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jule1122 · 1 year

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Malex Fic - Love will get you there

Made with a day to spare! This is my March fic for @alexguerinappreciation. I choose the spotlight of Alex’s canon relationships. I consider this a Malex fic because that is where we end up, but this is both pre canon and post canon so I write about Alex’s family, his relationship with Maria and Forrest on the way to Malex’s happy ending.

It’s a 5 +1 about 5 times Alex wanted to change his name before the one time he finally does it. Warnings for canon child abuse.

If you hate Maria or Forrest, please don’t read this. Also if you really like Jim Valenti, you may not like how I wrote him.

Love will get you there on AO3

Summary: Alex was never much of a Manes man or 5 times Alex thought about changing his name and 1 time he did

Title is from an Inhaler song.

I am going to put the whole fic behind the cut because it opens with Jesse being abusive. Nothing graphic but I wanted to give an extra warning.

“What did I tell you?” Jesse leans in close to Alex’s face. He doesn’t yell, he doesn’t need to.

“Don’t leave toys on the floor,” Alex sniffs. His dad tightens his hold on Alex’s shirt. “Sir,” Alex adds quickly before his dad can hit him again.

“I won’t warn you again, Alex. Next time there will be real consequences.”

Alex tries to wiggle out of Jesse’s hold. His back is sore from where his father used his belt. Just thinking what will happen if he forgets to clean up again makes him start crying again. He tries to hold back his tears, hoping his father won’t notice and ends up hiccuping.

“Manes men don’t cry,” Jesse shakes Alex roughly before pushing him away. “You're confined to your room for the rest of the evening. Maybe some time alone will help you remember how to behave.”

Alex runs to his room, he wants to slam the door but he knows if he does his father will follow him and punish him again. Instead, he hides between his bed and the wall and cries silently. Once he calms down, he takes his camping bag from his closet and begins filling it with clothes.

“What are you doing, dork,” Clay asks from the doorway.

Alex startles and wipes his eyes before turning to face his brother. Clay is almost as mean as his father, and he’s afraid to let him see him cry. “I’m leaving. I’m going to live with Mom.”

“Mom doesn’t want you, dummy. She doesn’t want any of us.”

“That’s not true,” Alex insists. He doesn’t yell even though he wants to because he doesn’t want his dad to hear him. “If I tell her Dad hurt me, she’ll come get me.”

“No, she won’t,” Clay tells him. “She’s been gone almost a year, and she hasn’t called once. She’s not going to help you. Even if she wanted to, Dad would find you and bring you back. Manes men stick together, remember.”

“I don’t want to be a Manes man,” Alex says miserably. He hates being a Manes, he hates all the rules. Manes men don’t cry or laugh too loud or sing. Manes men don’t waste their time watching cartoons or playing with girls. He hates all of it.

“Grandpa will hide me. I’ll change my name so people will know I belong with Grandpa, and Dad won’t find me because I won’t be a Manes,” Alex nods, confident he’s solved the problem.

“You’re so stupid. You’ll embarrass Grandpa just like you embarrass Dad. He’d bring you back himself just to get rid of you.” Clay shakes his head. “You’re a Manes, Alex, whether you like it or not. You need to start acting like one before you bring all of us down.”

Alex turns away from Clay and ignores him until he leaves. He takes everything out of his bag and puts it back, not bothering to wipe the tears from his face since there was no one to see him. Clay’s right. No one wants him so he’s stuck being a Manes.

Alex kicks his feet against the edge of the exam room table until his father glares at him, and he goes back to sitting perfectly still. He can hear the doctor explaining his restrictions and medication dosages to Jesse as the nurse adjusts his sling. Alex lets the words wash over him, his dad will probably make him take the sling off as soon as they get in the car, and he won’t be giving Alex any pain meds.

It wasn’t like this was the first time Jesse had separated Alex’s shoulder so he’s used to the pain. In the past, they’d always put it back in at home, but this time Jesse couldn’t get it to pop back into place. He kept trying until Alex was throwing up from the pain, and then he finally drove Alex to the emergency room.

“Now Mr. Manes, I need you to step out of the room for a few minutes.”

“Sergeant Manes,” Jesse corrects the doctor. “And if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to take my son home now. He’s fine, there’s no reason to keep fussing.”

“Sergeant Manes,” the doctor begins again. Alex almost smiles because he could hear the eye roll in the doctor’s voice. “It’s procedure, which I’m sure you understand. If you’ll just follow me, I can get you started on the discharge paperwork, and you’ll be on your way shortly.”

