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mander3-swish · 1 year ago

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Geminids Holiday Party

Summary: Michael and Alex agreed to host a holiday party for the peak display of the Geminids meteor shower. They regretted that decision almost immediately. (2917 words)

Notes: For @sun-tomato written for the @rnm-secret-santa event. Happy Holidays!

Read on AO3 or below.

"What the hell were we thinking when we agreed to do this?" Alex flopped down onto the couch, or at least as much he could flop down without majorly fucking up his knee in the prosthetic.

"It won't be that bad," Michael tried to reason with him.

"It shouldn't be, but this is our first time hosting all of these people in our home, in our home - together," Alex replied. "We had less time to plan our wedding, so my anxiety is probably just over-compensating.

"And how is it you're the calm one about all of this?" Alex asked.

"I've decided that to get through this, I've got to give the least amount of fucks to give while still making enough effort that you don't get Ramos to lock me away at Deep Sky," Michael said jokingly. Well, mostly joking.

"Har, har," Alex replied with a roll of his eyes. "Ok. Let's make a list of yeses and nos for this party," Alex said, and picked up a pad of paper and pen from the coffee table. He labeled it with 'Alex and Michael's Holiday Extravaganza', and drew YES and NO columns.

"Extravaganza, hey? How fancy do you think this shindig is gonna be?" ask Michael, moderately concerned about what they'd gotten themselves into beyond providing a location and maybe some beer.

"Now you see why I'm freaking out? I've built it up in my head ever since we said yes." Alex chewed on the side of his thumb. "It just felt like 'our turn' to host something with our friends."

"Um, are you forgetting that we had a whole-ass wedding a few months ago?" Michael countered.

"That was such a group effort because it was so last minute."

So it was decided that they would go it alone, not even beg Isobel to help. They wanted to prove their capabilities. They were two very smart men after all, and one of them even had super powers, for fucks sake, they could do this!

After deciding on a few simple appetizers and snacks to have on hand to keep people from getting drunk too quickly, selecting a playlist of the least annoying holiday songs they could muster, they moved onto décor.

"Mistletoe?" Alex suggested.

"Fuck no, too tacky and too weird even for me - have you read the Wikipedia page for it?

"Should we get a tree?" Someday Michael wanted his own Christmas tree.

"Mmmm, no, or at least not yet. It will take up too much space. We're going to have to move some furniture around as it is." Alex instead proposed instead getting a bunch of lights to wrap around the bigger palms, dracaena, and ficus that were around the living room. "And we can put lights around the windows, and maybe a few strings down the hallway?"

"Anything else?" Michael asked. And then perked up with an idea, "Oh, we could make some simple snowflake garlands. I heard some lady mention it on the phone while I was fixing her car yesterday."

"Those would look nice. But I don't know - how about let's see what all we can get done and decide later if we have time to add some of that."

"True. Ok, so basically lights. And lots of them." Michael was shockingly excited to get to the decorating. He didn't go full Griswold, but had plans for next year.

***

It ended up being a good thing that Alex and Michael had agreed to host because Max and Dallas arrived back from Oasis just hours before the party. Had Liz or Maria been in charge of hosting, well, likely the party would not have happened. Liz had not left Max's lap since they plopped themselves onto one of the oversized lounge chairs. As for Dallas and Maria, they were hunkered down together trading stories back and forth, catching each other up on the last few months apart.

And the great return from Oasis gave just another reason to celebrate, and actually took some of the pressure off for having everything just so. The first part of the night mainly ended up with everyone just sitting around and catching up, and that suited them just fine.

Alex leaned into making sure their guests were having a good time. He dipped in and out of conversations, always stepping away to tend to some snack bowl that needed topping up or drink that needed refilling.

"Since when did you become a trained happy little hostess?" The tone of Michael's question was teasing, but had undertones of naughtiness that could get them both into trouble. Alex started to consider ways in which to end this party early so that he and Michael could just relax and go to bed. But that wouldn't be for a while.

The original reason they decided to host their party in mid December was actually as a pre-game to peak Geminids meteor shower watching. With their house being on the edge of Roswell, backing onto a mix of agricultural land and undeveloped desert, there was little light pollution to contend with in the backyard, so it was a good place to relax and take in the show the sky was about to put on. They did end up borrowing some comfy patio furniture and lounge cushions from Iz's Woman as Warrior outdoor studio to be able to seat all the guests.

So many nights spent alone, sitting on that fence near the crash site, or laying in the back of his Chevy, Michael would stare up into the night sky, hoping somewhere out there was home. On the nights of meteor showers he felt especially hopeful that maybe, just maybe, one of those lights was a ship sent to rescue him.

