Who: Michael Guerin and Alex Manes What: Reunited after about 10 years When: Morning Where: Out of this World Mechanics Warnings: Nah Status: Closed
He'd driven from New York to California in a car with no air conditioning. It was fine in New York, but AC was a must in the California heat. Ideally he'd junk the old jallopy and buy a new one, but he didn't have the money for that, which might be a problem because he wasn't sure his car would make the return trip.
He'd worry about that when the time came, because he wasn't even sure how long he was going to stay in California. He'd figure that out after the funeral. First priority was to get the car taken care of regardless. The shop his dad had used back in the day had closed, not that Alex wanted to go anywhere his dad frequented. He'd just as soon avoid his father all together.
He'd driven by Out Of This World Mechanics on his way into town, and decided to take the car there. He pulled into the lot, then headed inside to talk to someone about what he needed done. He froze about three steps into the lobby when he saw an all too familiar head of curls behind the counter. He wasn't sure if he said 'oh shit' out loud or just in his head.
Michael was at the front counter doing his least favorite part of the job. The paperwork. He wished he could just work on cars all day and that would be it. But of course he had to do invoices, update client information, send out for parts. It was all so tedious. If he could afford to hire an assistant to do all this bull shit he would. But Michael didn’t have that kind of money.
He had just finish sending out an order when someone walked in. Michale looked up from his laptop to see a familiar face.
Alex Manes.
Michael had met many people throughout his childhood. A lot of them blurred together. Same shit, different school. But there was something different about Alex. Michael had found himself drawn to the guy for reasons he couldn’t explain. He never acted on it though. Michael usually had no problem getting guys or girls - with his fair share of teenage hookups. But that was all it was. With Alex, he didn’t know. Something just felt different, more intense. Michael couldn’t act on it.
The worst part about moving to a new foster family, a new school, meant he wouldn’t have class with Alex anymore. He wouldn’t get to see they guy - a thought he hated. Luckily for him there were a few times where Max and Isobel dragged him to things and Alex was actually around. All Michael could really do was stare at the guy - unable to look away. He could never seem to look away when it came to Alex.
But then Alex had left for college, somewhere, Michael had no idea where. And Michael had never seen him again. Until now. This moment.
“Shit,” Michael said once his brain had fully processed what was happening. “Alex?”
“Michael,” Alex responded. Stating each other’s name wasn’t strictly necessary, but it gave them both something to say, a starting point. Alex had half a mind to take a step back, slide out the door and head off and pretend he’d never been here. But of course he didn’t, couldn’t, do that.
He felt drawn forward instead, and his feet took him a step closer to the counter that physically separated him from Michael. Another step, and he was butting up against that counter. “It’s been a minute,” he said, trying to play it casual. “You own this place? It’s impressive.”
“Give or take ten years,” Michael replied a grin on his face. He honestly didn’t think he would ever see Alex again. But that was just the way life worked for Michael Guerin. People never stuck around. Except for Max and Isobel. Which Michael wasn’t entirely sure why - even after having dreamt about them all waking up in some type of pod together.
“Yeah,” Michael said scratching the back of his head for lack of anything better to do with his hands. “Used to work for the guy that owned it. He left it to me.” It wasn’t like Michael had bought a business or anything. Not really that impressive if you asked him.
“What are you doing here? Didn’t you move away to New York or something?” It was New York. Michael knew it was New York. But like Alex he was also trying to sound casual.
Alex nodded. “Yeah. I came back for my mom’s funeral.” He’d never been particularly close to his mother. He wasn’t close to anyone in his family. How could he be close to any of them, what with the way he’d been treated. But his mother was still his mother, the only one he had. Some people got a good one, he got a yellow bellied one who turned a blind eye to terrible things happening to her own child.
But Alex felt like he needed the closure of her funeral, And maybe some part of him wanted to rub it in his father’s face that he’d made something of himself. He wasn’t anyone special, not at all. But he wasn’t the no good, drug addicted, incarcerated loser his father thought he’d be.
“Look, I can take the car somewhere else.” The last thing he wanted to do was leave. Honestly, what he wanted was to drag Michael into the office back there behind the desk and...well. There were some indecent thoughts running through Alex’s mind.
