(no subject)

[littleorphanalien]

Alex's name is all over posters for this music festival, something that Michael had seen once or twice. When Alex had arranged it, Michael just figured that it was some casual thing, like a gig at the bar. Then, real flyers came out, posters, and Alex had a spot on a stage at a festival. He'd seen them on the way back from dropping Luke off at school, needing to do a double-take before he was overwhelmed with the sight of them.

To say that he's proud is a wild understatement.

He's grabbed about three of them, taking off for the Ocean View apartment, grateful that they're still in the process of moving so it won't take too long, hurrying inside. "Alex!" he calls, bouncing with excitement. "Alex, you're never gonna believe what I..."

He trails off, because when he glances up from the flyers, he gets his first good look at Alex.

"...uhhhh..."

Alex still has the coffee cup in hand, wearing a pair of sweatpants tied on the one end, and he's shirtless. Michael's seen him shirtless a thousand times before, but the tanned skin against these particular sweatpants, the way his hair is falling over his forehead, and his sleepy mussed just woke up look is...well, it's doing a lot to him.

"I found your music flyers," he manages, babbling out nonsense.

Comments

[unendurable]

He moves easily, following Michael with an eagerness he couldn't hide. Not when he's finally getting to try out his new prosthetic.

"And hey. I liked that idiot kid," he teases, but he can understand. Their life has been a whirlwind as of late.

He does as he's told, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm ready. I promise, I will tell you if it hurts and not let it keep hurting me." Because he knows he's been bad about things like that in the past.

[littleorphanalien]

Michael settles Alex on the bed, excited as he brings out the metallic case where he's been keeping it. His fingers brush against the alien materials and watch as it shimmers and glows, even if it's lined with earth metals inside to weigh it down with flexible titanium.

"I think," he says, "that if I open up a connection through you, I can sense how it's doing," he admits, reaching for the new sock to slide it on, adjusting the prosthetic and attaching it, tracking the length and feeling good about the shape of the foot and the shape of it, so close to the other.

He's spent plenty of time staring at Alex's legs, after all.

[unendurable]

Alex is practically holding his breath when Michael gets out the case. When it opens, he sees how beautiful it is, the shimmer of the ship gleaming along the length of it as Michael gets it out.

"I like that idea," he says, but it's not wholly for the prosthetic but to have that connection with Michael. All the time.

He stays very still, letting Michael get things into place. "This is the most amazing things you've done for me."

[littleorphanalien]

Michael slides his palms up and down the alien glass, watching how it responds to him with awe, incredulous and utterly entranced by the look of it, breathing out as he stands, holding a hand out to him so Alex can get to his feet.

"It's not gonna break or shatter," he promises, "so don't worry about abusing it, or smacking it into things."

He lets go, even if it's nearly impossible to do. "Go on, give it a shot, tell me how it feels."

[unendurable]

Taking Michael's hand, he lets Michael help him up. He stands there for a moment, adjusting to how it feels. The work Michael's done allows Alex to truly feels comfortable.

"I have every faith in it, Michael. It's beautiful and..." He shifts, moving and seeing how it feels. "And you did a beautiful job. Michael..' He bounces a bit, giving a wiggle to see how it reacts. "I can't believe you did this for me. I can't believe you used part of your ship for me."

[littleorphanalien]

Michael watches it, crouching over to get a better look at the prosthetic, watching how the titanium works with the ship material (and will also prevent it from trying to bond to something else). He breathes out shakily, still in awe that it's real.

"If this works right, you shouldn't need a separate one for sports," he says. "It should absorb the shock and impact and give you that flexibility." Raising to a stand, he gives Alex a hopeful look. "I don't need a way off this planet anymore. It's better for this."

[unendurable]

"Michael, it's still special and it's amazing to me that you are letting me have this." How could he be that utterly amazing to do this for Alex?

His eyes light up. "It's... I should be able to?" To think about having more of the freedom that he's lost and Michael has given him back. He moves to clutch Michael's cheek, kissing him hard. "I love you. So much."

[littleorphanalien]

Michael's so stupidly, modestly proud of it. It's something he did for Alex, and he gives him a shy, nervous smile, hoping that he can keep doing these kinds of things to make him so happy with him. "I wanna see you walking around with it," he admits, his voice rough with emotion.

He can't give Alex his leg back, only the next best thing.

"And then you can tell me if it's holding up."

[unendurable]

Alex isn't sure he can find words for this. Michael took his ship and made Alex's life better with it. He made it so he can move better and be in less pain, and it's also this promise that he's not leaving because his ship is here, with Alex.

"So does this mean I can skateboard now?" Smiling as he moves around the room, down the hallway and back to let Michael see how he moves. "It feels good. How goes it look?"

He figures Michael has watched his gait enough to know.

[littleorphanalien]

He watches the way it's moving, sliding down to his knees to press his fingers to it. It's inflexible, not like skin, and muscle, and bone, but it works a lot better and he checks where it's attached to carefully assess. "I think the weighting is fine," he admits, "but I'm worried about this," he says, squeezing that area gently.

"I think the material I used on the sock will work, but I don't know if it'll rash up on you, so you'll need to wear it in small increments. An hour, then two, and I'll see if I need to make adjustments."

[unendurable]

Alex stays still, letting Michael check the prosthetic, seeing how it fits and how it's aligned with the sock.