And then in high school, he and Alex had orbited around one another, most definitely aware of each other's presence. They didn't breach that elliptical orbit until Michael just had to spiral off like his own meteor, burning up upon entering Alex's atmosphere that involved borrowed guitars, kindness, and clandestine kisses. And then finally, way too much later on, he found his home with Alex.

So the meteor shower was comforting to Michael - a metaphor of sorts for the way he used to dream about what was out there for him. And he wanted to share that comfort with his friends and family. Not that he was going to say any of that out loud to anyone, ever. Well, maybe to Alex - someday. But deep down, Alex probably already knew. He'd spent enough time laying beside Michael, staring up at that same night sky.

***

Alex managed to get Sanders alone for a few minutes at the party. He'd been wanting to speak to him for awhile, but hadn't found the chance to make it out to the junkyard on days Michael wasn't working.

"How ya been, kid?" Sanders asked, clapping a hand on Alex's shoulder.

"Pretty good, actually." Alex felt a wash of relief course through his body when he realized how true those words were.

"Hey, Sanders, I was hoping I could pick your brain about something," Alex asked. Now was as good a time as any.

"Shoot. As long as you don't mean literally," Sanders joked.

"Ha, of course not." Alex moved them a bit further away from the drinks table for the tiniest bit more privacy. "I've been wondering if there were any traditions or memories you tried to create with Michael when you looked out for him when he was younger?" Alex asked, pausing for a sip of his drink as he had a follow-up thought for Sanders to consider. "Or maybe, were there any traditions you and Roy shared with Nora and Louise that they seemed to enjoy? You must have spent Christmas of '47 with them?"

"That was a long, long time ago," Sanders replied.

Alex noticed a faint wetness in his eyes. "Well, maybe think about it for a couple days and let me know if you remember anything," Alex offered. "Honestly, no pressure."

Alex liked the old guy. He had always been nice to him. And he knew that Michael loved him. "And just putting this out there - we'd love to have you over one day for a nice meal to celebrate the holidays with you."

"Sounds great, kid. I would love too," Sanders replied, taking his own sip of beer to no doubt hold back his emotions.

***

Rosa showed up to the party a bit later with Arturo - with Arturo and a puppy! She was fostering Comet and couldn't leave it alone lest it destroyed her room. And Arturo brought fresh hot churros so everyone was happy to have them all there!

Alex - and the puppy - disappeared for a LONG time. Michael was left to make sure everyone was having a good time, which honestly wasn't that hard with the 6 different beers types he'd picked up, and everything else the party had going for it.

Eventually Alex returned. He'd obviously been playing with the puppy. Michael wasn't sure if he was more jealous of Comet or Alex.

"Sorry, sorry," Alex said, walking over to Michael, still petting the wriggling puppy in his arms. "I just needed to get my puppy-fix in so that I don't adopt one before we're ready."

"Noted." Michael leaned in, getting some puppy kisses. He couldn't help but to smile. He'd always known Alex wanted a dog. Hell, he'd wanted one too. "That is definitely something I could get into."

***

The party eventually moved outside once everyone had filled up on snacks and the night sky had fully darkened. Since it was so clear out that night, the desert air was especially chilling. The guests that weren't Oasain or had their own personal space heater to cuddle up to didn't last long with the meteor watching. To keep warm, Michael started a roaring fire in the firepit and Alex pulled the karaoke machine outside.

In the middle of a rather rousing singalong of 'Feliz Navidad', the flashing lights from a cop car filled the yard.

Deputy Joe came in through the gate casually, almost like he was going to join the party. "Max!" he exclaimed, pulling him into a half hand-shake, half bro-hug. "How long have you been back?"

"Not even 24 hours, and definitely jet lagged," Max replied. "I haven't even been out to my house yet."

"Well, I don't mean to bust up your welcome home festivities, but we've had a noise complaint coupled with lewd lyrics from some of the songs overheard," Deputy Joe explained.

"Did the complaint say which song it was?" Alex asked, but he was pretty sure he could guess.

"The call mentioned something about a particularly offensive version of 'Santa Baby'," Deputy Joe said, flipping through his notepad. "They also mentioned 'loud wailing and the sounds ritualistic torture' coming from the party as well. I didn't take the call, but Betty on dispatch said the person with the list of complaints would continue to call and put her 'tax dollars to good use' unless we came out and shut it down."

Everyone glared at Isobel and Kyle. Their performance of 'Santa Baby' had been particularly uncomfortable for everyone to witness. "What, as if you didn't think my lyric suggestions were a stroke of genius," Isobel said, trying to defend herself.

"You were stroking something," Michael muttered under his breath, wishing he could scrape the sight of Isobel grinding up on Valenti from his memory.

"Anyway," Alex interrupted, hoping to smooth things over with Deputy Joe, "if we promise to stop with the karaoke, does that make us squared away?"

