook.) So back to the story, this is Rosa, opening her email 10 years after her death and reading the messages people sent her, thinking they were speaking into the void. Liz, Maria, Alex, Mimi and Arturo, all of them sending her notes, sometimes time passes without an email, then an event triggers that memory of Rosa not being there- and yeah, I found this whole thing to be so moving.

Never Ever Getting Rid of Me by @spaceskam - (4,400) this probably could have gone in the friendship side, but I feel like when you work in a high stakes place like a hospital, friends is a term that ends up being too light, and with the level of competition and stress it grows a bond like family... anyway, this is an AU where Michael and Kyle end up at the same hospital as competing interns but some elements of canon are still there.

still fixing all the cracks by @emma-arthur -  (3,400) this is a pre-canon story, set when Alex is 14. He’s still a soft child, being tortured by his dad, and soaking up the attention from Liz, Rosa and Arturo when he breaks a glass and spirals. Heavy discussion of child abuse and homophobic abuse, but a really good exploration of the canon-neglected Liz & Alex friendship, plus with that paternal Arturo Ortecho in the mix...

Ophiuchus by @planetsam - (11,600) the other bright side of season 2 was the reveal of Walt Sanders as being not only Michael’s boss, but someone who knew his mother, knew what he was, and silently looked out for him...now of course I wish he had been more overt in doing this, but fanfic once again has fixed this canon-oversight. This is an incredible look through Walt’s eyes as he gets in over his head adopting an alien child, especially one who already had issues from previous foster placements. I could read a million words in this verse.

The Michael Sanders AU by @prouvaireafterdark (17,000 ) And speaking of great AUs where Michael is raised by Walt, I would be really amiss in not mentioning this one. It’s got hot high school Malex moments, emotional/hurt comfort for both Michael’s past foster placements but also the shit Alex is living with at home. I have to say “Honey if You Stay” is my favorite, just because of how badly I wanted to hug teen Alex...

and finally, no found family rec list could be complete without mentioning the epic series To Raise a Child (117,000 in progress) by @haloud and @maeglinthebold - season 2 put some hits on my headspace and emotional reserves, not to mention 2020 nonsense, so I’m dreadfully behind in commenting on this story. It’s just a huge emotional bandaid for me right now- it takes the idea of “what if the adults in Roswell actually looked out for their children (and other peoples children) and protected them from shit” and what would that change. Michael was found at 7 and then runs away to Roswell at 10, so yeah, humans have already done their best to convince him the world sucks and only finding his siblings matters... Jim Valenti steps in, knowing what he is, and finds him a place in Roswell with Arturo Ortecho. Anyway, everyone gets a turn- Jim, Mimi, the kids, etc in the story, it’s well rounded and fleshed out. Obviously being a malex person my favorite parts are the kid-friendship/this-is-just-a-crush moments in second story, where if you hadn’t lost your heart to Michael Ortecho by then, well, you’re a goner after that story. 

I Could Build Your Heart A Home (malex recs)

time will lie down and be still by @islndgurl777 (29,600) the Practical Magic AU - which I loved but I have never seen the movie it’s based on lol... anyway, this story almost belonged up with my found family dynamic recs, because the story opens with Isobel and Michael being 7 and 8 years old alien siblings and left with Mimi Deluca to raise with her daughter Maria, because with their father recently dead, their mother would soon follow as a species level soulmate bond. Michael vows never to fall in love. Then there’s a beautiful friendship between Maria, Liz, Isobel and Michael as they grow up together that I just wanted to roll around in forever... However this is a Malex rec, so once Alex enters the story in high school and things go down similarly with Jesse, Michael is heartbroken, his soulmate (he thinks) is gone, vanished into the Air Force, and he spends the next 10 years helping Maria, going to school with Liz, and keeping in touch with Isobel. Until 2018 when Isobel finds out her perfect man was like them, an alien, and bad, and they are forced to cover up his murder. Then Alex comes to town. But the soulmate storyline is the winner here and I just re-read it again.

