Chapter Text
When Michael pulled into the Crashdown's car park, his nerves had returned in full force. He was gnawing at his bottom lip, his foot tapping erratically, and his hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles had gone white. All anxious traits that Alex knew rather well after all these years. And how the hell could Alex blame him? Michael was so brave in this moment, about to have lunch with the woman directly if unknowingly reasonable for his shitty childhood, and was willing to push away any discomfort he was feeling just to make Max and Isobel happy. And he had been willing to come alone if Alex hadn't invited himself along.
"Hey," Alex placed a hand on Michael's thigh, trying to bring him back to the here and now. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
Sighing, Michael's eyes tracked the movement of Max and Isobel through the Crashdown's windows. "I would really rather be anywhere else but here," he admitted. "I don't want to do this."
"I know. But we're already here, right? We've come all this way, we might as well go in," Alex reasoned. "And we don't have to stay long. We can leave anytime. You don't owe anybody anything."
Eventually, Alex managed to coax a very reluctant Michael out of the truck, who promptly hid himself behind the wide brim of his hat and made his way towards the Crashdown with his hands in his pockets. His tension was palpable and Alex felt his own shoulders rise and fall as he followed after him.
As expected, Max and Isobel were pacing anxiously in the empty diner. Their eyes lit up when they entered and the door swung shut behind them. "You made it," Isobel threw her arms around Michael's neck and kissed him on the cheek. "We were worried you were going to ditch us."
"Almost did," Michael admitted. "Still might."
"I hope you guys don't mind me tagging along," Alex apologised as he shook Max's hand. "Just couldn't resist crashing your little party."
Shaking his head, Max laughed. Out of all the siblings, Max seemed the most serious, at least around Alex. His whole face lit up when he laughed, and for a split second, Alex could almost believe that Max, Isobel and Michael really were flesh-and-blood triplets. "No way, I would have invited Liz if she weren't so busy. It's probably for the best that you're here, actually. You can be the mediator."
"He means the voice of reason," Isobel brushed her hand against Alex's arm as she passed him to slide into a booth. "It wouldn't be an Evans family reunion if there wasn't a last one heated argument."
"I have a strong feeling that today's argument will involve me as the main topic of contention," Michael muttered as he joined the others in the booth. "Why did you want me to come here again?"
"Because no matter what anybody says, whether it be our parents or the public or otherwise, you are our brother," Max said. "And we want you with us. Family reunion- that includes you. It always includes you."
When Michael turned to face Alex, his face was conflicted, but Alex knew that Michael had been given the final push he needed and that he had made up his mind to stay. "I'm glad that I brought you along for moral support."
It made his chest feel warm, and a smile spread across his face without his say-so. "So today, I am the voice of reason, the mediator, and moral support," he mused, reaching up to fist a gentle hand in Michael's curls. Michael hummed and ducked towards the contact. "I've endured worse."
When Ann Evans entered, the change in the room was palpable. She wore a smart forest green pant-suit with her hair tied in a bun. She glanced wearily around the empty diner before her eyes settled on her children and she grinned. It immediately made her whole face look younger, less severe. "Max! Isobel! How nice to see you!"
They rose to meet her, both taking turns to fall into her embrace. "Hey mum," Isobel hummed when her mother stroked her fingers through her hair. "You look nice."
"Well, I had assumed that we were going to go out somewhere nice," Ann said as she pulled away. "If I had known that we would have been meeting at a diner, I would have dressed down."
"Mum," Max laughed, slightly admonishing. "This is Liz's family business. There's no better place for us to meet."
"If you want to chat over alcohol while you play billiards and poker, you go to the Wild Pony," Michael piped up. "If you want a wholesome place to chat with family over food, you come to the Crashdown. It's probably one of the best eateries in Roswell."
As Ann sat down beside her children, she looked at Michael with a frown at the corners of her lips. "Michael. I didn't know that you'd be coming to the family meeting," Max and Isobel exchanged a wary glance. Michael just hummed, noncommittally. When Ann turned to face Alex, it was obvious that she bristled. "And you are...?"