Jesse stops in front of Alex on his way out. “I’ll be right outside, Alex.”

Alex knows he’s pretending to be concerned, making sure the doctor thinks he cares. He tightens his hand on Alex’s good shoulder enough to hurt. It’s a warning to remind Alex that Jesse expects Alex to behave as if he’s in the room. Alex nods to let him know he understands.

“Alex,” the nurse directs his attention back to her once Jesse is gone. “There is someone we’d like you to talk to. Remember this is a safe space. It’s ok to tell the truth.”

Sheriff Valenti comes in through a door opposite of where Jesse had left. He follows the nurse into the corner, away from Alex, but the room is small, and Alex can still hear everything they say.

“He came in with a separated shoulder,” the nurse begins.

“Alex is from an active family. Four boys, lots of roughhousing,” Jim interrupts.

“His x-ray showed scar tissue in the joint. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and we also saw evidence of older untreated injuries. I’m sure you understand why we’re concerned, Sheriff.”

“I’ll talk to him. Alone please.”

“Of course,” the nurse replies before leaving.

Jim walks to the foot of Alex’s bed. “How are you feeling?

“Fine, sir.” Alex isn’t lying. They gave him a shot before they reset his shoulder, and he feels good. Tired but not in pain.

“You want to tell me what happened, son?”

Alex used to pretend Jim Valenti was his father. When Jesse really started hurting him, he imagined the Sheriff rescuing him and taking Alex home and promising Alex that he wouldn’t let Jesse hurt him anymore. Then he’d admit that he was Alex’s real father, that he’d kept it a secret, but he would tell the truth to protect Alex. He would let Alex live at his house, and Alex and Kyle would be brothers for real.

He would close his eyes and imagine Jesse showing up to take him back, and Jim stopping him. He would stand in the doorway with his hand on Alex’s shoulder and tell Jesse, “Alex is a Valenti now. You can’t hurt him anymore. Don’t ever come back here again or I’ll have to arrest you.”

It’s a stupid dream, Alex knows that, but maybe it’s because Jim called him son that he decides to tell the truth. “It was my dad,” he says. “He was mad at me and this was my punishment.”

The Sheriff looks sad for a minute, and Alex thinks this is it - Jim will take him home, and he’ll finally be safe. Maybe his dad will even go to jail, and he’ll be too afraid to even talk to Alex again.

Then he takes a step back and when he looks at Alex, he’s serious - not like Kyle’s dad, but like when Alex has seen him working.

“Alex, are you sure that’s what happened? That is a serious accusation, and if you tell me that is what happened, I’ll have to let your father know what you said,” he says it kindly, but Alex knows it’s as much of a threat as Jesse’s shoulder squeeze had been. “It’s easy to get confused when you are in pain,” the Sheriff continues. “Maybe you are mixing up the pain you felt when your dad tried to help you with when you were injured.”

“You’re right,” Alex says flatly, the last of his dreams of rescue vanishing. “I was fooling around with my brothers on the training course, and that’s how I hurt my shoulder. My dad tried to fix it, and that hurt too. I must have been confused.”

“That’s what I thought,” Jim sounds proud, and it makes Alex want to cry. “Thanks for clearing that up. You’ll be able to go home soon.”

Jim starts to leave, but he turns back to hug Alex carefully. “You’re strong, Alex,” he whispers. “And nothing lasts forever. Remember that.”

He does leave then, and Alex gets up to follow him, to ask him why he acts like he cares, but won’t help him, but he hears his father’s voice outside the door.

“What are you doing here, Jim?” Jesse asks.

“The hospital called in a suspicious injury. You’re lucky I got the call and not one of my deputies.”

“How I discipline my son is no one’s business. I don’t care what some bleeding heart doctor thinks.”

“I know that, Jesse,” Jim tries to calm him. “But I can’t always be around to cover for you.”

“I’m not going to coddle him like you do your son. Alex is a Manes. He needs to toughen up. Until he figures that out, he can take whatever punishment he deserves.”

“Just keep him out of the hospital and there won’t be a problem.”

Alex hears Jim walk away, and he’s back on the table, expression blank by the time his father opens the door.

Alex doesn’t see Maria the day after Haley Moore’s party. His penalty for taking part in Battle of the Bands is a day at his father’s mercy. Alex cleans out the garage and runs through his father’s training course three times just to prove music doesn’t make him weak. By the time the sun sets he is sore and exhausted and wants to die, but he’s been uncharacteristically cooperative all day so Jesse doesn’t object when Alex says he wants to shower and go to bed.