"You tell me what to do and what I'm watching for and I'll do it," he says with a nod, though he can't help but to smirk. "Though notice we ignored the skateboarding. Smart man," he teases.

[littleorphanalien]

"This prosthetic might not break, but the rest of you isn't made with alien materials," Michael mumbles, his gaze flickering up to Alex with a pointed look at him, sliding his hand over the attachment before he stands, handing Alex a pair of jeans to put on.

"You can go skateboarding on one condition," he says, willing to negotiate. "You take lessons and wear protective equipment."

[unendurable]

"What? I'm not," he teases, but he runs his fingers through Michael's hair, pulling him in close for a quick kiss.

He takes the jeans but he holds them, not putting them on yet. "Do you think... You think with this I really could?"

[littleorphanalien]

Michael leans into the kiss, happy to soak it up, and then he settles on the bed to watch him, going a little fuzzy and confused. "Alex, I don't know the first thing about what you actually need for skateboarding with two actual legs," he confesses. "So you might have to explain to me what kind of function you need before I can say yes or no, really."

[unendurable]

Alex moves to sit down so he can get the jeans over his prosthetic and up his other leg. Taking his time, seeing how it feels every time he moves, the different sensations as he gets into them.

"It's about balance, mostly this leg would stay on the board and I would use the other to push. You want to know the truth? I haven't been on a skateboard since I left Roswell. Not until we turned to teens here. But laying in a field hospital, the thought came into my head one night that I could never skateboard again. So it's not realistic maybe? But it's the one thing that started me mourning about what I could never have."

[littleorphanalien]

Michael squints at it, his brain already working. "You still wouldn't be feeling anything other than the weight of it," he admits. "I don't have a solve for electrical impulses from the brain shooting down into the prosthetic, not without my handprint on you and even that's flawed."

Because him sending back a message that Alex is unbalanced will be a few seconds too late.

"I wish I could give you that," he says, hating that he can't figure it out, frustrated by it.

[unendurable]

"Michael, hey."

He moves to come stand before Michael, nudging his legs apart and moving to nestle himself between them. Leaning in a bit, he cups Michael's face in both hands, staring into his eyes.

"You are giving me so much, and this is a big deal to me. You are doing amazing things, and you're helping me. Please, don't think you haven't done enough for me because you have. You've done so much for me. Just with this."

He rests his brow to Michael's. "I love you and thank you."

[littleorphanalien]

Michael looks up, still sulking a little, but he lets Alex nudge his knees apart, pouting until Alex cups his face and then looks into his eyes. From there, he gazes mournfully up, wishing that he could be smarter, or at least more attuned with his alien side.

Maybe there's some healing power that could give his leg back, but he doesn't have it. "I love you too," he murmurs, pressing their brows together, and exhaling as Alex does. "I just...I wanna do more."

[unendurable]

"I don't doubt you'll ever stop trying, but never think that I don't think you haven't done enough," he admits in a low voice. "I think you have done amazing things for me. You literally offered me a piece of yourself with this prosthetic," he murmurs softly. "Don't think I don't realize how amazing that is, or how important it was for you to help me."

Leaning down, he kisses him tenderly. "You're amazing, Michael, and I appreciate everything you do for me. Every single day."

[littleorphanalien]

Michael stares up at him, leaning towards him like he's the sun and Michael is just a flower desperately trying to get closer to him, soak it all up while he has it, before it goes away. "Not gonna stop," he warns, and leans up to kiss him as hard as he can.

"Now, can I go buy him some sexy pants to show you off?" he whispers, pressing a soft kiss to the space beside Alex's ear, by the hair of his temple.

[unendurable]

"I know, and I won't stop showing you how amazing you are and the wonderful things you do for me, Michael. I won't stop doing everything I can for you."

And he means it. Everything he can do for him.

"Come on. Help me pick out clothes that will make me look sexy, and utterly yours." He steps back, offering Michael his hand.

[littleorphanalien]

"I mean, that would be getting you naked and tattoing Michael Guerin on your stomach and ass," he deadpans, "Didn't think you'd be into that as a concert look." He grins, though, and takes Alex's hand with both of his to raise him up, kissing the side of his cheek.

"Where do you wanna go? Leather store? Tight jeans depot? Glitter avenue?" he teases.

[unendurable]

Alex pauses, giving Michael a look. "Keep it up, and you're going to find that tattoo," he points out, already having the two inked pieces and loving how they look. Who knows. He might get more. With Michael's name across his stomach and ass.

He laughs at that, rolling his eyes. "Do you know what I've always wanted to wear? I mean, it's going to sound stupid, but I wanted one back in school and of course Jesse wouldn't let me. You think they sell those utility kilts here?"

[littleorphanalien]

Michael's grin blooms on his face, and he laughs softly. "You already have my initials on me, same as I have yours on me." He's feeling pretty good about that. "Don't worry, no more tattoos needed, just all the kisses in the world," he mocks, hand over his heart, like this is the only thing he cares about and needs.

"I don't think that sounds stupid at all," he says, and leans over to get his phone. "I bet there's some kind of place that has them. Kilts are Scottish, right? Or Irish? Fuck if I know that sort of thing."

[unendurable]

"What? You don't like my ink? You don't want Michael's in huge graphic antique font on my abs?" He perks up suddenly, laughing. "What about on the small of my back? A tramp stamp with your name," he teases. "But you will always get the number of kisses you want."

"Uhmmm? I don't know. I just love the punk look of them and... it means I can show off my new prosthetic."