Who: Poe Dameron, Michael Guerin & Alex Manes When: Early May. Before Poe took Michael to the Flight Simulator Where: Bar What: Alex and Poe meet. Awkward times for Michael Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Michael and Alex had been spending a lot more time together lately. Although Michael still wasn’t ready to admit it was anything serious. Which was probably why he continued to sleep with Poe and some other one night stands. Yet he kept coming back to Alex.
Which was why he was at a bar with the man right now. “How many drinks do you think we’ll last this time?” Michael joked eyes gleaming and smirk on his face.
If Alex had his way, the answer would be none. But they’d already downed one and were one a second round. It was nearly a record for them, since they generally couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Or their pants on…
But they were making an effort this evening. For what purpose Alex didn’t know. He really just wanted to rip Michael’s clothes off and...well. Not in public. He was feeling less and less bold about that, more like he wanted to hide his interest in public and save it for the privacy of Michael’s trailer.
“I don’t know. Three, maybe? I don’t know about you, but I’m itching to get out of here and go somewhere a little less populated.”
Poe had had a long day filled with monitoring a number of recruits who were working on earning their hours on the flight simulators and at the end of it all while part of him just wanted to go home and relax and talk to BB-8, he’d decided to stop by a bar for a drink or two first. Once he’d decided to stop at the bar, he’d thought briefly about calling Michael or Finn to see if either of them wanted to meet up with him, but in the end he’d decided to simply go alone since he wasn’t planning on staying out too long.
Reaching the bar, he’d gone straight to the bar and ordered a beer. While he waited for his drink, he took a look around the bar and was surprised to see Michael sitting nearby with another guy. It wasn’t so much the part where he was with another guy that had surprised Poe, but that he’d thought about calling him and then there he was. Once he had his beer in hand and had paid, he decided to head over to their table and say hi.
Crossing the space between the bar and their table, Poe smirked as he reached them, “Hey, funny seeing you here. I was actually thinking of texting you.”
“Aren’t you always?” Michael replied with a grin. Although he was right there with Alex. Whatever this connection they had was, it made it extremely difficult to keep their hands off each other. However before he could say more or make a move a familiar face approached. A very familiar face.
“Hey,” Michael replied giving Poe a small smile even though he felt slightly awkward. He had no real reason to. At least he didn’t think so. Yeah he was currently sleeping with both the men before him but they were all adults. He hadn’t made any commitments to either. But they were also the first guys that Michael continuously went back to, he usually just kept his sex life to random hook ups and one night stands. So yeah, there was the tiniest bit of guilt there, like he was betraying the both of them.
“Well guess you don’t have to now,” Michael added smile turning into his usual smirk. “This is my friend Alex,” he told Poe nodding over at Alex before turning his attention to Alex. “This is Poe.” Was he supposed to introduce them? He had no idea. But they were here and it felt rude not to.
Alex straightened when the guy walked over to them. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle, and immediately squashed any thoughts of jealousy. There was no reason. He and Michael had this things but they weren’t officially dating or whatever. He had no claim on Michael, on his friends.
“Poe,” he said, redirecting his thoughts and offering his hand. “Alex,” he added, reiterating Michael’s introduction. He felt ridiculous, and he wasn’t sure why
“We clearly had the same idea tonight,” Poe smirked at Michael before turning his attention towards Alex, still smiling, “It’s nice to meet you, Alex,” Poe reached out and shook Alex’s hand in a firm handshake as he studied the other man briefly, wondering if he and Michael were just friends or more, not that it really changed anything as far as how he felt about Michael. “You guys been here long?” He asked, glancing back at Michael as he took a sip of his beer.
Michael noticed how Alex’s demeanor changed when Poe walked over. Again he felt that twinge of guilt. He wasn’t sure why though. So he just ignored it. He wasn’t in a relationship. Wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“Not hard to do,” Michael replied to Poe with a grin. “It’s the idea I have most nights,” and how they had met. “Not long. Just on our first drink. You wanna join?” It would be rude not to ask even if the situation was a bit on the awkward side. He looked over at Alex trying to see if the other guy minded.
