Chapter Text
33°27'20.7"N 104°24'06.3"W
Alex picked up the piece of scratch paper he could tell had been ripped from one of Michael’s lab notebooks, placed on his pillow. The numbers were definitely coordinates, penciled in his boyfriend’s genius scrawl diagonally across the scrap. Alex smirked as he pulled out his phone. What was it about doctors and scientists that led to such horrible handwriting? He could barely read Kyle’s chicken scratch, not to mention anything written by one Liz “Bio-medical Engineer” Ortecho. He deciphered codes, not hieroglyphs.
He found himself looking at the coordinates for Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, about twenty minutes east of town. Intrigued, Alex grabbed Astra’s travel doggy bed that Michael had brought inside after their trip to the drive-in last week. After patting himself down for wallet, keys, phone, and beanie, he stopped by the Crashdown for burgers, fries, and two Beam Me Up, Scotty milkshakes.
His headlights shone upon the lone vehicle parked in the Wildlife Refuge parking lot at the entrance to the Interpretive Center. Astra came flying out of nowhere to greet him as he eased his way out of his Jeep, pulling his crutches out behind him.
⁂
It steals the breath from Alex's lungs, the sight of Michael walking toward him along the water's edge. Light from the setting sun peeks through Michael's hair, giving him a golden crown of curls. The smile he wears is just as radiant. A flock of birds takes flight, passing between the sun and his back. Their soft shadows round the angles of his face. He suddenly looks so young, like the boy Alex fell in love with all those years ago. The boy who never got to hear the words Alex had been too scared to say. The feeling had been so new, back then. Frightening and all-consuming. Even now, Alex is frozen by the weight of it.
Michael reaches him, tilting his head curiously, like so many of the birds exploring the area. But he doesn't need to voice his question. With him so near, his hands cradling Alex's face so affectionately, Alex provides his lover with an answer-- I love you. Michael doesn't laugh or even smile at the gravity Alex places on the words, even though they've been exchanged countless times between them. He understands. He brings their foreheads together. He nods. And they breathe.
⁂
After dinner, Michael laid out cups of water and kibble for Astra inside the warm cab. He wrapped Alex up in his arms and snuggled underneath a flannel blanket as they lay back in the bed of his truck to watch the stars rise. Alex discovered even more secrets to the universe could be explored in classic “oh yeah, I’m dating an alien” style. When Michael intertwined their fingers together, his hand tingling with power, he bid Alex look up at the bejeweled velvet curtain overhead.
Alex felt like he was looking through a ViewMaster at a planisphere of Northern Hemisphere constellations. He released Michael’s hand and blinked but the ViewMaster clicked over to show the regular night sky. He grabbed his love’s hand once more, his eyes alight with curious joy.
Michael explained that one could indeed read by moonlight (sure, if one tilted charged dust particles to reflect said moonlight using one’s fancy telekinesis), and showed Alex which planets, nebulae, and comets were twinkling at them. Alex dozed to the soothing sound of Michael’s voice wondering where his home planet might be. ‘You’re my home,’ he thought to himself. And you’re mine, Michael whispered back.
⁂
The air grew cold, but Michael ran hot. Tucked under his arm and the blanket, riding the rise and fall of Michael’s breath, Alex dozed peacefully into the night. If Michael expended a bit of power to shield them from the wind, he didn’t mention it and he’d never complain. Keeping Alex safe and comfortable was never a chore. He indulged himself in the quiet moment--Alex draped over his side, Astra pressed into his other. He pressed his lips to the crown of Alex’s head and breathed him in. It couldn’t really be called a kiss, could it, the way his lips lingered. But Michael poured his love and affection through the point of contact, hoping it would fill Alex’s dreams.
When Alex stirred with a contented hum, Astra popped her head up to see what all the fuss was about and with a huff, she rested her muzzle on Michael’s hip. She watched her companions as they lay. She watched Michael, waiting for him to do something worth her time. Offering her a smile and a pet, Michael considered testing a theory--if he could send his affections through to Alex in his dreams, perhaps his consciousness could enter Alex’s dreams as well.