here everyone knows (you’re the way to my heart) by @adamsparirsh (19,700) So this story tackles a dynamic that think will be the death-knell to the Alex/Forrest relationship- the weight of the alien secret and Alex’s responsibility gland and what that looks like to someone who wants to be in a relationship with him. The exclusion. But outside of that- there’s this part of Alex that isn’t willing to let anyone in that isn’t already there, and that’s Michael. I’m fucking weak for stories where these two assholes can’t connect with anyone but each other, and this one hits it. There’s also so many lovely friendship dynamics between everyone showing up for Alex- like Rosa, Isobel, Max, Maria. Obviously this is a Malex-is-endgame story, even though it starts Alex/Forrest.

it’s a long road back to you by @magsthemagical  (17,000) This was an interesting, now AU take on what if Maria/Michael dated at the same time as Alex/Forrest, and honestly, I thought basted on the season two spoilers that was where we were heading. I was gobsmacked by 2x13. Anyway, here’s a story that discusses the tension that would happen if there had been simultaneous dating going on…the parts where Michael sees Alex being open with someone other than him were very raw and true to how I would think he would feel. For 10 years he wanted that and didn’t get it, and so of course the problem was probably him?? Anyway, I enjoyed this a lot, and again felt robbed that we are heading into a new triangle for season 3. 

untouched by @prouvaireafterdark (5,200) - okay, you know when you have an alien soulmate idea in your head and you want it to appear on the page, and then it does and it’s everything you wanted? That’s what happened to me when ‘Untouched’ appeared. Obviously it’s AU, but my reptile brain just loves the idea that Michael and Alex can’t get off with anyone else, and then that frustration builds into a sexy explosion... there’s also some communcation happening with these clowns. But seriously for 5,000 words, A LOT HAPPENS here and I loved every word.

Would you come home by @caitlesshea (1000) How great would have it been if season 2 had ended with Michael and Alex found a baby in a stasis pod instead of Beardy Jones? Like seriously, this short little fic healed so many of my wounds from season 2 that I couldn’t help but include it here. I would take 50,000 more words in this sadly AU take. 

Hoarding you by @foramomentonly (1200) okay, so the rain smell, like 2x04 was low key my favorite episode of RNM ever, especially with Alex throwing that flirty line “It’s smells like rain, that’s what you smell like under the grease and bourbon’ and this author takes that line, and fucking murders me with the idea that Alex can’t move on because of that smell. And Michael is now his, and finds out about it. This is my head canon, okay? No one can talk me out of it.

If you like any of these recs, please leave a comment on the story- a ‘this was awesome’ is enough to propell an author into the stratosphere with happiness, so don’t worry about coming up with a unique, never before shared insight- sometimes a keyboard smash and emogi makes all the difference!

[michaels-blackhat]

he was a skaterboy

it is no longer my birthday, but the self-indulgent fics continue because life has no meaning and because I can. This one is for @andrea-lyn who I just adore and who says things and then I go “ugh I’m writing it” and she goes “oh good, now I don’t have to” 

Background: part of a bigger au where Michael was adopted, Max and Isobel were not. M & I stay in Roswell because I manifested her powers and basically got them to stay. Anyway, all you really need to know for this is that Michael is a giant science nerd, but this time he’s a giant science nerd with opportunities… and a scholarship to a STEM high school.

The sun was shining for the first time in months it seemed. It was March and the sun was out and the temperature had climbed to the 60s. Michael grinned as he pulled his backpack a little tighter before he stepped off the campus.

He waved to his classmates as he left the Roswell Science Institute to walk the twenty minutes from school to his house. “Gonna take advantage of the weather,” he had told his mom at lunch. It was worth it, even though he’d get home with very little time to spare before he would meet Isobel and Max. They get out of Roswell High thirty minutes after his school is done, and they would often meet at The Crashdown where Max would make eyes at Liz Ortecho and Isobel would catch Michael up on the local gossip he missed. Isobel seemed to think that he wanted to keep up all the people they went to middle school with, even almost two years later.