Back in his room, he picks up his phone and wonders if he should call Maria. He knows what happens during ‘seven minutes in heaven’ doesn’t count once you leave the closet, and Maria hadn’t acted any different the rest of the night, but Alex can’t help but think about it.

It felt nice - kissing Maria, letting his hand brush across her chest. He thinks he could do it again, and Alex never really imagined kissing a girl before. Maybe if he could kiss Maria, be her boyfriend, his dad would back off. Jesse doesn’t really like Maria, says she’s from bad stock - a father no one remembers and a mother who acts stranger every year. But she’s a girl, and if Alex could love her, he wouldn’t be gay, wouldn’t be a sissy disgrace like Jesse says he is.

Alex thinks about it the rest of the night. He tries to imagine his future with Maria. Maybe they would stay in Roswell together, and they’d still have their band and they could play at the Wild Pony once they were old enough. Alex never thought much about having a family, but he thinks Maria would be a good mother - the kind who smiled and laughed and made kids feel loved. He loves Maria, Alex knows that, so if he could learn to be in love with her, he could be happy, and it would be safe.

He’s still thinking about when he meets Maria at the Crashdown the next night to work on a science project. Maria smiles at him like she always does, but she doesn’t try to hold his hand or anything. They get their actual work done quickly, but Alex told his dad they had a lot to do so they have plenty of time to just hang out.

“Kate Long stopped by before you got here,” Maria tells him.

“I’m sorry,” Alex wrinkles his nose. Kate is a bitch and she always gives Maria a hard time.

“Me too. But she dropped her notebook, and I could see where she was writing ‘Kate Bernhardt’ over and over again.”

“Gross,” Alex and Maria both pretend to gag.

“No offense, Alex, but if we get married, I am not changing my name to Manes,” Maria says casually, almost like a joke.

Alex wrinkles his nose, “I’d rather be a DeLuca.”

“Alex Deluca,” Maria hums around the name as if considering it. “Mom would like that.”

“Yeah?” Mimi is the closest person to a mother Alex has had in years. He likes the idea of being her family officially. “I’ll help you, you know, take care of her.” Alex doesn’t mean only in this fantasy world where they get married, and he can tell by the way Maria’s expression softens that she understands.

“I know you will.” She reaches across the table and squeezes his hand. It’s not romantic but it still feels good.

Flint’s waiting for him when he gets home. “Didn’t know girls were allowed in your kind of closet, Alex.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He tries to shoulder past Flint, but Flint boxes him into the corner of the room.

“Heard you spent seven minutes of heaven with Maria DeLuca. Didn’t know you had it in you. She put out?” Flint asks with a leer.

Alex pushes him, hard. “Don’t talk about Maria like that.”

“Chill out,” Flint rolls his eyes and follows Alex into the bedroom. “I just never thought I’d get to talk about girls with my sissy little brother.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Alex glares at Flint.

“Then you can shut up and listen and maybe you’ll get it right next time.” Flint lays back in the bed, crossing his arms under his head. “First time I did seven minutes in heaven it was with Missy Osborne. Everyone knows she’s easy so I figured I hit the jackpot. She let me touch her boobs, under her bra. And God, I almost shot my load right there. Walked around hard the rest of the night.”

Flint keeps talking but Alex tunes him out. It hadn’t felt like that with Maria. Kissing her felt good and safe, he would do it again, but it wasn’t like that. Alex wonders if maybe there is something wrong with him after all.

(He feels like that with Michael. Just brushing their hands together makes Alex’s skin tingle where they touched.. When Michael kisses him for the first time, Alex feels like his whole body is on fire. That feeling never goes away.)

Alex is walking to the store after his shift at the museum when he sees Maria scrubbing graffiti from the brick outside the Crashdown.

“Need some help?” he asks, taking a sponge from the bucket.

“Thanks,” Maria looks up and gives him a watery smile. “Mr. Ortecho says to leave it. There’ll just be more tomorrow. But I can’t. It’s only been a few weeks, and they just won’t stop.”

Alex nods. He’s barely seen Maria, seen anyone since the funeral. But he’s heard about the harassment Mr. Ortecho has been dealing with and it makes him sick. “Sorry I haven’t been around to help. My dad’s been on me extra hard.”

“I think all our parents are,” Maria says sadly. “Mom only lets me come here for a few hours and wants me at home the rest of the time.”

It’s not the same at all with Jesse, but Alex just nods.

“I can’t believe I forgot,” Maria suddenly exclaims. “I never asked you about museum guy.”

