(no subject)

[littleorphanalien]

Fuck. Why doesn't he have better clothes?

Michael reaches for his glass of whiskey and knocks it back, throwing the sweater he's wearing onto the bed as he reaches for another one. It's cream colored and soft, but is it too casual? If he wears this, does he have to take off the jeans? He unbuckles his giant silver belt buckle, but leaves it hanging open.

Then he goes for the booze again, but stops because they're about to go to Luke's parent-teacher interview and if he shows up smelling of liquor, they might revoke the fostering papers. "Alex," Michael calls out to him, pleading. "Help," is a strangled, stubborn thing, like he doesn't want to admit that he needs help figuring out how to look like a respectable father figure and not just the town's dirty mechanic.

It's just never come up before.

Comments

[unendurable]

Alex nods, understanding if Michael doesn't want to learn but when he mentions being willing to learn to swim, Alex can't help but light up. "I'm willing to teach you," he says with a smile. "The water is good for me," he adds. "For my leg and therapy. So if you want to learn, I'll teach you."

He actually sounds excited about that, loving the idea of doing that for Michael and seeing what all they can learn. "Have you talked to Luke? Do we know if he can swim?"

[littleorphanalien]

He shakes his head, because, "It hasn't really come up," he admits, which is more because Michael doesn't want to admit that he can't swim. It feels kind of weak to do, which is why the subject never pops up. He heads out to the truck, tossing his keys up, using his powers to make them suspend for the briefest of milliseconds before he grabs them.

"So," he says, waggling his brows at Alex. "Where are we going to buy him a bike? And are you gonna end up buying him a little leather jacket, too?"

[unendurable]

"So then we can start working on you learning and then we can go swimming as a family? I mean, if you want to learn," he says quickly. "You don't have to if you don't want to," he adds, in case.

Following Michael, nudging him when he holds the keys. "Okay, smart ass," he teases, smirking. "And yeah, maybe I will. He'd look good in a jacket," he points out. "Don't you think?"

[littleorphanalien]

"We live by the water and you and Luke are gonna want to go swimming at some point," Michael points out. "At this point, learning is more about safety than interest," is his pragmatic brain at work, trying to work the problem.

He smirks and gets in the car, snorting as he looks over at Alex. "He'll look like a mini you. Which is not a bad thing," he permits. "You and your matching jackets, out there."