A frown formed on Michael’s face. Not that that was far off from his usual look. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t remember Alex mentioning his mom much back in high school, but then it wasn’t like they ever had any deep conversations. Whatever type of relationship they had Michael figured it had to be rough losing a parent. He didn’t remember his own, so he didn’t know what that loss was like. Only the feeling of never having them.
Michael was frowning for another reason too though. If Alex was in town for a funeral it meant he wouldn’t be around long. And that was disappointing for Michael. He wasn’t sure why exactly. But the feeling was there none the less.
His brow furrowed at Alex’s next comment. Why would he feel the need to take his car somewhere else? “What are you talking about?” Michael asked still confused. “I know I didn’t amount to much in high school,” a joke of course. Though it did give some insight into Michael’s past. All the shit that had been put in his head throughout his time in the system. “But none of the cars I’ve worked on have ever exploded,” he continued with his joke. “At least as far as I know.”
“If you’re sure.” Alex really didn’t want to take the car somewhere else. He knew, or at least assumed, Michael did damn good work on the vehicles he serviced. But it was more than that. Alex was more than happy to give him the business.
And if he left the car with Michael, he’d maybe have to see him again when he picked it up. It wasn’t much, but like a love sick teenager with a fanboy crush, he’d take what he could get.
“I mean, I know. It’s just.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what I meant. The car’s out front. It got me here, but I think it’s about to die and leave me stranded on the side of the road.”
“Got you here all the way from New York?” Michael asked piecing together what Alex was telling him. At least in regards to the car. Beyond that Michael was clueless.
“So you just want to get it checked out and a tune up?” he went on. Michael was much better at speaking cars than emotions. Which he wasn’t even sure what he was feeling right now or why he was feeling it. He hadn’t seen Alex in over ten years after all. “Nothing specifically wrong that I should focus on?” Though if there was something wrong he’d find it anyway.
Alex felt his tongue slide across his lip. Damn his over active imagination imagining all sorts of naughty things he wanted to do to Michael. He blinked a few times, and mentally tried to shove those thoughts, and images, from his mind.
That ship had sailed a long time ago. No, it had never even come into port. Michael wasn’t interested in him, and he was just wasting energy thinking of things that would never happen.
“The AC hasn’t worked right since I bought the damn thing. It hasn’t worked at all for weeks. I don’t know what else. Cars aren’t my thing, you know?”
Michael felt his eyes wander to Alex’s lips. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to feel those lips against his. But he quickly shook that thought from his mind. Now if only Alex would stop licking his lips like that.
“Good thing their mine,” Michael assured. “It’ll probably take me a few hours.” Or maybe even a day, though he would make Alex’s car his priority. Benefits of being an old… acquaintance since Michael didn’t really have friends.
“Do you have a ride back to… wherever you’re staying?” He doubted Alex wanted to hang around his garage the whole time.
“Yeah,” Alex nodded. He wasn’t surprised Michael had made a career of fixing cars. Alex recalled how mechanically inclined he’d been, even back in high school.
“I’m uh, I’m staying with Maria,” Alex admitted, assuming he didn’t need to supply a last name; Michael would likely know exactly who he meant. “I was going to call her if I needed a ride,” he said. The truth was, he hadn’t thought that far ahead and figured he’d just call an Uber or something to get a ride back to Mimi’s.
Although, he wasn’t adverse to the alternative of sitting here and watching Michael work, he wasn’t going to say or suggest as much, and it was probably better not to indulge in that particular fantasy. Watching Michael work was a bad idea for a number of reasons. Hell, Alex didn’t even know if he was in a relationship with someone. If he was even still interested in guys. There was no reason to think he’d ever be interested in Alex anyway.
Michael knew exactly who he was talking about. Maria DeLuca. She had also recently come back from New York, for who knew how long. She hadn’t given Michael much information when he ran into her a few weeks back. And the night he hung out with her, Max, Isobel and Liz the focus was on Max and Liz’s relationship status, which Michael didn’t really care much about. As long as Max was happy.