Alex didn’t mind, per se. He wasn’t that kind of guy. He was easy going. He was calm, definitely not the jealous type. Except, apparently, when it came to Michael Guerin. He stomped on those thoughts, shoved them down into a box and slammed the lid. He was not a child, he wasn’t even a hormonal teenager. He was a grown ass adult and he was going to act like it.
“Join us,” he said to Poe. The guy was nice to look at. Alex could appreciate that. He just didn’t want to think about what kind of relationship he might have with Michael. They were friends, obviously. Maybe more? He didn’t want to know.
“Sure, why not.” Poe said as he moved around the table to the empty seat, a few loose curls falling over his forehead as he sat down. His curls might not have been quite as unruly as Michael’s, but by the end of the way they weren’t quite as tight as they had been in the morning, the product he had used beginning to lose it’s hold. “So, what do you do, Alex?” Poe asked, turning his attention to Michael’s friend, not wanting to make it too terribly obvious that he’d only agreed to have a drink with them because of Michael. Besides, Poe enjoyed talking to new people and making new friends and always tried to defuse potentially awkward situations.
Michael sat back in his seat trying to relax a bit. There was nothing to be worried about really. Alex and Poe were both good guys. And it wasn’t like they were going to blurt out that Michael was sleeping with them. But honestly so what if they did? They all knew it was casual. Well at least Poe knew. Alex he wasn’t so sure about given their strange connection that Michael still couldn’t explain. But really he had nothing to worry about. They were all being friendly enough. So Michael continued to just sit back and let Alex and Poe talk.
Alex felt the hairs at the back of his neck bristle when Poe agreed to join them. He’d really hoped the guy wouldn’t accept the invitation. But he had, and now Alex had to deal with it. He seemed nice enough, he was certainly not hard to look at. But he was invading, and because he was there, there wasn’t much chance Alex and Michael would slip off to his trailer alone.
“I’m in a band,” Alex told Poe. “Otherwise unemployed at the moment.” He didn’t have to pay rent, and for the moment the Dreamers gig made enough to pay what bills and expenses he did have. “What about you?” he asked, to show interest he didn’t really feel.
Poe’s brows rose slightly, “A band, huh? That’s pretty cool. I play a little guitar, but I never thought about joining a band. I just like playing occasionally. Do you write too?” He took a sip of his beer as he watched Alex. He was pretty good at reading people and he was fairly certain that the other man wasn’t exactly thrilled that he was there, “Me? I’m a flight instructor with the Navy.” He glanced at Michael, recalling their plans for him to teach Michael to fly.
“You play guitar?” That was news to Michael. Not that he and Poe had really shared their hobbies with each other. Michael used to love playing guitar, back before his hand was broken. He kinda missed it. But he didn’t want to think about that and be bitter. He saw the look Poe gave him and returned it with a small smile, knowing exactly what he was thinking about. Michael was pretty excited for the flying lessons.
As for Alex he noticed how the guys demeanor had changed. It was subtle enough but he still picked up on it. He had a feeling Poe might have too. “Maybe you guys should do something together sometime?” Michael asked eyes on Alex as he tried to lighten the guys mood. Though what the hell had he just suggested?
“Sure. I’d love to jam with you. If you were interested,” Alex said. He gave Michael a look. What was he doing? It felt like he was trying to set Alex and Poe up. But...why? Unless he… Alex drew a breath and let it out slowly.
He did enjoy playing the guitar, though, and he’d focus on that, and not...whatever else was going on between the lines here. He still got pre-performance jitters. He would probably always suffer from nerves before going on stage. He’d never want to be the main attraction, but he enjoyed playing back up for Alex.
Poe nodded, “Yeah, I do. I haven’t had the chance to play much lately. I probably have to tune my guitar.” It wasn’t a surprise that Michael didn’t know that Poe played, his guitar was currently stored in his bedroom closet so Michael never would have had the chance to see it during any of the times he’d been at Poe’s house, “I’m up for playing anytime though.” It would be fun to play with someone else, which he hadn’t done in quite some time.