"I believe so. And maybe keep the singing to the indoors next time," he suggested. Deputy Joe walked over to the gate and pulled it open. He paused and turned, saying, "Don't be a stranger Max. We all miss you down at the station."

"Will do," Max answered, "and take care."

Once the deputy's car rolled out of sight, everyone started talking at once, mostly deriding the song lyric choices of Isobel. "Hey, Kyle was in on it too," she said, trying to deflect the blame.

Kyle just smiled and nodded in a 'yes, dear' kind of way, trying really hard not to put his foot in his mouth and say something that would set Isobel off for real.

The deputy's visit pretty much signaled the end of the party, plus half of them had to be at work in the morning. After everyone had said their goodbyes, Michael and Alex were left by themselves. They stood next to each other, surveying the damage from the evening. While there was no actual damage to anything, there was quite a lot to clean up.

"Maybe if we go to sleep now, it will all magically be clean when we wake up in the morning," Michael joked, but was really hoping somehow it managed to be real.

"Next time, we'll have to book a late night cleaning service for that to come true," Alex promised.

"Next time?" Michael replied in disbelief. "We have to do this again?" He flopped down on the sofa in a huff and started listing all the reasons why this party had been a failure. "Not only did the cops bust up the party, but we had to suffer through terrible karaoke. And then you disappeared for over 30 minutes leaving me to fend for myself. Worst of all, Sanders and Rosa ate the last of the churros, and then there's the clean-up we still need to tackle."

Alex huffed out an affectionate laugh and sat down beside him. "Is that all? Did you get everything?"

"No," Michael pouted. "We got interrupted earlier, so I didn't even get to come."

"Oh riiight, that," Alex joked. "That is definitely something we can fix immediately, if you're up for it."

Michael's face lit up in a smile. "It will give me energy to do all the cleaning."

Alex knew that was a lie, but he was not going to say 'no' to sexy times with Michael.

***

"Please, remind me again why we’re having sex behind a tree?”

"Because the house is full of guests, we might not have the energy later, and isn't this thrilling?" Michael emphasized each point with a thrust of his hips, his cock sliding deliciously though Alex's tight grip.

"Totally," Alex replied. His voice dripped with sarcasm, even though it was 100% true. And then he moaned when Michael's hand gave a perfect twist and tug as he worked Alex closer to the edge.

Michael leaned in for a kiss to be sure no one could hear them. In the quiet darkness, with only the stars above as witness, it was as if they were teenagers again.

And then they heard the sound of the back door creaking open and the clatter of claws on the patio.

"Hurry up Comet, just pick a spot to go pee," Rosa whisper-shouted, her voice cutting through the illusion of privacy Michael and Alex thought they had.

They quickly tucked themselves back into their jeans as gingerly as possible, willing their hardness away.

The puppy sniffed her way over to the tree they were leaning against and gave a few quick little barks.

"Hey Comet, shhhh, you'll give us away."

"Too late, Alex," Rosa said, laughing as she tugged on Comet's leash.

"Shit, you caught us, uh, stringing up some extra patio lights," Michael tried as an excuse.

"You keep telling yourself that." Rosa led Comet back to the house leaving them alone once more.

Alex sighed. "I guess we better get back in there, then, before she sends everyone else out to interrupt."

"Promise we'll pick this up later?" Michael begged as they headed towards the door.

***

Feeling bad about messing up the end of the party, Isobel picked up some bagels on her way over to Alex and Michael's in the morning. She also planned to help them tidy up if there was anything left to do.

"Hello, I have bagels," she called out, pulling the door open. "Hope you're not naked!" she added.

And they weren't - but she wouldn't have minded a glimpse at what Alex had going on. Even though they had a whole ass bed steps away, she found them still fast asleep on the sofa.

As it was still so very early and the sunlight had barely started to roll across the landscape, Isobel decided to put her well honed powers to good use. She felt like a combination of a magical Disney princess, Mary Poppins, and Samantha from Bewitched. All she needed were some singing forest creatures. In no time at all, she had the dishwasher loaded and running, the floor swept and mopped, and had the trash outside in the bins. She even started a pot of coffee hoping that would maybe wake those two sleepy heads up.

She sat sipping her own cup of steaming coffee and taking bites of a bagel loaded with cream cheese, watching Michael and Alex slowly wake.

"Holy shit, Isobel, why are you staring at us like that? What time is it?" Michael's morning voice was gravelly.

"It's already 9am, and you should be grateful I'm here," she replied.

Alex sat up, stretching, trying to shake the sleep away, moderately regretting falling asleep on the sofa once again. He looked around and noticed it seemed much cleaner than he remembered. "Hey, did you tidy up in here?" he asked.

Isobel replied with a sweet sing-songy voice, "You're welcome."

The end.

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