“Museum guy?”

“You sent me this text, ‘On my break I had the best kiss of my life’ and then nothing. Come on Alex, you can’t leave me hanging.”

If it weren’t for her bloodshot eyes, she’d look like the Maria he’d always known. He wonders if Maia’s been happy about anything since Rosa died, and he can’t bring himself to tell her that moment led to a different tragedy. So he tries to remember how he felt when he sent that text, how he felt before his father destroyed it all.

Alex closes his eyes and it is easier than he expected to remember everything about that moment in the museum. How he’d been afraid Michael was there to tell him off or beat him up, but then Michael kissed him and everything changed. He knew, finally, who he was, knew there was someone who wanted him as he was. It was the best moment of his life.

When Alex opens his eyes, Maria gasps as the smile on his face. “It was the most amazing kiss,” he begins.

“How amazing?” Maria teases.

“So amazing I would stay in Roswell forever if he would just keep kissing me.”

Maria laughs, and it’s a happy sound even if they both know he’s lying. Alex can’t stay in Roswell - the town will kill him if his father doesn’t do it first. But it’s nice to imagine a world where Michael is enough to change all that.

“Who is it?” Maria asks.

“I can’t,” Alex’s smile dims. He already failed Michael by not keeping him a secret, he won’t do it again. “He’s not out. I can’t tell you.”

Maria nods. “But he’s good to you, right?”

“He’s perfect,” and Alex means it. When it’s just him and Michael, he’s happier than he ever imagined he could be. He already feels Michael slipping away when they’re apart, and he can’t blame him. Michael was hurt because of him, because Alex wasn’t careful, because he couldn’t protect him.

But Alex is clinging to the future he wants for them despite his father’s threats and pressure to enlist. Michael has a scholarship. If he gets out of Roswell, Alex can follow him. He’s been doing research for years, he knows how to hide. They can change their names so his father can’t find them. Not the same name, not now, but someday Alex thinks, when he knows they are safe, they can share a name, share a life for real. One his father can’t take away.

Alex doesn’t tell Maria all that. Right now they both need to pretend everything is like it was a few weeks ago. Alex is falling in love, and Rosa’s alive and nothing hurts.

Alex thinks about kissing Michael in the bed of his truck, the sun on their face, Michael’s hair soft in his hands. He thinks about how carefully Michael always presses his lips against Alex’s until Alex opens his mouth and then it’s like Michael can’t get enough. He thinks about how Michael’s skin feels under his hands, how he loves to feel the beat of Michael’s heart in his chest. He thinks about how tightly Michael holds him in sleep like he’s trying to hold Alex in place. And he thinks about how desperately he wants to stay in Michael’s arms forever.

“He’s perfect,” Alex tells Maria again. “He makes me happy.”

“He’d better or he’ll have to answer to me,” Maria makes a fist, and they both laugh. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve this.”

Alex nods and turns back to the graffiti before Maria can see the way his smile falters.

Alex leans back against the headboard and watches as Forrest starts to get dressed. He’s enjoying the way Forrest’s briefs stretch across his ass as he stands up to look for his shirt when Forrest sits back on the bed, phone in hand.

“I envy you, getting out of Roswell for a while,” he tells Alex as he reads his message.

Alex is leaving the next morning to track down the remains of Project Shepherd, but told Forrest he was on a long term recruiting assignment. Forrest had come over with take out and a strip of condoms to ‘see Alex off.’

“Maybe if I’m in one place long enough, you can come visit,” Alex offers.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Forrest turns to Alex with a smile before going back to typing furiously on his phone. “I am definitely ready for a change of scenery.” Forrest tosses the phone on the bed before pulling on his pants.

“Everything ok?” Alex asks, surprised by the bitterness lacing Forrest’s voice. He’s never really seen him irritated before.

“Sorry, it’s just my uncle scolding me for offending one of his cronies. He likes to remind me that everything I do reflects on the Long name,” Forrest rolls his eyes.

“What happened?”

“Some guy came up to me at the diner and wanted to know why I hadn’t been at the last few meetings of the Roswell Regiment. He told me my family had a long standing tradition of standing between Roswell and undesirable elements, and it was time for my generation to step up.”

“Ouch,” Alex commiserated. He knew more than most about the weight of unwanted family legacies.

“I told him I was too busy sucking cock to play cowboys and Indians with the people on the wrong side of history.

Alex laughs because he can hear Forrest saying that. “Well if they had a meeting in the last hour,” Alex pretends to look at a watch he’s not wearing, “I can vouch for your story.”