“You two stayed close?” Not that that really surprised them. They were best friends back in high school, from what Michael remembered. And they both had moved to New York. Made perfect sense to him.
As far as relationships Michael simply didn’t do them. He was more of a fan of casual sex. Saved people from leaving him that way. He mostly stuck to one night stands, though there was a guy he was sleeping with on a regular basis, though Michael made sure to never stay the night. “You’re welcome to stay until she gets here.” Not like he was going to kick him out on the street. “I’d say until it’s done but it will take at least a few hours.” Alex nodded. He shot off a text to tell Maria where he was and to ask if she could come get him. He’d try to be sensitive to old wounds, and meet her out front. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see her and Michael in the same place at the same time, anyway.
“Yeah. We, uh. We lived together, actually. Rent’s so expensive, you know. It just made sense.” And it wasn’t like they were ever going to hook up. Alex loved Maria like a sister, and that was the extent of it. He wasn’t interested in what she had to offer.
“That’s cool,” Michael wasn’t sure what else to say about it. Not like he knew what it was like to have a friend like that. He would never consider living with Max or Isobel. He’d rather be on his own. He was proud of his trailer too. It was the first place that was actually his.
“I’m gonna need your key,” Michael said walking around the counter and over to Alex. The closer the got to the man the faster his heart began to beat which was...strange. He didn’t fully understand what was happening to him. He vaguely remembered feeling this way around Alex back in high school… but that had been over ten years ago.
Alex stood there, almost as if he were paralysed and frozen in place. Like he’d forgotten how to move, and all he could do was watch Michael come closer and closer and then he was right there, close enough to touch, to smell his scent…
Alex blinked, and the gears started moving again and he dug in his pocket for his car key. What? Oh right. Yeah. The key. “Here. It’s the old junker out there,” he said, gesturing behind him toward the parking lot without taking his eyes off Michael.
Alex was no psychologist, but he knew what he was feeling in that moment was fight or flight. And by fight, his brain meant kiss the boy. Alex very much wanted to kiss Michael right then and there. He imagined throwing Michael down on that counter and…
“Uh, do you have a restroom I can use?”
Michael’s hand brushed Alex’s when he handed over the key. There was a spark of something there and Michael let his hand linger a few seconds longer than necessary, his eyes fixed on Alex. Unable to look away.
He was having the exact same thoughts as Alex. His teeth grazed his bottom lip, biting down on it slightly - a way to prevent himself from acting on those thoughts. Normally Michael had no problem initiating things. He had kissed (and done more) with his fair share of both men and women, usually at a bar. But this was different. Of course Michael had been attracted to all those people. But there wasn’t this connection there like the one he was feeling right now. Michael knew if he let himself go there with Alex it wouldn’t be anything casual. And that was something Michael wasn’t ready for.
Alex was asking him a question and the moment broke. The key was fully in his hand now, nowhere near Alex’s. “Yeah,” Michael replied. “It’s right over there,” he said pointing with his free hand. “I’ll go bring your car in.”
Alex didn’t trust himself to say anything just then, so he nodded and took a step toward the restroom. Distance, he needed distance. Because if he stayed right there, sharing space and breathing the same air as Michael, he was going to do something impulsive.
He’d rather wonder what if, and keep the fantasy alive in his mind than go for it and ruin any chance he might have. Who was he kidding? He didn’t have a chance. He’d wanted to see Michael react to him, so he’d seen a response that wasn’t there.
He turned the tap on and splashed the nearly frigid water in his face. Gripping the sink in a classic angst-boy movie scene, he stared at himself in the mirror and wondered who the hell was staring back at him. He wasn’t a coward, he wasn’t someone who held back.
But this time he did, because this time the end result really mattered to him. He sighed, released his death grip on the sink, and shut off the tap. Pulling up his proverbial big boy pants, he headed back to the lobby, but Michael was gone. Out the window, Alex saw his car moving out of the spot where he’d parked, the tangle of Michael’s curls behind the wheel.
Alex went to the front counter to search for a slip of paper and a pen. He scribbled his phone number, with a note saying so you can call me when the car’s ready. ~A. He stuck the corner under the computer keyboard, then headed out front before Michael could come back inside.