#vague space

[aewriting]

Vague Space please? I loooove that fic! 😍

This is another one I really want to finish.  It will be a little while, though, so here’s a nice little peek:

“Michael, I need to tell you something,” Alex says, looking so serious over the holoscreen.

“Okay,” Michael says, cautiously, a little afraid of what he’s about to hear.

“I’m coming up on the end of my leave, for my leg.”

“I didn’t realize,” Michael says, searching Alex’s face for any hint of how he might be feeling.  He swallows and, against instinct, decides to just ask. “Um, how you feeling about it?” he asks awkwardly.

Alex seems to relax a little, and Michael releases a small breath himself.  “I… I’m feeling a few different things, honestly,” Alex says.  “When I initially got hurt, and, um, knew I was going to make it – “

Michael grimaces.

“ – I just wanted to get through the PT and shit so I could get back to my job. Back to what I knew.” Alex swallows hard.  “But then it became… very apparent that my job wouldn’t be what it used to be. There’d be no more field work, I’d be doing desk duty from now until retirement. But, but what else did I know?”

Michael looks at him quizzically.  

“I’ve been doing this since I was practically a kid, Michael.  I was barely 18 when Dad dragged me into that Space Force office, and since then, I’ve basically given over my whole life to this job.” He looks down.  “At first, if I’m being honest, so much of it was a long-shot hope of finding you, figuring out what happened to you.  And then I did, but things were so fucked, with Noah standing trial, all the shit he did to you – “

“And you,” Michael says pointedly.

Alex looks at his lap. “Anyway, I’m trying to say that I’ve been following orders my whole life. First Dad, then the job.  This, us talking? Um, being together the way we are? It’s a big deal for me.” He rakes a hand over his face.  “And I’m tired, Michael. I’m so tired.  This job, the shit I’ve seen, it wears on you. I, I still want to help, but in different ways.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I’m seriously thinking about retiring. And, um, moving to Embria. To be with you.”

[lawitch]

IT STARTS RIGHT NOW 🖤🏁

05/01 || Las Vegas NV || Beauty Bar 05/02 || Salt Lake City UT || Vague Space 05/03 || Denver CO || Hi Dive 05/04 || Albuquerque NM || Sister Bar 05/05 || Norman OK || Opolis 05/06 || Austin TX || Hotel Vegas presented by Levitation 05/07 || Dallas TX || Transit Bike Company 05/09 || Indianapolis IN || Pioneer 05/10 || Chicago IL || Schubas 05/11 || Des Moines IA || Vaudeville Mews 05/12 || Milwaukee MI || Milwaukee Psych Fest 05/13 || Louisville KY || Zanzibar 05/14 || Springfield MO || Altar Fest 05/16 || Amarillo TX || Golden Light 05/17 || Taos NM || Mesa Brewing 05/18 || Phoenix AZ || Valley Bar 05/19 || San Diego CA || Soda Bar 06/02 || Nelsonville OH || Nelsonville Music Festival 06/23 || San Francisco CA || The Independent 06/24 || Pomona CA || The Glasshouse

(photo by M. Cooper for Black on the Canvas)

[aewriting]

Thank you, @andrea-lyn , for tagging me in the “last 7 sentences” meme. Here’s a little bit from “Vague Space.”

***

“I want this for us.”

Michael nods, solemn. “Hik, he says we tend to make decisions based on either love or fear.” He pauses, swallows thickly. “And I’ve been running on fear for a long, long time.” He looks at Alex. “Let’s... let’s try love.”

[aewriting]

WIP WEDNESDAY

A little something from “Vague Space”

***

“I’m going to miss you, Michael,” Alex whispers on their last night together.

Michael closes his eyes, lets himself relax into Alex’s touch. “I’m going to miss you, too.” He feels the way Alex’s hand is casually tracing patterns on his back, occasionally ghosting over his tattoo.

“Can we do this again?”

“I hope so,” Michael says quietly.

Alex is silent for a while. “You know more about me than anyone. Except maybe my therapist,” he says wryly. “So you know that I have.. a lot. A lot going on.” He takes a deep breath. “But being here with you, these past few days... I feel like enough.” He frowns a little. “Does that make sense?”

“Yes,” Michael breathes, an automatic reaction that seems to take Alex aback with its swiftness. “Yes,” he repeats, stronger this time. “That’s how I feel with you, too.”

[aewriting]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Here is Chapter 15 of Vague Space, my Malex Space AU.

It’s been a while since I updated, so for new readers, please mind the tags on this one. 

Here’s an excerpt of Chapter 15:

Alex rakes a hand over his face. “This… this might have been a bad idea.”

Michael frowns.  “No.  It’s not a bad idea. I don’t think it’s that clear cut.  If it was, like, absolutely bad we wouldn’t be doing it, I don’t think.  Wouldn’t even consider it.  But I think we should at least talk about it.  The risks.”  He exhales.  “They’re worth it, to me.”

Alex looks up sharply.  “Are they?  Are they really?”

“Yeah.  They are.”

[aewriting]

Vague Space - Chapter 16

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23973892/chapters/60412621

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Here is the latest chapter of my Malex space AU. Please be aware of the tags.

Excerpt:

They’re sitting on Michael’s little deck. It’s day three of Alex’s trip. With all the talk of risk, they’ve mostly stuck to the house, though they ventured out to the beach earlier today. Alex wore a big hat and sunglasses when they did - it was hard to really see his face, and Michael supposes that was the point. Yesterday, it rained, so they watched movies, got food delivered, played video games. Bid each other a goodnight that felt awfully stilted, to Michael.

[aewriting]

Vague Space, Chapter 18

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Here is the latest chapter of my space AU. This story has some intense themes, so please mind the tags.

***

Excerpt:

He’s sitting outside in comfortable, clean clothes, hair still damp from the shower.

“This is good,” he says as he sips the coffee that Alex made.

“I’m glad,” Alex replies. “I’m definitely not the best at, like, cooking, but coffee I can do.”

Michael gazes out over the tiled roofs at the long line of ocean visible in the distance. “I feel a little bad that we haven’t gone out much. I mean, this is Embria, and we’ve mostly just been here in the house.”

Alex stares down at his coffee mug. “Would it surprise you if I told you that I didn’t actually come here for the beaches?”

[aewriting]

Six Sentence Sunday

(From Vague Space)

***

“How was your trip to Medela?”

“It was good,” Michael says, retrieving a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water.

“Good as in... the hotel was nice and you got all the ship parts you needed? Or good as in you spent some time with a handsome intelligence officer who’s had a thing for you for over a decade?”

Michael’s not sure what Isobel must see in his face, but she drops her teasing tone immediately. “Michael,” she says, worried, “what happened?”