“I’m sure he’d appreciate the first hand account.” Forrest sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “You’d think between my hair and the general aurora of gay, they would understand that white supremacy and racism aren’t really my thing. But they think all Longs are the same.”

“Being a Long sounds as bad as being a Manes,” Alex tells him.

“Does that mean you won’t take my name when we get married?” Forrest asks, all smiles again.

“Absolutely not,” Alex says without even needing to think about it.

Forrest clutches his hands over his heart and gasps dramatically, pretending to be hurt.

It’s cute; Forrest is cute so Alex leans forward and kisses him. He ignores the twist of wrongness in his stomach at the thought of marrying someone other than Michael. He knows he and Michael are over for good, but he isn’t ready to start thinking about anyone else with the same seriousness.

When Forrest kisses him back, Alex moves so he is straddling Forrest’s lap. “Besides,” he whispers against his lips, “I’m not the marrying type.”

“Oh?” Forrest asks, sliding his hands under Alex’s ass and pulling him closer. “What type are you?”

Alex bites back his instinctive response of ‘not the type who gets a happy ending.’ Things with Forrest are fun and easy, and Alex wants to keep them that way. He pushes Forrest onto his back and tells him, “I guess you’ll just have to find out,” before kissing him again and making sure talking is the last thing on either of their minds.

Michael isn’t the first person he tells or even the second. Alex doesn’t think anything of it because to him it’s obvious, and it never occurs to him that Michael just won’t know.

He tells Greg when Greg calls to confirm he can’t make the wedding.

“I’m so sorry, Alex. I have an oral exam and an observation that can’t be rescheduled,” Greg says with obvious regret.

“It’s ok,” Alex reassures him. He’d love to have Greg there - he’s the only real family Alex has. But they didn’t really give him any notice. “If we were planning ahead we would pick a date that works for everyone, but.” Alex trails off, not sure how to articulate the urgency he and Michael feel. Why waiting just isn’t an option.

“I get it, Alex, I really do. After everything you and Michael have been through, you want to grab your happiness as soon as you can. I am just so happy for you, for both of you. And I’ll be back in a few months so you can show me all the pictures, videos, everything.”

“I think Isobel has an Oscar worthy production planned,” Alex laughs.

“I can’t wait,” Greg replies warmly.

“There’s one more thing,” Alex begins hesitantly. “I’m taking Michael’s name.”

Greg doesn’t respond and the silence stretches out. Alex hopes Greg doesn’t object. It won’t change anything, Alex has made his decision. But he’d like to have Greg’s support.

“Greg?” Alex prompts.

“Alex,” Greg says, voice thick before he clears his throat. “I’m so proud of you. I know how hard it’s been for you to let go of all the bullshit Dad shoved down your throat, to forget about the Manes legacy. I’ve been afraid for a long time that you would never be able to put it behind you. And now you're marrying the love of your life and starting a whole new life. I don’t even know what to say.”

“You’re not upset?” Alex can’t stop himself from asking.

“You’re my brother, Alex. I love you, and I want you to be happy. That’s it.”

“Thanks,” Alex says, his own throat tight. He wants to tell Greg he loves him too, but those aren’t words that were ever said in his house. It’s been hard enough learning to say them to Michael, to stop feeling like it was safer to hold them inside. But there’s something else he can say that Greg will understand. “I want that for you too - happiness. I’m free now, Greg, and I want you to be too.”

Alex stops by Eduardo’s office the next day.

“What are you doing here,” Eduardo asks when he spots Alex in the doorway. “Don’t you have a wedding in less than twenty four hours?”

“Kyle wanted a final checkup,” Alex shrugs.

“And?” Eduardo asks, eyes narrowing in concern.

“Clean bill of health,” Alex reassures him. “And speaking of the wedding, I was hoping I could ask you for a favor.”

“Of course.”

“You know Michael and I have a honeymoon planned,” he begins.

“Yes, a month, I believe,” Eduardo fills in. “That can be extended if you want more time.”

“I’m learning I’ll always want more time with Michael,” Alex laughs. “But I think a month away is a good start. Once we’re married, I want to change my name to Guerin. I know the process can take time, and I don’t want to wait until we get back from our honeymoon to get started. I was wondering if there is anything Deep Sky can do to speed things up?”

Eduardo leans back in his chair and smiles. “Just leave everything to me.”

Alex feels Michael stumble just a bit when he tells him he’ll be signing his checks ‘Alex Guerin” from now on. He accepts Alex’s explanation without any further questions, and then there’s so much going on - well wishes and goodbyes, Max leaving, finally putting Roswell behind them even if it’s only for a month - that they don’t talk about it again.