"Alex Manes, ma'am," Alex said pleasantly, dutifully shaking her hand. Compared to her children, who ran hot enough to rival a central heating system on the highest setting in winter, her skin was chilled to the touch. "Nice to meet you."
Her eyes sparkled with recognition, and he hated that he knew who she was thinking of. "Oh, Manes, of course," she said and Michael's hand tightened slightly on Alex's under the table. "I remember seeing your family around town before they all enlisted. I don't think I remember you, though. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence at my family's gathering?"
"No need for such formalities. Just because I served doesn't make me God," Alex forced himself to laugh. "I'm here because I'm Michael's boyfriend, and I've tagged along to meet the woman who raised his siblings."
He was intentionally baiting her, wanting to see how she'd react. To his surprise, she pursed her lips and didn't say another word about it, probably sensing that Max and Isobel would most likely pick up a well-versed argument if she refuted it. Instead, she reached across the table until she could hold one of her children's hands in her own, and smiled. "So," she asked. "How have your lives been?"
It was actually rather pleasant, much to Alex's surprise. The way Michael had described it, he thought that Ann would be tearing into him the entire time that they were there. He was surprised that she hardly paid them any mind at all.
Instead, Ann alternated between chatting with Max and Isobel, each taking great joy in telling their mother, in extensive detail, exactly what they had been up to since they last saw each other. Alex, for his part, alternated between holding Michael's hand under the table, smoothing his thumb over the once scarred and gnarled skin of his left in what he hoped was a comforting, supportive gesture, and resting a hand on Michael's knee to stop his anxiously bouncing leg when it caused the table to shake and made Ann glance at him in annoyance while Max and Isobel looked on in worry.
Outero brought out the food, knowing them well enough by now to know their orders off by heart, while bringing out something generic for Ann, flashing his award-winning smile all the while. Isobel got up to help him carry the plates over, much to Ann's surprise and confusion, while Max took the opportunity to properly introduce Outero to Ann. Alex thought it was strange that it had taken this long for the two of them to meet, but it had taken decades for him to find the courage to hold Michael's hand in public, so who was he to judge?
Despite the circumstances, it was nice to spend this time with Michael. He could almost imagine that this was just a usual date, drinking milkshakes and holding hands under the table and just enjoying each other's company.
That was, until, Ann finally turned her attention to Michael. And Michael, who had finally begun to relax, tensed right back up.
"So, Michael," Ann said, voice sickly sweet and thick like molasses. "What have you been up to recently?"
Licking his lips, Michael lowered his fry away from his mouth and back down to his plate, and then forced his hands to remain in loosely curled fists on the tabletop. "Not much. Living life as best I can."
"Are you still living in that trailer in the junkyard?"
"Sometimes. When I feel like it."
"And where are you working these days?" She asked innocently. Alex wasn't sure why it made him bristle, but it did. There was something fake about it as if she already knew the answer and had already formed an opinion about it.
Beside him, Michael shifted near-imperceptibly in his seat, but Alex felt him, flush against his side. "Sanders Auto."
Something strange fluttered across Ann's face that Alex couldn't identify before it was gone again. "Still? I thought that was only a temporary thing until you found something more permanent."
"Nope," Michael popped the 'p'. "I'm happy where I am. What's the saying? If you love what you do, then you'll never have to work a day in your life? Think of it like that."
"He's the best mechanic in Roswell," Max grinned, nudging his shoulder against Michael. "He can fix anything and everything that you put in front of him."
"That's quite a talent," Ann said, sounding like she didn't quite believe it. "Wouldn't you like to be putting that to good use instead of fixing cars?"
"Well, becoming an agricultural engineer meant leaving Max and Isobel, and I couldn't leave them behind to fend for themselves. They were like helpless baby birds without me to babysit," Michael said. Max laughed at Isobel's answering scowl. "Besides, UMN wasn't really my scene."
Ann's eyebrows climbed into her hairline as they rose in disbelief. "You got into UMN? I never knew that."
Humming, Michael plucked a fry from his plate and stuck it between his teeth. He spoke around a mouthful of food. "A little-known fact about me- I'm a literal genius."