He walked past the fields where the lacrosse team was practicing, past the track and field team, and finally made his way to the residential streets. The houses always flew by in the car, Michael never really noticed any of them before. He definitely never noticed the little skate park next to the playground about ten minutes from his house. This time he did, along with the long figure doing tricks on the ramp. Michael slowed down to watch, the distance between the chain link fence at the sidewalk and the ramp was not far and Michael could see the boy with long dark hair and black clothes clearly. It was roughly the same age as Michael, but he definitely wasn’t in any of Michael’s classes and, even with a skateboard, there was no way he made it from the school, changed and all, in such a short amount of time.

He watched as the figure fell down the ramp and popped up facing him. Michael watched the familiar face for a moment too long as the figure caught his eye.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” He asked.

Alex Manes smirked at him, at least Michael was pretty sure it was a smirk, he was still a little too far away to tell. Alex took a step off the ramp and glided his way towards the fence. He looked different from the last time Michael had seen him, hair military short and face still a little chubby. Michael knew from Isobel’s gossip that the dynamic duo of Valenti and Manes was no more, knew the rumors about why it was no more, and knew that Alex had moved on to bigger and more emo things.

“You gonna rat me out for skipping Guerin?”

“Never did before, did I?”

Alex smiled at that. He leaned against the top of the fence, one of those half-sized ones used to corral kids but still open enough to give the illusion of space. With his elbows on the fence, he leaned with his chin in his hands.

“I don’t know, maybe you’ve changed. At that fancy school of yours now, who knows if you’re still the same kid I remember?”

Michael smiled in return and cocked his hip against the fence so that his body still mostly faced Alex, but making sure they were closer now. He had always liked Alex. He was smart, did his group work, had no problems having fun when there was a substitute for literature class and the students would take turns stealing the remote to turn the cd player on in the middle of class. Plus, he had always been nice, almost ridiculously so. He’d always volunteer to help, would share his lunch if someone forgot theirs.

He had a nice smile, always had. Still did.

“The only thing that’s changed is that they make me wear a uniform now,” Michael replied. “Still the same me.”

“Still too smart for your own good?” Alex fired back, smile still on his face.

“Maybe,” Michael said through a grin. “You still pretending you’re not just as smart?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Alex said and looked down at his feet. “Definitely not like you anyway. And if I was smarter, maybe I wouldn’t be here and I’d be in class instead.”

“Nah, I’m sure you have a good reason,” Michael said as he kicked the fence where Alex’s foot was, an approximation of a friendly shove.

“Is avoiding Valenti-” Alex started before he cut himself off.

“Isobel told me.” Michael kept his voice soft. “She, uh, likes to keep me updated on all the people we used to go to school with.”

Alex’s smile was officially off his face. His eyes were downcast, his body stiff as he stood up straight and let his hands drop to his side. “Then I’m sure you heard why.” His voice was tight.

“Rumors,” Michael said, making sure his body hadn’t moved, that he was still casual and comfortable, so that Alex would find some form of comfort in it.

“That’s all I know. Plenty of rumors about me too, I just don’t go to your school anymore, so you wouldn’t know them.” He paused. “Do you want to know them? To make it even?”

“You don’t-”

“I want to, Alex,” he said, voice still low. It was a strange conversation to have on a sunny day at the skatepark, but Michael knew all the things said about Alex. Alex should know the ones about him too.

“Did you know that I blew the physics teacher? That’s how I always get the highest grades.”

“What!” Alex couldn’t keep the startled laugh to himself. “You are seriously like a genius! And they think?” Alex laughed again, body relaxed finally. “You aren’t even gay!”

Michael smiled. “Bi, actually. But yeah, that’s probably the biggest one right now. Some asshole is just mad that the scholarship kid is smarter than him.” He looked over at Alex, who was just staring at him.

“Bi?” He asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Michael replied, smile still on his face. “Figured that out some time in eighth grade when this really cute guy with this great smile asked me to be his partner for a math competition.” Alex furrowed his brows. Michael kept the smile on his face. “We won, by the way. That really made it all make sense, you know? Seeing him smile? Making him laugh? Best feeling in the world.”

He watched as the confusion cleared his face and he understood. “No way,” Alex breathed out. “You’re fucking with me.” He didn’t look happy.

“I’m not Alex. You can ask Isobel, if you want. We meet at The Crashdown every day after school.”

“She’d be in on it too.”