Three days into their honeymoon, when they return to their hotel after dinner, the concierge hands them an envelope he says was delivered for them earlier.

The outside just has their room number, no indication of who it’s from. It’s the right size for weight for pictures. Alex turns it over in his hands before holding it out to Michael.

“Maybe Isobel dropped off wedding pictures,” Michael speculates, coming to the same conclusion, when holding it up to the light doesn’t yield anymore information.

“I doubt Isobel drove six hours to drop off wedding pictures.”

“Only one way to find out,” Michael shrugs and hands the envelope back to Alex.

Alex sits at the small table in what passes for a dining area in their suite and waits for Michael to join him before he opens it. He pulls out the contents and lets out a small gasp. Alex holds his driver’s license, now labeled ‘Alex Guerin” in his hands, lets his updated passport and credit cards fall to the table.

Michael leans closer to see what he’s holding. “That was fast,” he comments, picking up and skimming the note Eduardo left. He congratulates them again and lets Alex know the rest of his updated documents - employee ID, bank accounts, social security card - are locked in the safe in his office.

Alex’s hands shake as he stares at the ID. He doesn’t realize he’s crying until Michael wipes a tear from his cheek.

“Hey, we can change it back,” he tells Alex, looking at him with concern. “It’s ok if you changed your mind.” Michael leaves his chair and turns Alex away from the table so he can crouch in front of him.

“No,” Alex pulls Michael up and kisses him. “No,” he repeats,finally dropping the license so he can cradle Michael’s face in his hands and kiss him again. He hopes Michael can feel his happiness, his joy because he finds himself fumbling for words to explain what it means to see his name in writing.

“I want to rent a car,” he says when Michael pulls back and goes back to his own chair, holding Alex’s hands in his.

“What?” Michael asks, concern returning to his face. “I know the truck’s old, but she’ll get us where we need to go.”

“No, I mean,” Alex shakes his head, frustrated with himself for communicating so poorly. “Sorry, it was just the first thing I thought of that would require an ID. I want to show off my new name.”

“Proud of it, huh?” Michael laughs, but Alex can hear the underlying hesitation.

“Michael, you have no idea. I want to tell everyone. I wish I was young enough to get carded.”

“I’m glad,” Michael says quietly, squeezing Alex’s hands. “I’m glad it feels good to let that part of your past go.”

“It is, but it’s not just about the past. When I saw this - saw ‘Alex Guerin’ in writing - I realized it’s less about letting something go than it is about moving forward. Being a Manes meant something, and no matter how hard I tried, I could never escape it completely,” Alex takes a breath, relieved to feel that burden gone. “But I’m not Alex Manes anymore. I’m Alex Guerin, and I get to decide what that means. That’s what I care about, who I am now, learning how to be your husband, building our life together.” He pulled Michael’s left hand to his mouth and kissed his wedding ring.

Michael picks up Alex’s discarded license and studies. He strokes his thumb over the picture before setting it down. “I never cared about my name. It wasn’t mine, it was just something they gave me because they had to. I can’t tell you what it means or if there are Guerin family traditions, and even if there are, it wouldn’t matter because they aren’t mine. Funny isn’t it, your name came with the worst family baggage imaginable and mine came with nothing, and we both suffered for it.”

“Michael,” Alex says helplessly, seeing the tears in Michael’s eyes. He reaches for him - to offer comfort, to fix what can’t be fixed - he doesn’t know. “Your name means something, it had a history that you gave it - omelet breakfasts and secret lairs and music and undying devotion.”

“I’m not upset, Alex,” Michael leans back and tangles their feet together. “I’m just so,” his eyes drift back to the table, covered in documents bearing the name ‘Alex Guerin.’ He turns back to Alex, and while the tears are still there, his smile outshines them. “Thank you for wanting to share my name, for making it ours, for wanting to start traditions with me that we can share with our family one day - however that looks.”

Alex shakes his head, too overwhelmed to speak.

“And I promise we can rent cars and join every gym and grocery store and casino membership plan we can find just so we can show off our name. But first I want to take my husband to bed and make love to him.”

Michael stands up and holds out his hand to Alex. He lets Michael pull him up, then walks toward the bed unbuttoning his shirt as he goes. “I love you, Michael Guerin,” he says as Michael pushes him onto bed and begins to undo his pants.

Michael’s answering smile is both wicked and sweet. “I love you, too, Alex Guerin.”