Isobel laughed and threw a fry at him. "It wouldn't hurt you to be a little more humble, you know."
"It's nothing you don't already know," Michael retorted, seeing out her feet under the table and aiming a kick at her legs. "Liz and I have saved both your asses plenty of times with our combined genius. In the words of the one and only Liz Ortecho; we're a force to be reckoned with."
Alex knew that he and the three aliens were all thinking of the same moments; Liz and Michael working tirelessly to find a cure for Isobel; Michael furiously working on building a pace-maker out of alien glass and spare parts for a once-dead then-dying Max while Liz cut him open and inserted it into Max's chest. No one was more aware of how unstoppable Liz and Michael were together than the three people closest to them at this table.
When Ann's discerning eyes fell solely on Alex, he couldn't help but shift a little in his seat. Now he knew where Max got it from. "So, you and Michael are living together now? What's that like?"
The question was addressed to him, so Alex answered for both of them. "Partly. It's been pretty easy so far. We've always worked well together, always existing somehow in each other's space. It's as simple as breathing. It's like we're..." He trailed off, searching for the right words.
As he always did, Michael filled in the blanks. "Cosmic?" he snorted. "Pieces that always find their way back together?"
He was so earnest that Alex couldn't help but laugh and fling his arm across Michael's shoulders, a rare public display of affection in front of a relative stranger. "Damn straight."
The feeling of a foot knocking gently against his own had Alex looking up to see Isobel examining him with a fond look and a grin. "Get a room, you two. You're both such saps."
Though her words were harmless and full of love, Alex couldn't help but stiffen. There were so many underlying connotations beneath her words if one were to search for them. He wanted to see if Michael would react the way he normally did, with anger and offence. But Michael didn't react, other than to scrunch up his nose and throw a fry at his sister.
"Behave," Max warned as Isobel scrambled to retaliate, but he was smiling.
Ann cleared her throat and the jovial atmosphere faded back into relative seriousness. She returned her attention back to Michael. "I'm very glad to hear it."
"Thanks," Michael said. "It's been-"
"It's a far cry from what you used to be doing," Ann focused down at the tea in her hands, stirring it daintily with a teaspoon. "Last I heard, you were starting fights and getting drunk and sleeping with anything that moved."
Max choked on his milkshake. Isobel turned to gape at her mother, outraged. Alex felt his blood go cold, and then hot, and then cold again. Ann looked unperturbed. Micahel was eerily still. It was Alex, still stunned, who spoke up. "Where the hell did you hear that?"
"I still have friends in town who keep an eye on my children for me. It's not my fault that Michael was almost always with them in one way or another," Ann sniffed. She drummed her nails against her teacup. "You really fell off the wagon when Max and Isobel were unwell so I'm glad that you've started to pull yourself together."
"Well," Michael said slowly, in that way that he often did, and Alex knew that the next thing out of his mouth was going to be brutal. And truthfully, Alex couldn't fault him for it. "Ann. Considering the fact that you're not my mother, your opinion on how I live my life means next to nothing to me, and I don't know how my pastimes are any concern of yours."
That was it. The straw that broke the camel's back. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop if one cared to listen. Max and Isobel exchanged a panicked glance. Michael and Ann just glared at each other across the table. Alex just pressed himself closer to Michael's side, preparing to do damage control.
Something fierce flickered across Ann's face, and Alex only caught it because he was watching her intently. "Are we really going to have this discussion again, Michael?"
"I'm not," Michael retorted. "I'm just saying to get your nose out of my business. Pay more attention to Isobel's love life or Max's job. Did you even know that he's been writing a book?"
"Unlike you, who still works at Sanders Auto and who never dates one person for any length of time?" Ann said. Despite Isobel's horrified expression, she continued on. "You were a difficult child, Michael. You needed help that Dave and I couldn't provide. You deserved better."
"We're not having this conversation," Michael grit out. "You don't have to ruin today just because you're feeling petty."