Michael raised his eyebrows. “I know she can be a little frigid, but have you ever actually seen her care enough about high school bullshit to actually participate?”

It didn’t seem to convince him.

“Ok, how about Max. He’d never fuck with anyone and he’d never do anything to risk his chances with Liz.”

“Yeah ok, you got a point. But still, you expect me to believe that you randomly passed me by and decided to tell me that what? You had a crush on me in middle school?”

Michael laughed and leaned over the fence to be just that much closer to Alex.

“Well, yeah. I actually expect you to believe that I decided to walk home on the first nice day in weeks. Didn’t expect to run into you.” He smiled and Alex seemed to smile back despite himself. “Happy I did. Your smile is just as nice as it was back then.”

“The Crashdown?” Alex asked after a few moments of silence.

“Yeah, we meet there every day.”

“How about we walk there together?”

“I was gonna stop at home and change, get out of the uniform.”

Alex made his way to the gate and let himself out. He waited for Michael to catch up to him.

“Maybe keep the uniform,” he said as he gave a gentle tug to the end of Michael’s tie. “It’s kinda cute.”

Michael smiled the whole way to The Crashdown.

[im-the-punk-who]

this is especially funny in the rnm mandalorian au because rnm canon alex probably went through a phase where he ended all his interactions like this There is a RNM Mandalorian AU? Where? I want it!

So far it only exists in my head, but i’m hoping I can figure out writing it! The basic premise is a malex feral dads au featuring such favorites as:

Alex Manes as fandom’s problematic feral space dad/bounty hunter

Michael Guerin as the grungy love interest who happens to be a jedi and also a feral dad yes this is an excuse to put michael guerin in Uggs and a black turtleneck do NOT @ me on this.

Rosa Ortecho as Michael’s off the rails padawan or possibly Alex’s feral merc pal. I have not decided but it’s one of those.

Liz “Off the Shits” Ortecho as whichever of those roles Rosa doesn’t fill

Max “Trying his best” small town officiant and protector Evans as Cobb Vanth (”DO *NOT* tell Liz I broke that.)

Maria “Ace Mechanic and featured best friend also thats my kid now” Deluca

Flint as greef karda(but he lives) and just gives Alex a ton of shit

Forrest or Kyle as Boba Fett depending on who else I can throw Kyle Valenti’s personality onto.

The basic premise that started the au was a discussion in the discord and the post that goes like :

"sometimes a family is two himbo dads(Alex and Michael), four disaster lesbian wine aunts(Isobel, Rosa, Maria, Liz), a crimelord uncle(KYLE), a chill magistrate grandpa(Sanders but possibly Arturo?), a vodka grandma(Mimi), and their gremlin child(babie)"

Alex became a mandalorian to escape his father. he knew Michael before he was a mandalorian, they had a Thing, but the threat of his father and war made him leave(or...something. we’re figuring it out space pirates!), and Michael(who is force sensitive, obvs) went into hiding to avoid the empire. So like ten years later after the fall of the Empire, Alex as mando gets sort of the same job - deliver an 'item' which turns out to be a kid with strange powers. He never knew about Michael's force sensitivity bc just like mando he is like, the dullest crayon in the box when it comes to force sensitivity, but he ends up adopting this kid and going on a galazy-wide quest to find 'its people' which inevitably leads him to Michael(because spoiler the kid is Michael/Max/Isobel’s sibling who wasn’t awakened when they were and so stayed in stasis for another twenty or so years) and they become feral dads raising a feral space baby taking down Alex's dad and the forces of evil. It’s very cool and cute and yes Alex as Mando is going to know a lot of things but social etiquette regarding force knowledge is not one of them bc “you can’t just take people’s things!” and also I PERSONALLY know very little about Star Wars canon so like. Intentional Oversight Of The Author anyway it’s very cute.