#alexguerinmonthly #malex fic #rnm fic #my fic #alec centric #malex happy ending #forlex but ends malex #maria deluca friendly #forrest long friendly #alex and maria friendship #alex is always trying to escape being a manes #jesse manes is a monster

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lambourngb · 2 years

Note

Any chance for new snippets from ring maker fic?😉 Plus I totally agree with your comments about Michael’s feelings!

I have been writing, it's about 45,000 words now, I'm hoping I can get it to the finish line in the next week or so. I'm a bit salty from last night so this snippet contains the "villain" of my story, Forrest Long.

so not forrest long friendly! and it's still pretty rough.

Previous snippets : 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

The small bit of glass drew him back to his workbench. Hope was still a dangerous thing to him as he set to work on a second ring, but maybe it was time to be brave. Just as he was about to separate a new disk of tungsten to work into a ring, he heard Walt’s voice from the front of the shop, “The UFO museum is right down the road if you want to gawk at something and not buy anything-”

That was a very rude observation, even for Walt, who had no patience for a lot of the undecided tourist crowd that wandered through their door but still managed to coax them into buying something. Perhaps he had been left alone too long in the role of shop clerk while Michael had had his private breakdowns about Alex in the workshop over the last week, to remember the first rule of retail. Tell the customer what they want.

It was time to stop hiding with his kiln and to face his responsibilities as the other half of ownership.

Michael stood up, brushed off his hands and straightened his clothes. He prepared himself to charm whatever particularly clueless tourist that had wandered into his shop and smooth over the ruffled edges from Walt’s derision. Pasting on his face his retail worker smile, he stepped into the main room of the store and then stopped dead at who he saw before him.

Walt’s insolence made a whole lot more sense to Michael just then. Standing in his store, with his hands all over the clean, glass cabinets was Alex’s boyfriend, Forrest Long.

Fuck his life.

Forrest snapped his head up from his perusal of the display, and then flashed a wide smile at Michael’s appearance. “Well, we meet again, Michael, isn’t it?” His voice was sweet as honey. “Your boss over here has a strange way of greeting customers. How does this shop stay in business?”

“I ain’t his boss, and we do just fine for business,” Sanders cut in, before picking up his bottle of Windex from under the cabinet and glared at the other man. Michael knew exactly what he was planning, and it wasn’t to clean off the prints from the glass surface, that was for sure.

He swiftly moved to cut him off from spraying Forrest, sliding in front of him smoothly. “That’s true, he’s not my boss, um, we co-own the shop together.” Michael turned to Walt, who was glowering at him in disappointment. “Why don’t you take a break and get some lunch.”

“It’s too late for lunch.”

“Then an early dinner.”

Walt looked mulish at the suggestion, before reading the seriousness in Michael’s jawline and backed off. “Fine, I’ll head off, I was gonna check in with Arturo anyway about getting a cup of coffee after his lunch rush. If you’ve got this all under control.” Walt glanced dismissively at Forrest before turning back to Michael. “But you call me if you need me… to pick you up something too.”

With that, Walt disappeared back into the private area of the shop, presumably on his way out the backdoor to their neighbor, the Crashdown. Michael turned back to Forrest, who was still looking around the store with bored interest on his face. “Is there something in particular you’re looking for that I can help you with?”

“Hmm, I stopped in here looking for answers, can you help me with that? I’ve been trying to pin my boyfriend down for lunch, but he’s always busy, and apparently he’s always busy here.” Forrest’s genial smile didn’t waver as he stared at Michael. “Did you give Alex a job or something?”

“Or something,” Michael answered evenly. “I can tell you he’s not on the payroll.”

“That’s very funny.” He kept smiling at Michael, but it never reached his eyes. “He’s not much of a shopper, so I’m very curious. According to Alex you’re old high school friends. So what is this, just two old friends catching up? Every day for the last two weeks?”

“Are you following him or something?”

“No, that was just a guess, but thank you for confirming it.” Forrest smirked smugly, before giving Michael a searching glance from head to toe. “I have a hard time buying the ‘friends’ story. I know all of Alex’s friends from Roswell. He talked a lot about Maria and Liz over the years. He’s never mentioned you.”

Michael glanced down, hooding his expression as he examined his work below, gleaming on the dark velvet. He hoped the gesture hid his anger. “Maybe I’m not very memorable.”

