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It’s nearing thirteen years since their first kiss in the dusty old UFO Emporium, and although the path had been littered with meteor sized speed humps, they’re finally in a happy place.
For Alex, it had been a long journey to loving himself enough to let Michael love him publicly, and without conditions or boundaries.
For Michael, knowing that he loved Alex wasn’t the problem. The waiting, the second, third and tenth chances, were. Every time Alex walked away it was hard to take. Sometimes Michael wouldn’t see him for weeks, but he always let Alex back in, because somewhere deep in his heart he just knew that Alex was ‘the one’.
Michael had spent the last few weeks in his workshop, planning something special for their anniversary. They'd agreed to include the time apart, as they both decided mutual pining and self-destructive behaviour counted.
On the night of their anniversary, Michael arrives to pick Alex up in his rusty old pickup truck, just as the sun is disappearing behind the mountains. Alex looks curiously at the tarp covering something large in the back, raises his eyebrows, and gives his boyfriend a peck on the cheek.
“Happy Anniversary, babe,” Alex greets, smile large and genuine.
Michael reaches across and grasps Alex’s chin, lovingly stroking his thumb against the stubble. “The big thirteen, hey?” He pecks Alex on the lips, reaches for the seatbelt and slowly pulls it across Alex's body, without losing eye contact. Then clicks it in with a wink, precious cargo secured.
They drive for forty minutes. They’re now on a dirt road surrounded by desert grasslands, and the last house Alex has seen was twenty miles ago.
“That’s not the completed space pod in the back, is it? Not sure how I feel about being abducted and probed on our anniversary,” Alex jokes lightly.
Michael snorts and raises his eyebrows suggestively. Home is here now, and he’s long since given up on that project; the space ship that is, not the probing.
“Alex Manes, you love being probed by me, don’t try and deny it!”
"Guilty," Alex replies, grinning.
Michael makes a left turn off the dirt road, slows his speed and to Alex’s alarm turns the headlights off, then rolls to a stop.
“I'm going to blindfold you now,” Michael purrs, as he un-clips his own seatbelt and climbs into Alex’s lap. Alex’s fingers search clumsily for Michael’s face as Michael plops a kiss on his nose, that was aimed at his forehead. Alex laughs, but it's short lived as Michael finds his mouth and silences him.
Michael has never lacked passion. When he kisses Alex, it’s with everything he has. They feel fused together. Chests and groins pressed flush, fingers dancing over every erogenous zone, along with softly whispered nothings, make Alex feel like they are the only two people existing at that moment.
Car sex isn’t what Michael had planned (well, this early on), but if he doesn’t get off Alex that’s what’s about to happen. Pulling away slightly and giving Alex another little nip to the lower lip, he searches out his phone on the dash and flicks on the torch.
“There you are gorgeous,” he worships, pressing his forehead to Alex’s. “Now hold still, this won’t take long.”
Michael reaches an arm behind his seat where he’s hidden a homemade blindfold.
Alex watches him wide-eyed as an unwanted fear creeps up inside him. “Guerin, are you seriously going to blindfold me?”
“Sure am,” Michael replies enthusiastically, face softening when he sees how anxious Alex looks. “Hey,” he soothes, fingers sliding into the hair at Alex’s nape, “It’s not much further, and if it’s too much I can take it right off, okay?”
“Hmm,” Alex mumbles, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I trust you, just don’t speed, and talk to me the whole time.”
Michael beams at him, “I will.”
Michael gently ties the blindfold on, and Alex relaxes slightly when he realises it’s made from a flannelette shirt that still smells like Michael’s cologne.
It’s only a two-minute drive until they stop again, but true to his word, Michael natters on about Max, and the clay pigeon shooting they used to do using beer cans and his powers. Alex can feel how happy that memory makes Michael.
Michael gets out of the truck, then Alex hears his own door open.
“I’m going to help you out, are you okay?” Michael asks, taking his hand and giving it a soft pull.
Alex nods, then realises its pitch black out here and stammers out a “Yep.”
Michael is so very gentle with him, slinging an arm around his waist and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek as they walk the few steps needed.
“Okay, stop here,” he directs, then takes Alex’s hand and squeezes lightly. “I just have to grab something from the truck and then I’ll be right with you, okay?”
“Okay,” Alex answers, now thoroughly intrigued as to what’s going on. I mean, they are in the middle of nowhere. He hears Michael jostling what he thinks is the tarp, off the truck.
Michael hotfoots it to the covered power cord that he’s left there earlier and runs it back toward the pickup, throws the tarp off and plugs it into the generator he’d loaned from the police station. He takes a moment as he holds his finger over the power button to breathe, and triple check his pocket.
He calls out, “Babe, slide your blindfold off,” then flicks the power button on. Alex slides the blindfold off.
About fifty feet away a green neon sign starts flickering to life, with the words, ‘I love you’, on it. The sign illuminates the ground beneath; where hay bales, blankets, a fire pit, a guitar and even a fridge are all beautifully set up.
Alex couldn’t smile any harder if he tried. He feels Michael arrive at his side, just as the second sign, in pink neon, lights up.
‘Marry Me?’
And as it hits him, what this night is about and the effort that Michael has gone to, he feels Michael; now down on one knee, tugging at his sleeve.
Michael, his everything, is looking up at him with so much love that Alex’s breath actually shudders in his chest. Tears form in the corner of his eyes as Michael opens the ring box.
“It’s always been you, Alex. I don’t ever want to be without you, you’re my family, my best friend, my lover, my whole world, and I-“
Alex yanks him up mid-sentence and kisses him so forcefully and fully that Michael has to push back slightly for breath.
“Yes,” Alex shouts, laughing as Michael tries to catch his breath, “I can’t believe you did all of this for me, the signs? That must’ve taken you forever. It’s so perfect, and I love you so much,” Alex babbles as Michael slides the ring onto this finger.
Michael pulls him into a hug and fake drawls in his ear, “You cut my speech off, man. I was going to say, I would be the luckiest cowboy alive if you were the horse, I always got to ride!”
Alex’s body ripples with laughter against him.
“You’re such a cowboy,” Alex laughs, leaning in for a kiss. They stand together under the stars, slowly swaying and kissing, it’s perfect.
The cool night air eventually sends a shiver through Alex’s body. “How about we go make use of that fire now? And I have some ideas about how we can use those hay bales later, too,” Alex suggests, and batts his eyelashes innocently.
“Well Captain, good thing I bought my cowboy hat!” Michael replies, soft eyes smiling at Alex as he takes him by the hand.