Michael didn’t really have an idea what he was doing. He had never been in a situation like this before. He didn’t often socialize with the people he was sleeping with. Well outside of the bedroom at least. And yet lately he had been spending time with two different guys. And now they were all here together. Michael was just trying to get through it.
“Cool,” he said taking a long swallow of his drink. “Wish I could join you guys, but…” he flexed his left hand which was still disfigured and prevented him from playing guitar. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss it.
“I wish you could too.” Alex said, and meant it sincerely. Whatever was going on here, Michael was his main focus, and with the conversation turning to guitars and playing music, well. That wasn’t really fair to Michael. Even if it was common ground for Alex and Poe, Alex felt like they needed to drop the conversation for a new topic.
“So, Poe. Where are you from?” he asked, feigning interest. He tried to appear sincere. His lack of interest wasn’t personal. Poe seemed like a nice guy. But he was, in Alex’s opinion, intruding on Alex’s time with Michael. Whatever. He was an adult, he could deal with it. He was dealing with it. And pretty maturely, if he did say so himself.
Poe’s gaze fell upon Michael’s hand as the other man held it up, brows furrowing slightly for a moment as he recalled the basic details that Michael had told him about the break. At Alex’s question, Poe turned his attention back to him and smiled again, “LA. My parents came here from Guatemala, but I was born in Los Angeles.” Growing up and even now, as an adult, Poe sometimes ran into situations where people assumed he hadn’t been born in the US, but he tried to not let it get to him once he schooled those particular people, “Are you originally from the area?”
Michael just gave a shrug at Alex’s comment. It was appreciated but he didn’t want or need to dwell on it. Which Alex seemed to get given he changed the subject. Michael took a sip of his beer and let Alex and Poe talk. They both already knew him. Might as well let them get to know each other too.
“Born and raised in the OC,” Alex confirmed. Not that he had a great childhood to be proud of. But the OC was his home. “Spent a few years in New York after school, just came back a month or so ago.” Had it only been a few weeks? It seemed like he’d been back loner. Or maybe it seemed like he was where he belonged, here with Michael.
He was really trying not to feel annoyed by Poe infringing on his time with Michael. It wasn’t like they were dating, or anything like that. They were just...friends. With benefits. Alex rolled his shoulders and took a sip of his drink. He was too polite to tell Poe to get lost, or even to suggest to Michael that they get out of there. So he’d continue talking, and being friendly.
Poe had picked up on the fact that Alex wasn’t necessarily happy that he was crashing his and Michael’s night and by this point he was sure that he had overstayed his welcome a little bit, but no one could really blame him for being a little selfish and wanting to spend some time with Michael too. However, when he noticed that this glass was almost empty, he decided that it was probably his cue to leave and let Michael and Alex get back to their hangout, “Well hey, it was really nice to meet you Alex, but I should probably get home.” He finished off his beer then got to his feet, glancing over at Michael, “And I’ll see you Friday night.” He was looking forward to seeing how Michael did in the flight simulator.
Well that wasn’t as bad as Michael thought it would be. He wasn’t sure if Poe had picked up on the fact that he was also sleeping with Alex, but either way he liked how casual Poe was about the whole thing. Because it was all supposed to be casual. He gave a small nod as Poe left, confirming that yes, he would see him Friday. He finished off his own drink before turning his attention to Alex. “You ready to get out of here?”
Alex watched Poe go, and felt a little guilty that he felt relieved that he was gone. He definitely picked up on vibes passing between Michael and Poe, and he couldn’t deny he felt a little bit jealous. But he wasn’t going to dwell on it. He shifted his focus back to Michael with a nod.
“Seems like a nice guy.” It was killing him not to ask what was happening Friday night, but if Michael told him outright that he and Poe were hooking up, Alex wasn’t sure he could handle it. It was one thing to think it was probably happening, and another to get actual verbal confirmation. It was a subject better left alone.
“Yeah, I’m ready to get out of here.” And what? Claim what he felt was his? That was ridiculous, and he pushed those thoughts right out of his mind.