michael and alex dancing under the stars. i will accept past/present/future/dreams. DANCING W THE STARS AU NEED NOT APPLY.
As if I would ever give you a dancing with the stars au, please. <3
The nights were only starting to crisp when Michael took Alex out to the desert for the last time. The sky was cloudless and the stars were out in full. Michael couldn’t tear his eyes away from Alex. His eyes were downcast, sad in the starlight. He could barely tear his gaze away from the dashboard. He could barely bring his gaze to Michael.
Michael stopped the truck, far away from any sign of civilization. He rested his head against the headrest and turn to look at Alex.
“I leave tomorrow Guerin,” Alex said after ten minutes of tense silence. “I don’t know I’ll be coming back.”
“Or if you’ll be coming back at all.” Alex didn’t acknowledge his statement. They both knew it was true.
They sat in silence as they looked at each other, their sadness overwhelming.Michael broke the silence by turning his truck engine on. Alex startled.
“Where are we going?” He asked.
Michael just smiled and turn the radio on. He fiddled with the dial until he found the station he wanted. He smiled and opened his door. He turned the volume up before he stepped out.
He walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and held out his hand.
Michael smiled in return.
Alex stepped down from the cabin, hand in Michael’s right. Once his feet were underneath him, Michael pulled him into his arms. Alex could feel the press of Michael’s left hand on his back, the pressure of his palm making up for the lack of strength in his fingers.
They swayed to the music, off rhythm until Alex stilled Michael and took the lead.
“You’re an awful dancer Guerin,” he said with a smile. “Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Isobel,” Michael replied with confidence. “She’s the only other person I’ve danced with.”
“You never danced with anyone at prom?”
“Dates always limited my options,” Michael replied. He hesitated before he added, “and I didn’t get to dance with the person I wanted to, at prom.”
Alex pulled Michael in a little closer. “And why didn’t you?”
Alex could feel Michael’s smile against his cheek, at the spot where their heads pressed together.
“Mostly because he got into a fight with an asshole before he went storming off.”
“And why didn’t you go look for him earlier?”
“Mostly because I was too busy having a bisexual panic.”
Alex laughed. “And what was the panic when I gave you the guitar?”
“Oh no, that was the same panic.” Michael turned his head to kiss Alex’s cheek.“This is better than that,” Alex said, quiet into the night. “There’s real stars here. No assholes.” He paused a moment before he finished. “The music is better too.”
They feel into silence as they continued to dance. They held each other into the night, stars shining down as they danced in the night, and tried to forget that this was their last night.
The nights were still warm, bordering on hot, as they drove out into the desert. The heat still rolled off the metal of the truck as Michael avoided another pile of rocks and desert grass. Stars had only just started to appear in the sky when Michael slowed to a stop.
Alex looked around, unsure.
“This is the same place? You’re sure?”
“I’m sure Alex, I come out here a lot.”
Alex took him at his word. He opened the door and stepped out of the truck. He put his crutch down first before he put his whole weight down. The newest prosthetic still felt a little off. The last one was destroyed though, and Alex hadn’t wanted to wait.
“Why’d you ask me to bring you out here Alex? Michael asked as he trailed after Alex. He had a bag in hand, one that Alex had handed to him before they set out that he was not allowed to look in.
Alex didn’t reply. Instead he grabbed the bag from Michael moved to the bed of the truck. He set the bag and started rummaging. Michael watched him, trying to figure out what was going on. Suddenly music filled the air.
Michael laughed. “Oh, this is what we’re doing then?”
Alex gave him a small smile before turning back to the bag. He pulled the speaker out and set it on the ground. He fiddled with his phone before he set that on the ground too. He moved toward Michael, hand stretched out.
“So,” he said, “we missed out on a lot of things, all these years.”
“Yeah,” Michael agreed. He still hadn’t taken Alex’s hand. It stayed in the air between them.
“I missed up a lot, in that time.”
“We both did,” Michael whispered, eyes still trained on Alex’s hand.
“We did,” Alex agreed. “I still want to try though. Michael, ten years ago you told me there was only one person you wanted to dance with. It’s the same for me. That hasn’t changed in all this time.” He steadied his hand. “Please, can I have this dance?”
Michael finally tore his eyes away from Alex’s hand. He met Alex’s eyes and Alex could see how much hope they had in them.
“Yeah,” Michael whispered as he moved to grab Alex’s hand. “Yeah, I would love to.”
He didn’t elaborate on what he meant, if it was just the dance or something more. It was okay though. They could figure the rest out later.