[queermil]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, Maria DeLuca/Isabel Evans Characters: Alex Manes, Michael Guerin, Liz Ortecho, Max Evans, Isabel Evans, Maria DeLuca, Kyle Valenti, Arturo Ortecho Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Fusion, alex is an adopted ortecho, no alien stuff, rating will change accordingly if it needs to, Multiple Pov Summary:

liz ortecho isn't allowed to date until her snarky, determined-not-to-date brother, alex ortecho, does. luckily, one of her suitors has a plan. well, max goes to isobel for a plan, which involves getting their brother, michael, to woo alex.

or, the 10 things i hate about you AU

[spaceskam]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, Maria DeLuca/Isabel Evans Characters: Alex Manes, Michael Guerin, Liz Ortecho, Max Evans, Isabel Evans, Maria DeLuca, Kyle Valenti, Arturo Ortecho Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Fusion, alex is an adopted ortecho, no alien stuff, rating will change accordingly if it needs to, Multiple Pov Summary:

liz ortecho isn't allowed to date until her snarky, determined-not-to-date brother, alex ortecho, does. luckily, one of her suitors has a plan. well, max goes to isobel for a plan, which involves getting their brother, michael, to woo alex.

or, the 10 things i hate about you AU

[ao3feedrnm]

by Milzilla

liz ortecho isn't allowed to date until her snarky, determined-not-to-date brother, alex ortecho, does. luckily, one of her suitors has a plan. well, max goes to isobel for a plan, which involves getting their brother, michael, to woo alex.

or, the 10 things i hate about you AU

Words: 2263, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Alex Manes, Michael Guerin, Liz Ortecho, Max Evans, Isabel Evans, Maria DeLuca, Kyle Valenti, Arturo Ortecho

Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, Maria DeLuca/Isabel Evans

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Fusion, alex is an adopted ortecho, no alien stuff, rating will change accordingly if it needs to, Multiple Pov

[queermil]

1920s au, still aliens

i. the antarian ship crashes in roswell at the turn of the century and the pod squad hatch eight years later. all three are adopted by the evanses, who can't bare to leave any one of the trio in the dusty orphanage. max becomes a writer (he would have hatched around the time that tolstoy died; can you fuckin imagine); he's deeply invested in the scandal surrounding lady chatterley's lover at the end of the decade and blushes everytime someone mentions it. isobel evans is the epitome of a flapper. she's financially independent (thanks to her parents), young, beautiful, fashionable, and smart enough to use all of these things to her social advantage. there isn't a social circle she can't dominate or destroy, so it's puzzling to both her brothers that she spends a great deal of her time at the local speakeasy. michael, with the support of a loving family, becomes a local engineering legend. his genius level intellect helps him contribute to the technology boom that makes cars more affordable to the middle class in the 1920s. he's also got a few side projects in the basement of his parent's house (and hidden around his apartment) but no one needs to know about that.

ii. it's prohibition times, so you know maria deluca is running a fucking speakeasy in the basement of the wild pony, in which she occasionally gets high with her best friend and partner in crime, rosa ortecho. sheriff valenti turns a blind eye to the illegal activity because they all know that prohibition is bullshit and drinking is one of two things to do in roswell. maria and rosa throw a large celebration after the passing of the 19th ammendment, even though they know it's not the end of the battle.

iii. alex still goes off to war, except it's world war i, and at the start of the decade he finally returns to roswell to stay. he retires from service and gets back into music, which involves him playing in a jazz band that regularly performs at maria's bar. homosexuality is getting more visible but it's not there yet. that doesn't matter in the dark corners of the wild pony though, where michael evans slips calloused, engineer's hands underneath alex's vest and shirt and presses wet kisses to his throat. he eventually stops kidding himself and moves into michael's apartment, lets michael soothe him when he wakes up sweating and trembling with memories of the battlefield, wakes up to the smell of breakfast and, sometimes, engine grease. this is also when he finds out that his boyfriend is an alien boyfriend.

iv. liz would be killing it in biology, working her ass off to get into a good school and kick anyone in the face who says that women can't succeed in science. margaret reed lewis would have been observing mitochondria in living cells when liz was a teenager, so i can see her being inspired by lewis and other women in science at the time. maybe she'd specialise in cell physiology and eventually go into cancer research (after all her study). in the same vein, i see kyle as still going on to become a doctor. though, he would have played baseball in highschool, not football. so i leave you to imagine that beautiful reality.

v. technology isn't as advanced (obviously) as it is in 2018, so there's almost no possibility of someone revealing the pod squad's secret, unless being told directly. there's no surveillance on them and their origin story is lost in a world of paperwork, most of which disappears when the roswell orphanage is shut down. max's resurrection of liz proves to be a problem for about as long as it takes for him to tell her the truth, which leads to kyle and maria and rosa finding out the truth, which leads to them finding out that alex already knew the truth. things go back to normal pretty quickly and for the most part, their problems are purely human. that doesn't mean they don't use their abilities to get things done sometimes.

