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Alex had just finished his sandwich and was about to start on the big cookie he had gotten as a treat. He smiled to himself, looking off into the middle distance, as he thought of his friends back – no. Not home. At the very least, not anymore. Roswell was where he came from, and since he left it in his rear-view mirror for good, he had worked hard on thinking of it as just that, nothing more.
He picked up his coffee, taking a sip, and sighed. It was neither the best coffee in the world, nor could it land in the vicinity of the special coffee Liz brewed at the Crashdown occasionally, for friends and family only. But still. Alex enjoyed it a lot. He leaned back, drinking again, when another tray joined his own on the table, and Michael Guerin sat down next to him, grinning.
“Whatcha thinking bout, huh?” He drawled, a bite from his muffin already in his mouth, thus making his question almost incomprehensible.
But seeing as the two of them had such a long – and complicated – history, Alex understood him just fine.
“Liz,” he answered, still nursing his coffee. “She told me to treat myself more, and I’m working on it.” He nodded towards the cookie, and Michael grinned again.
“Won’t be much of a treat if you’re not eating it, you know?”
Alex rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Guerin. Got lost in thought, that’s all.”
Suddenly serious, Michael asked “You missing home?”
Alex looked at him sharply. “Roswell ain’t home.” He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Sorry, it’s just… I’m still processing, I guess.”
“I get it, believe me.” Michael answered, digging further into the muffin. “I mean, look at us, huh? Me, finally going to college, you, out of the military for good.”
But a sideglance at Alex made him realize that the former Airman had stopped listening. Instead, he looked almost dreamy, cookie finally in hand, and Michael snorted. He elbowed Alex. “Hey, earth to Alex! Where did you go, huh?”
Slowly, Alex turned to look at Michael, but it was more like he was looking through him as he nodded his head up, into the general direction of the ceiling.
“That song…” Alex murmured, almost as if he was talking to himself. “I think I have a different version, but this one is actually better…”
Michael, ever the practical one, had his phone out in a jiffy, using an app to get the song’s name. “Right, there you have it – Be The One, by, what, Dua Lipa? Who even is that?” He scrunched up his forehead, thinking. “Alex, since when are you listening to that style… Alex?”
Alex sat next to him, a piece of his cookie broken off, and on the way to his mouth, which was still pulled into a smile. Michael rolled his eyes, and decided to leave Alex be for the remainder of the song.
He had already eaten all of his food and was nursing his own coffee when Alex’ attention shifted back to the then and there.
Michael chuckled. “So what’s so special about that song?” He drawled. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, but it sounded pretty generic to me.”
Alex, in the process of drinking the last gulp of coffee, nodded ever so slightly. “Yeah, I know. Not my usual stuff, either –“ Here, Michael rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, I said as much already, but you had checked out on me by then.”
Dumbfounded, Alex stayed quiet for a moment, before he visibly shook himself and continued. “I dunno what it is about it, I can’t seem to put my finger on it…” He began to drum a rhythm on the tabletop, thinking, when Michael dug into his pocket to fish his phone out once again.
Scrunching up his face in concentration, he read the message he had received, then threw his phone on the table, groaning and rolling his eyes. “I swear, if I didn’t know Valenti’s got a degree and is a freaking doctor, I would say it’s a good thing his head is already screwed on right, or else he would be up shit’s creek sometimes!” He shook his head for emphasis, then turned to look at Alex for confirmation – only to find Alex already looking back at him, eyes huge.
Michael raised his eyebrows in question. “What the hell, Alex?”
“Valenti!” Alex exclaimed.
“Yeah. Also known as the guy who sends weird messages, asking for help with – wait. What?” Michael looked puzzled.
Elbowing Michael into the side, Alex continued. “What I meant to say when I was oh so rudely cut off –“, here, he coughed, and Michael rolled his eyes again, “the song! I remembered that I got it from Valenti. He gave me a bunch of music before I left Roswell.”
“Awe,” Michael crooned mockingly, “did he make you a mixtape? Or what is that called nowadays, was it a CD? Or USB drive?” He looked away for a moment, pondering. “Wait a second. He what? Gave you music before you left? Alex! Are you sure you and the good doctor are just friends..?” He winked at Alex, still not sure what to make of the situation, but never able to pass up on the opportunity to tease his friend.
“Ugh, Michael. Yeah, I am sure, and as you know better than anyone, it was a long and winding road to get there.” Alex looked at him expectantly, waiting for Michael to catch up.
“Again with the song references, I noticed, alright? You can wipe that smug expression off your face, Alex.”
Grinning, Alex answered. “But you did pick up on it. So there.” He nodded, a self-satisfied look on his face, and Michael groaned.
“How could I forget that song, you had me practice on that one forever!”
“It’s a good song to practice,” Alex said, shrugging. “Besides. The Beatles rock.”
Michael let his head fall down on his folded arms, and Alex patted him on the shoulder. “There there, who is being a dramatic a…” stopping mid-pat, he looked around quickly, trying to figure out if anyone had noticed his almost slip-up, but all the other patrons were wrapped up in their own conversations or looking at their phones in concentration.
“You know, I doubt that anyone would think that you actually mean it,” Michael murmured, face still smashed into his arms, and Alex let out a breath he didn’t knew he had been holding.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but with our experiences…” He shuddered, thinking back to all their gruelling dealings with Project Shepard, and Michael nodded.
Sensing that a change of subject might do them good, Michael looked at Alex. “Speaking of the Beatles, though.” He smirked, and Alex groaned, “how was that about you, Valenti and a mixtape..?”
