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Michael and Jeremy are chillin' at Michael's house. They're being nerds and watching Star Trek (The Next Generation, because that's their favorite Star Trek show, and because Michael found a bunch of The Next Generation VHS tapes at Goodwill and wanted to watch them as soon as possible.)
Michael, along with being excited about his incredible Goodwill find, is beyond hyped to be cuddled up on his bed with Jeremy, watching a sci-fi TV show from the late 80s/early 90s. Not only because Star Trek is cool, and cuddling with Jeremy rocks, but because watching a show that is so well known for being a Nerd Thing with Jeremy is super comforting. (There was a time when Jeremy would deny all accusations of liking Nerd Things, and an even worse time when Michael was sure Jeremy would never participate in Nerd Things ever again, let alone talk to Michael.)
But now, he's laying in between Michael's legs with his head on Michael's chest, and their hands are curled up together, and they are close and warm and cozy. It's like old times, when they would always watch and discuss old sci-fi stuff, but now they're dating. Plus, the fact that they're watching the show on on VHS tapes makes the whole thing even better.
So, yeah, Michael's feeling pretty awesome right now.
They've already watched one tape, so, two episodes. He's had a lot of fun talking with Jeremy during the episodes; Michael really missed hearing Jeremy's opinions on Star Trek. Michael just put in a new tape, one that started with the crew members playing poker, and Data wearing this weird hat thing, which Michael laughed at. Now the iconic intro scene has played, and Captain Picard is busy talking to an old flame of his. Michael giggles when she calls him sexy. Jeremy doesn't respond.
They watch the whole episode, and Michael makes all kinds of comments. The episode explored whether or not Data is sentient, (he is,) and was really interesting. Michael, when the credits come, is still animatedly talking about how fascinating and awesome Data is, and because obviously Michael has more to say before the next episode starts, he pauses the TV.
"Dude, that episode perfectly expressed what makes Data so interesting as a character. Except that thing about him 'being intimate' with Tasha Yar. Like, what the fuck was that? Right?"
Jeremy doesn't answer. Michael pauses his rambling and looks down at Jeremy, half-expecting to see that he fell asleep, since he didn't talk the whole episode.
He is not asleep. "Jeremy?"
Jeremy blinks. "What?"
"The Tasha Yar thing was weird."
"Uh, yeah, that was... that was weird."
Michael begins to keep talking about Star Trek, but Jeremy interrupts him.
"Hey, Michael?" He says, lifting himself off Michael's chest to look at him.
"Yeah?"
"Um, not that I don't absolutely love hearing you talk about this—because I do!— but, uh, I'm... kind of tired."
"Whaaat, no way, I'm the most captivating person ever, how could you be tired listening to me talk about a show from 30 years ago?" Michael teases.
Jeremy smiles weakly. "I'm sorry, it's not because I don't like listening to you—"
"Yeah, I know, don't worry," Michael assures Jeremy with a smile, as he gets off the bed to turn off the VCR and the lights.
Michael is secretly a little disappointed that they've only watched three episodes, because he was really enjoying himself, but he's not going to make Jeremy stay up just to watch some tapes.
Once he's turned the light off and gotten into bed with Jeremy, he's pretty much over his disappointment because Jeremy wraps his arms around Michael as soon as he lays down.
Michael smiles in the dim light of his nightlight. "Thanks for watching that with me."
"I- yeah, of course, I love watching stuff with you."
This is the part of the sleepover (if Jeremy staying over can still be called that now that they are dating) where the two of them just talk until they fall asleep.
"Which episode was your favorite?" Michael asks, to start off their nightly conversation.
Jeremy shrugs. Michael says his favorite was the last one. Jeremy doesn't answer, and looks away from Michael, uncomfortably.
"Hey, you good?" Michael asks, "You seem like you've got something on your mind."
Jeremy makes a Jeremy noise, which translates to "You're right, but I'm going to avoid talking about it for as long as possible."
Michael puts his hand on Jeremy's arm. "C'mon, man, what's up?"
"It's not a big deal..."
Michael makes a disapproving face.
Jeremy sighs. "It's just that—well—this sounds stupid, I know it's stupid, but..." Jeremy takes a breath. "You know how Data is an android, but he's also like, a person?"
"Yeah." They just spent forty-five minutes watching an episode entirely focused on that.
"Well... What if..." Jeremy looks around Michael's room, anywhere but Michael, "What if the Squip is like that too?"
Oh shit. Oh shit! Michael didn't even think that Jeremy would totally think of the Squip when seeing Data! And of course they had to watch the one episode focused specifically on how human Data is, even though he's a computer. Oh shit.
"Oh, Jeremy," Michael groans, pulling him into a hug. "No... That's not... They're not the same thing."
"But I mean, if you think about it, why not? I mean, maybe, maybe killing the Squip was kind of bad, like, what if he's a person too? What if I—"
"Jeremy, no. I'm sorry, I should have thought of this before we watched that, the Squip—" he holds Jeremy by the shoulders so he can look at him, "The Squip is not a person. Or a life-form, or sentient, or whatever. The Squip is just a computer, manufactured to take advantage of vulnerable people."
Jeremy looks unconvinced, which is scary.
Michael speaks softly, "Star Trek isn't real. That... that stuff about Data is just entertainment, to make the audience think about questions that are really difficult to answer. He's just a character. But the Squip is real, and it has real, terrible effects on people, and it's absolutely nothing like Data, or, or any Star Trek species."
Jeremy considers this. "What about the Borg?"
"Well—actually, yeah, Squips are totally like the Borg."
Jeremy nods. Michael lets out a little sigh and brings him back into a hug.
"And I promise that you weren't doing anything bad when you deactivated the Squip. And... I really should've considered that watching—"
"It's okay. Thank you. I-I don't feel as weird about it anymore."
"Are you sure? Because I—"
"Yeah."
Michael hugs Jeremy tighter.
"Uh," Jeremy says, slowly, "I think... I think Data would think you're the best."
Michael snorts. "You're such a dork."
"Shut up," Jeremy replies, smiling, as he buries his head in Michael's shoulder. "I, um... I love you. Thanks."
That makes Michael's heart swell (although he thinks the word swell is really stupid.)
"I love you too."
Jeremy laughs. "Hey, you know, I'm actually not that tired?"
"Really? Cool, we can—" Michael starts to suggest, until Jeremy kisses him.
When Jeremy pulls away after what feels like forever, his face is red, and he's grinning, and Michael is dying because that was so unfairly cute.
Michael is not at all capable of giving a smooth response. "Uhh, yeah, or we can. We can do that. Sounds great," He says, feeling very warm.
Jeremy giggles, and Michael is the one that leans in for the kiss this time. They do that, again, and again, until they eventually fall asleep.