[queermil]

Chapters: 3/? Fandom: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, Maria DeLuca/Isabel Evans Characters: Alex Manes, Michael Guerin, Liz Ortecho, Max Evans, Isabel Evans, Maria DeLuca, Kyle Valenti, Arturo Ortecho Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Fusion, alex is an adopted ortecho, no alien stuff, rating will change accordingly if it needs to, Multiple Pov Summary:

liz ortecho isn't allowed to date until her snarky, determined-not-to-date brother, alex ortecho, does. luckily, one of her suitors has a plan. well, max goes to isobel for a plan, which involves getting their brother, michael, to woo alex.

or, the 10 things i hate about you AU

[queermil]

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, Maria DeLuca/Isabel Evans Characters: Alex Manes, Michael Guerin, Liz Ortecho, Max Evans, Isabel Evans, Maria DeLuca, Kyle Valenti, Arturo Ortecho Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Fusion, alex is an adopted ortecho, no alien stuff, rating will change accordingly if it needs to, Multiple Pov Summary:

liz ortecho isn't allowed to date until her snarky, determined-not-to-date brother, alex ortecho, does. luckily, one of her suitors has a plan. well, max goes to isobel for a plan, which involves getting their brother, michael, to woo alex.

or, the 10 things i hate about you AU

[michaels-blackhat]

Me, watching you run

Remember when @reachedthebitterend wrote me a The Magicians AU? Well, remember how I have a habit of continuing things? So here we are... some dialogue taken from the previous installment to keep with consistency. Also, Rosa was not murdered and that’s all I have to say about that.

Also I’m on mobile so sorry for the lack of Read More

-

“You just walked away.” There is no emotion in his voice, no pain, no heartbreak. Hell, there isn’t even disappointment. All there is is one simple fact, and that fact is that Michael was given everything he wanted, was offered the thing he wanted more than anything, more than magic, and he just walked away.

“You should have known that this was it. This was the memory you worked so hard to forget. He loved you. He finally admitted he loved you. He was finally ready, and you couldn’t let yourself have one damn good thing.”

-

The figure in front of him was dressed straight from a Renaissance faire and Michael couldn’t take him seriously.

“So I have confront my worst memory, unlock a door, and hope that I find my friends and tell them I’m a live?”

The ren faire reject nodded.

“Should be easy. It’s not like I have 28 years of trauma.”

-

There was a plan and they were supposed to stick to it, but Michael knew the moment Alex said “I’ll do it,” that he would rather die than trap Alex for eternity.

“It’s ok,” he had said to the room at large. “I lived a full life. I fell in love, got married, had a family.” His smile was small and sad, nostalgia for a lifetime that technically didn’t exist. “I got everything I wanted. I don’t mind doing this.”

Michael couldn’t let it happen though. He couldn’t watch Alex die as a monster took over his body. He couldn’t let Alex sacrifice himself because he thought he had no future in this timeline.

“Alex, don’t,” Michael started but Alex cut him off quickly.

“As my friend, you should respect my decision.”

And didn’t that hurt, Alex’s constant reminder that that was all they were. Every “my friend Michael” and “you’re such a good friend” hurt. They hurt worse now than they had ever before. Somehow, it hurt worse when it was you doing the running.

-

Michael started with the murders and the coverups. Really, how could anything be worse than that?

“I don’t think this is the right place,” Fantasy Weirdo said as they watched Michael levitate three corpses. There was not a door to be seen anywhere in that god awful desert.

“How is there anything worse than when I helped coverup two murders? Lied to everyone I cared about? My first two uses of magic were to coverup murders!”

“But why did you do it? It wasn’t selfish, it was protection. There were bright points to these days.”

“You have to be crazy to think that there are any bright points anywhere.”