“It’s not a mixtape!” Alex gave back. He looked like he was about to add something, when Michael snapped his fingers, grabbed his phone again, and read something with concentration.
Shrugging, Alex got up and stretched his legs, before he began to busy himself with their trays. When he came back to the table, Michael had an unreadable expression on his face.
Alex raised his brows in question.
“What else is on that compilation Valenti gave you? I mean, have you ever paid attention to the lyrics of that song? Are the others similar in meaning, by any chance..?”
Puzzled, Alex shook his head. “No, can’t say that I have. Like you said, the music is pretty generic, just another pop song, right?” He shrugged. “I only made the connection earlier because that song came up when I had that cookie, and you know how much Kyle loves cookies, so…”
To his surprise, Michael rolled his eyes, slid the phone across the table, leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, clearly waiting for Alex to read for himself.
Snatching the phone up, Alex skimmed over the lyrics, just to humour Michael. His eyes grew large just for a second, but then his expression shifted into what Michael had dubbed ‘carefully neutral’. “Ok, I see what you’re getting at, but I don’t think that Kyle would do that, you know?” Alex handed the phone back, and both he and Michael headed towards the exit.
They had to wait a moment to let two slightly older, good looking guys pass, who happened to enter the café next to each other, too engrossed in their conversation to notice Alex and Michael.
The taller one had longer hair, and he leaned in as he said “But Dean, just because we had that lead doesn’t mean anything, you know that better than anyone! I mean, it’s Roswell, right? Just another tourist trap!”
“Yeah, Sammy, but we always try, don’t we? Besides, it wasn’t a total waste, because there was this cute doctor, and…”
Alex and Michael exchanged a long look before they went out to be on their way. The last thing they heard was how the slightly bow legged one named Dean laughed when the taller one cut into his answer, groaning. “Just because you finally had your bi-awakening, doesn’t mean I need to know about all your adventures…”
Both Alex and Michael where so flabbergasted by what they had just overheard, that they only talked again when they had almost reached the station from which Michael would head back to college, since he still had a seminar to attend.
“Do you think..?” Alex started, and Michael nodded.
“Too many coincidences for my liking. Say,” he continued, a sly smile on his face, “you didn’t happen to have a talk about sexual orientation with Valenti recently, have you..?” He wiggled his eyebrows, and Alex rolled his eyes so hard that Michael began to worry they might pop out of his head.
“Yeah, as a matter of fact, we did. Well.” He coughed. “When Kyle had one too many drinks after a surgery gone awry one evening at the Pony. But have you talked about that as well?” Alex was not the kind of guy to out anyone without their consent, and Michael nodded in understanding.
“Yep, you’re not going to tell me anything I didn’t know yet. Was just wondering if we are on the same page here. So.” He added, looking thoughtful. “You think the good doctor got busy with that Dean person?”
“Huh. I guess? I mean, I don’t see why he wouldn’t, right?” Alex shrugged. “Far as I know, he is not dating anyone, let alone be in a relationship, so.” He chuckled. “How does that tie in with your weird theory of Kyle Valenti, sending me off on my way to a place several states over from New Mexico, with music that supposedly tells me he is, and I paraphrase, the one for me?”
Alex shook his head. “Come on, Michael, you gotta admit it’s ridiculous. Besides, we spent such a huge amount of time together, bringing down Project Shepard, I think he had enough time to say something, don’t you?”
But Michael looked serious as he answered in a low voice. “Did he, though? It took us such a long time to work through our shit, and most of that time we weren’t even sure if we were in a relationship with each other, or if we ever would be again.” Alex nodded slowly, following Michael’s train of thought, when he continued. “And then we end up in the same state! I mean, think about what that might look like from his point of view for a moment. I head off to college, and get a scholarship at one of the most renown ones. A couple months later, you finally decide what to do with your life, since you got out of the Air Force. And where do you head?”
Suddenly overwhelmed, Alex shook his head. “I get it, ok? But I need to get home, I…” He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He made to turn around, when he remembered something. “Wait. What was that text he sent you about, exactly?”
He knew his instinct was spot on, if a little late, when Michael began to squirm under his scrutiny. “He asked me for advice on finding an apartment.”
Alex leaned against a wall, his arms crossed over his chest, one eyebrow raised, the very picture of patience. “And..?”
“He, um, may have decided to move?” Michael tried to talk himself out of it, but he knew Alex too well. Throwing his hands up in defeat after another minute of Michael getting more agitated, while Alex kept on waiting patiently, Michael rolled his eyes and added “He found a new job around here as well, ok? When I realised he hasn’t told you yet, I assumed he wanted to surprise you, and since you mentioned that mixtape, I wondered…”
Alex let out a pained noise, rubbing both hands over his face. “Ugh, I can’t believe it! The two of you, seriously! The moment you started to become friendlier, I should have started to worry, instead of being relieved!”
Michael took a few tentative steps closer, clearly intending to hug Alex, and when he nodded his ok, Michael wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace.
“I’m sorry, ‘Lex.” He whispered into his ear. “I know you’re not really mad, but surprised, I guess?” When Alex nodded almost imperceptively, Michael carried on. “Just, call him? Or send a text, at least? Don’t let this fester. We both know how that ends.”
Alex hugged him back briefly, and they both stepped out of the hug. “Don’t you have to head back?”
“Oh my god, yes!” Michael turned around to run into the station, but yelled over his shoulder “Contact Valenti, and tell him I said he should call those frat boys up, I swear to god that guy is too…”
Alex rolled his eyes, laughed, and turned around to get home. He had a lot to think about.