"The three of you weren't speaking," Ann continued as if Michael hadn't even spoken. "The people who ran the group home said that you were a menace. You were throwing tantrums and running amuck. Hell, the day we came to the home, you were drawing all over the walls!"
"That wasn't Michael," Max interjected before they could continue. "It was me, I've already told you that."
Ann threw her hands up in exasperation. "How was I supposed to know? Michael, you needed help that we couldn't give you. Do I wish that I had known that the three of you were related back then? Of course, I do. But do I regret doing what I did? No. Because I was able to give Max and Isobel a happy childhood, and if I hadn't done it, they would have had to suffer the rest of their lives in that group home, and they didn't deserve it."
The expression that Isobel wore as she glanced wearily between Michael and Ann was one of deep sadness and age-old heartbreak. "Mum. That's enough."
"I'm not going to touch that with a ten-foot pole," Michael's teeth were grit so hard that Alex could hear his jaw cracking. He was very proud of Michael's valiant effort of self-restraint.
But Ann just couldn't let it go. Maybe that's where Isobel got it from- she just didn't know when to stop pushing. "I'm sorry that your childhood was so terrible. I truly am, but sometimes, in this life, people have to make sacrifices. Now that you know who Max and Isobel have become, how good they are, wouldn't you want to sacrifice anything for them?"
The plates and cutlery began to rattle on the table. The tea sloshed around in Ann's cup. The glass rattled in the window panes. The blinds clattered together. The light fixtures swung back and forth, sending light in every direction. Max and Isobel were staring wide-eyed at Michael as the whole building rattled as if in an earthquake. Alex was honestly impressed that he had lasted this long.
"I would sacrifice anything for them," Michael said darkly, eyes not leaving Ann's for a second. "I have sacrificed for them."
Ann began to glance around as if seeking out the source of the sudden quake. Max reached over and gently rested his hand on Michael's fist, clenched so hard on the table that his knuckles had turned white, quietly urging Michael to calm down. If Isobel cared to look at Michael's aura, all she would see was red, red, red.
"Michael," Isobel said softly, half-warning, half-sympathy.
By now, Alex had had about enough of this nonsense. The fact that Michael had even come to this lunch was a miracle. He could hardly believe that the meeting had gone this well at all. But while he was more than proud of Michael for lasting so long and knew what his meeting meant to him, he wasn't going to make Michael endure another moment here if he didn't have to.
Instead, he checked his watch in an exaggerated motion. He pried Michael's fingers away from his palm, noting the fresh blood under his fingernails where they had bitten into his palm and drawn blood, and slid his own hand into the empty space.
"While this has been a lovely chat," Alex said, overly-politely, lying through his teeth. "But we really should be going. Better things to do, more important people to see- you know how it is," To Max and Isobel, he nodded, and said. "We'll chat with you two later. Enjoy the rest of your day."
It was surprisingly easy- scarily easy- to pull Michael up and out of his seat, his hand still gripped securely in Michael's own, and drag him out of the Crashdown. Neither of them offered money to pay for their meals. Ann could cover it- it was the least she could do.
The trip from the Crashdown to Michael's truck was a haze. Michael was more than willing to be dragged out the door and across the road. All Alex knew was that he had to get them both out of here, and fast before they both did something they might regret.
Now, for the most important question, possibly the most important question of all- now what?
"Do you want to drive, or should I?" He asked, aiming for nonchalant but probably failing miserably.
He wasn't sure what would be better or worse. Letting Michael drive while he was so angry sounded like a reckless and dangerous idea, especially with Alex actually in the car with him, considering what Alex knew about how Michael usually tended to vent his fury. On the other hand, maybe it was better to give him something mindless and easy to take his thoughts off of everything, something to do with his hands. Either way, it couldn't hurt to ask, right?
Wordlessly, Michael held out his hand, fingers splayed open and palm pointed upwards, and Alex dropped the keys into it. It was probably for the best- the only person who knew what Michael wanted was Michael, and Alex wouldn't really know where to drive them anyway.
The two of them climbed into the truck and with sure hands and steely eyes, Michael peeled out of the carpark and they drove in total silence to their destination.