A screeching was heard in the distance.

“Excellent. Now I get to deal with physical monsters on top of my emotional ones.”

They fled the memory before they could be attacked.

-

Michael tried to kill the monster before Alex could trick it into his body and into the trap.

Michael should have thought this plan through more. The monster, in anger flew at Michael.

He didn’t remember the rest.

-

Max and Isobel were arguing about their summer plans when Michael heard a knock on the door. That wasn’t right. No one should be knocking on the house’s door now, it was too late and every student should have been in bed or in their own common areas. No one should be outside.

“I’ll get it,” Max had said when neither Isobel or Michael moved despite being closer to the door.

“No, don’t bother,” Michael had said, but Max ignited him.

The pounding grew frantic as Max made his way to the door. When he opened it, a man dressed in weirdly period, but obviously Fillory-influence clothing came in and slammed the door behind him.

“I have been trying to get into the Happy Place. Why would t you let me in?” He addresses his question to Michael, ignoring Max right in front of him.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about man.”

“We’re in your memories. This is your Happy Place, the one place we are safe from the monster.”

“Get out,” Michael has said, not wanting to deal with any ridiculousness. “Come on Max, make him leave.”

Max ignored him.

“He’s not really here. He’s a memory too. Just imagine he’s not here, see what happens.”

Michael did. Max disappeared. Well shit. Maybe the weird man was right.

“Huh, even in my imagination he ignores me.”

-

Somehow watching it happen all over again is worse than living through it.

-

“So every time we leave my happy place, we get attacked by weird dementor looking assholes. Or like, murderous birdmen.”

“Yes, which is why we have to stay in the Happy Place.”

“Yeah, not gonna happen. I need to make sure my friends know I’m alive. How do I do that?”

“You don’t just get out. We’re in your mind, in your memory. The only way out, even for a few moments, is to find the thing your buried down so deep and confront it.”

“What was yours?”

“The day I left my home.”

Michael looked at the man in disbelief. That was it? That was his most traumatic memory?

-

Alex was gone in the morning.

Michael tried hard not to think about it, any of it. He tried not to think about Alex’s body under his own, Alex insistent lips, and his own hunger. He tried not to think about the heat in his chest, the heat of their bodies, the slick sheen of sweat on their bodies. He tried not to think about how damn happy we was when he fell asleep and the emptiness in his chest the next morning when he woke up alone.

There was no door in that memory either.

-

They needed a distraction, a shield to stand between them and the monsters.

“Who are they?”

Michael looked at Ren-Faire-Reject and then turned around.

“These,” he said with a vague gesture, “are my most terrifying friends. Max, during one of his ‘Liz doesn’t love me’ rages. Alex, that one time he punched Valenti in the face. And Isobel, who is always terrifying.” He gave his memory friends a small smile. “They have my back always.”

He and his friends moved toward the front door. Memory Isobel smirk.

“I wonder if I can melt a monster’s brain too.”

-

“It was kind of...”

“...beautiful.”

He and Alex stay in silence, broken only by the sob that Michael had tried to hid as laughter.

Michael remembers the feeling, the anger and resentment and pain. Michael remembers his bitter words even though he tried to forget them in the months that followed.

“You spent so much time angry that he kept running, that you never thought to ask why.”

Michael stares at himself as he stood on the steps with Alex next to him. Broken glass lay at their feet. Michael wonders if that was all that was broken that day.

-

Michael tried not to think about the scent, acidic and floral and strange. He tried not to think about the days of wandering, the week’s of waiting. He tried not to think about sharing a bed with Alex every single night and never touching him. He tried not to think about how he could tell Alex was in pain but he could do nothing, not without his magic. He tried not to think about the tiny tin of salve he made for Alex, and how that was apparently the tipping point.

He tried not to think about the fact that they spent fifty years together, in love and happy, and how he could never get it back.

It’s been months since that lifetime and Michael was exhausted. He didn’t know how Alex did this for years.

-

“What if you ask again, and I say yes?”

-

There was no door in the group home when they relived the exorcism and they lost memory Max to the monsters.

There was no door in the halls of the school library where he helped ruin Liz’s chance for revenge.