“Oh, I find that hard to believe. Alex, he’s never been one to hang around if he’s bored. Trust me.” A lock of dark hair fell over his eye before he shook it back into place with a practiced move. He brought his hand up to his chin, tapping it thoughtfully. His hand was adorned with several heavy rings, including an ugy signet on his ring finger. Michael didn’t see a space for a wedding ring or engagement ring on the other man’s finger, or space for anything outside of egoism. “He played the field for a while, but you know, I was the one who outlasted all the others.”

“Yeah he mentioned you guys have only been together for the last two years.”

Forrest’s face flinched minutely, Michael’s observation landing a very neat hit. “It’s been three years.”

Michael shrugged, not arguing the point. He knew what Alex had said to him about their relationship, and so did Forrest, based on the joke he had made the other night.

“Well, if you really know Alex, then you know how he can be. A bit closed off from his heart and his head.” Forrest waited for a reaction, before continuing with a slight edge to his voice when Michael remained bland. “I can tell there’s a bit of history here. Something unrequited? Let me guess, did you have a crush on him in high school or something? Then you lost touch with him when you went to college?”

Unrequited.

Michael kept himself from laughing, although there was a shade of truth in that word. Unrequited as a unit of measurement could mean a number of things. After all, there were several ways he had never measured up when it came to shared feelings. Shared dreams. Shared weakness. He considered it unrequited when it came to believing they would end up together one day. He considered it unrequited when he thought about how Alex could ever consider marrying this prick in the first place.

Outloud, Michael shook his head, “Nah, I never went to college.”

“So what are you to him? His old townie fling then?” The derision dripped heavily in the air between them.

“You’ll have to ask Alex that.” Michael kept his retail-smile in place with effort. “If you dare, that is. I mean, I suppose if you’re a gifted writer, you might be able to come up with a way to ask him that without coming off as a jealous prick. But I wouldn’t bet money on that.”

This time Michael scored an even deeper hit, invoking the implication of jealousy. Forrest licked his lips in response, and looked down, avoiding Michael’s gaze obviously. His fingers tapped restlessly on the glass. “You’re probably right. That’s not a great look for me, to be threatened by you of all people. I’m going to blame this on too much time staring at microfiche.”

“Sure. If the shoe fits.”

Instead of firing back, Forrest pressed his finger on the glass over the turquoise jewelry arrangement. “Interesting shade of blue in your inventory.” Michael fought with the urge to use Walt’s Windex on the other man, but stayed unmoving as he continued lightly, “I think it’s unique only to Roswell and only to stones mined in the last seventy-some years. The book I’m writing, it’s all about the late 1940s and Roswell. Lots of secrets and mysteries here after World War II.”

“I wouldn’t know. My high school history class was a little limited in scope.”

Forrest smiled again, back to the too-friendly expression of before. All of his previous attempts at intimidating Michael had vanished, covered up by the veneer of politeness. “I’ll be sure to send you an advanced copy then.” He tapped the case again with his ugly signet ring, before backing away toward the door. “It was nice getting to know you better, Michael.”

Michael didn’t bother with a response. He didn’t trust himself to make a polite one. God, after he had met the man at Ann’s pre-wedding party, he had left the event without having any idea what Alex saw in the guy. He was even more confused now about the appeal for Alex. Perhaps it was petty of him to believe, but there was no way it was good sex. The way Forrest had turned every subject back on himself, even at the party, Michael had a hard time seeing him as an unselfish lover.

Not for the first time, he thought that Alex had deliberately sought out a partner that wouldn’t remind him of their past, of Michael. He was starting to see that it might be a good thing, he wasn’t coming up short in the comparison with Forrest. Literally or metaphorically.

He heard the backdoor to the store open and close heavily. After a moment, Walt was back at his side. Without speaking, Michael handed the bottle of Windex over to him with a roll of paper towels. He snatched it from Michael’s grasp greedily, like he was being reunited with a long, lost companion, and spraying it heavily over the jewelry display case, targeting the prints. With one swipe of a towel, he erased all signs of Forrest Long from their store.

“Oh shucks, is Shorty gone?”

“Yes, he just left.”

“Did you call him a cab so he could get home?”

Michael turned to Walt, and lifted his eyebrow curiously. “Why would I call him a cab? Didn’t he drive here?”

“Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. All I know is that we had a car in our lot that didn’t belong to a paying customer, so I had it towed.” Walt wiped the glass with a shade more enthusiasm than the task really merited, with a butter-wouldn't-melt-in-his-mouth smile of faux innocence. “It was Arturo’s idea.”

#malex fic #malex wip #jewelry maker au #michael guerin guerilla jewelry maker #not forrest friendly #anti-forlex #thanks for the ask!#i stan walt sanders

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