There was no door in any of the corners of his mind that he packed away. Not where he lost memory Isobel as they watched young Max and Isobel get adopted. Not when he buried a body at age 12. Not where he lost his engineering scholarship, though he definitely didn’t expect it there.

“Of course not,” said memory Alex. “If you kept it, you would never have ended up at Brakebills with me.”

-

“Do you want me Alex?” Michael’s voice was low, intentionally seductive. He had Alex pressed against the door to his room. Each sentence was punctuated by the roll of his hips and a kiss to Alex’s neck. “Do you want to date me? To be my boyfriend, be my lover, my everything? I feel like the world was frozen until you breathed fire into me. So tell me, do you want me?”

Michael closed his eyes as he watched. The answer had been no.

-

“This isn’t working. I suggest you just give up.”

Michael stared the weird Memory Guy. No way in hell was he giving up. “You have one friend left. You have no idea where your doorway out is. If you die here, you die for good. I suggest you stop and just enjoy your Happy Place.”

“Yeah sorry not an option.” Michael’s voice was flat. He confronted too many repressed memories today for any type of emotion.

Memory Alex stood off to the side. He kept his gaze on the list of potential memories to explore. All were crossed out.

“If you don’t mind telling us,” memory Alex said, “what was your memory?”

“It was he day he left home. Not every helpful.”

Alex looked at Michael, his gaze heavy. “I think that depends.” He turned to look at Memory Guy. “Why was it so awful?”

Memory Guy stared at the two of them in amazement. “What do you mean? I left home! Of course it was awful! I left the place that I was safe, where I was loved! I left the place that held everyone that I loved! I left them behind...” He trailed off, voice quivering and tears in his eyes.

Michael shared a look with his memory of Alex. It was an older memory, of when they first met. Alex was still in the tail end of his punk phase, nose ring and eyeliner. He looked completely different to the guy he was now, or the guy he was before a monster took over Michael’s body. Yet, he looked at Michael in the same way, the way that Alex used to say Michael looked at him with love and adoration. The way they looked at each other every day for fifty years.

“See,” memory Alex said. “It all depends. Home doesn’t mean much for us, not when we never had one. This,” he gestures around the house they lived in until recently, “this is as close as we’ve ever come. Remember what Maria said? Home doesn’t have to be a white picket fence...”

“It can be a person.”

Michael knew where he had to go.

-

“Apparently it only works if we don’t have any other choice.”

Michael watches himself break the glass and then break his and Alex’s hearts.

Michael watches as Alex turned away, as Alex desperately tries to hold his tears in, to hold back his sob with his hands. He watches Alex nod. “Okay, Sorry I brought it up.”

Michael watches as he draws closer to Alex. He remembers getting closer, reaching out his hand to offer comfort, to take it all back. He didn’t though. Instead he scoffed at himself and left.

Michael heats himself scoff, sees himself turn to leave.

“You spent so long being angry at him for never giving us a chance, and this is what you do? You tell him he’s scared and then you run away the moment he decides to be brave?”

Michael takes a step closer to himself, and then another and another. As he walks he says, “He asked you to give him a chance and you stomp all over it? You throw your fears in his face and say they’re inevitable? You were scared that someone so good could possibly love you for real, and you fucking ran.”

His footsteps lead him past himself, past the memory of the worst moment of his life, past the moment where he gave up his love and ran in fear. He makes his way to Alex. He faces the man he loves and cradles his face, the way he did every day for a lifetime that technically never happened.

“I’m gonna get out of here Alex. And when I do, I promise I’m gonna stop being a coward. I’m gonna stop running. The only running I’m gonna do is running back to you.”

He places a soft kiss to the Alex’s lips, an echo of how the memory should have played out but didn’t.

Behind him a rickety old door appears. Michael moves to open it.

-

In another place at the same time, the monster at the end of the world loses control over the meat suit he’s wearing. For the first time in weeks, the body’s eyes aren’t vacant. Now they are full of love. For the first time in weeks, the voice that comes out isn’t bored and malicious. When it speaks, Alex knows the truth. For one glorious minute it is Michael talking.

“I’m alive. And once you get this thing out of me, I will ask again, do you understand me?”