[It was so funny how easily the leap came to Max. They were already performing a binding ritual between them, and saying vows. They were cutting marks into one another's bodies that would be there forever. They had already admitted that it was better than rings. It was already so close to a wedding, a private ceremony of their own that Max couldn't see why it wasn't the one that made them husbands. He only wanted Michael to understand how Max thought of him.
They were doing this early, but yes, it had been something they'd been preparing for their entire lives. Ever since the day they came out of those pods, and Michael began protecting max, to the day Max worked to protect Michael. They fought endlessly trying to take care of one another, and because they knew that they were bound already in some inexplicable way. It was far more than the DNA in their system. There was a love there that was even picked up on by other people.
Max and Michael had both been asked if they were dating, and while denying their souls had felt wrong for Max, he knew secretly that he'd wanted to be that person for Michael. They'd both already spent years dreaming of this day, and now that they were together, there was nothing that could pull them apart. Max knew that Michael was making himself a home. It didn't matter if the tiny place he was at still existed, Michael had been sleeping at Max's since that day they'd agreed never to part, and their souls had been stuck together since then.
The handprint was never allowed to fade, and they were always bound by so much more. It was getting to the point that even when the hand print was beginning to fade, Max could still feel Michael as loudly as the day he placed it. Even their telepathy was increasing. He knew that his mind was closer now to Michael than it was to Isobel. It was merely practice and the need to be closer.
They are the past, present and future for one another, and Max knows it as he sits there on the ground holding Michael's hand, and his breath until Michael gives his answer.
Tears immediately spring to Max's eyes as he climbs back onto the couch and wraps himself around his love, his future husband, his fiancee. ]
Thank god. I thought for a second I misguessed, but this was already all those things, and I thought why the hell can't it make us husbands, I love you and need you forever. I want to call you mine, and my husband. You've made me the happiest man as well, and I promise to love you and cherish you for all my days. I do.
[Max leaned in and kissed Michael with a passion like he'd never had before. It said all the unspoken poetry he'd left out of his proposal, the things that would come in his vows that he'd been working on for weeks now. He knew that he'd love Michael and be with him, and as his tongue scored across and dipped along his fiancee's he pushed the knowledge of that into their kiss, aching to show him every mountaintop life had to show.]
[Michael took that unspoken poetry, the promise of vows, the knowledge that this was forever and poured his own right back, kissing Max with an intensity he had never known before. It's a heady slide of lips and tongue and he's holding onto Max so tightly, practically pulling him into his lap in his need to be closer. Max had already shown him so many highs, taken him to so many peaks, it was hard to imagine there could be more yet here they were.]
You didn't misguess. Not at all. You just took me by surprise. After everything you went through and the other day you said this ritual would be like our own kind of vows better than a marriage so I didn't think you were interested or ready for that...
[He trails his lips across Max's jaw, down his neck, over his pulse point as he slips a hand under the hem of his t-shirt, fingertips marking a path over the smooth planes of his abdomen, reverently tracing the scar that runs the length of his chest, a reminder of what it took to get to this moment. His lips part on a soft sigh and he lifts his head to look into those warm brown eyes that show such sincerity, his future reflected back to him.
With Max, there was never any doubt. This man knew him so completely, mind, body, and soul and still wanted every part of him.]
This ritual can be the date. We can go to City Hall, do the paperwork and this can make us husbands but... if we're getting married, like the real deal, if you're going to be my husband I want to celebrate that with the people in our lives. It doesn't have to be a wedding, it could just be a small thing. I know it's stupid. You can laugh. It's just I want people to know, I want to shout it to the world. I know before you were looking forward to a wedding and you deserve at least a part of that.
[With the little tug, it doesn't actually take much to actually pull Max into Michael's lap this time. He moves over to straddle the other alien, legs bent and squeezing each side of Michael's body so that his arms are free to roam the chest and sides of the man he loves. He's never felt so free before, never had the ability that he does now to touch everything he's always dreamed of, and now that he can, there's never any stopping him.
Max lifts his chin, giving Michael his neck and even reaches down to shed his shirt as well so that they have the warm touch of skin to skin while they speak so intimately of the lives their going to build together.
It takes max a little bit by surprise that michael really wants to do all things completely legal and spread out into telling the world, but then it makes complete sense. He had to stand in alex's closet for so long. Why should he have to hide anything, this is all that he's ever wanted and Max would love for their family and friends to see them both happy and in love, and to know that they've both taken the final step in loving one another.
He thinks about it for a second and then with a short kiss to Michael's lips nods.]
We can do city hall the morning before the ritual, so that the day is legal. I really would like that to work out. Then we can throw a reception when we've got the time and have things settled so we can send out formal invites to a few people that we want, and find a good place to have it and all that. So, we'll have this for you and me, and then a reception for everyone else to see and know. How's that?
[Max slings his arms around Michael's neck and leans back to stare into his fiancee's eyes biting at his lips in a hopeful manner, wanting this so badly to work. He doesn't want to wait to get married, and getting all the things ready for everyone else would take time. he's got most the things set for the ritual already, and city hall is easy to set up with him being former sheriff and all.]
That sounds perfect. I don't want a wedding. I want this ritual just between us. I want the ritual to be the day you become my husband. I don't want to wait. [This feels like a dream. None of this was in the plan for this evening but now that it was happening he can't think of anything he wants more. Maybe it's stupid, they were aliens for fuck's sake but even still, Michael can't help but want Max in every single way. He wants to be his husband. Leaning in, he capture's Max's lips with his own, pulling him back in to kiss him deeply. Max's body was warm and solid and he runs his hands up those strong thighs straddling his waist. He still can't believe he gets this, gets to touch him whenever he wants.]
I'm so madly in love with you, Max Evans. [He sighs against his lips. They are so in tune with one another after being connected for so long, keeping the bond from fading between them has allowed it to become stronger. They were more connected than ever before and he knows his request took Max by surprise.] We don't need to do a reception if you want to keep it just between us. What matters is our ritual, you hearing my vows. You're all I need. I didn't mean to make it complicated.
That's all I will ever need is you and me. No matter where we are in this world or any other. As long as you are with me, I'll be complete. [Maybe those were a part of his vows, but it didn't matter. He'd say them over and over. A promise repeated only sears it upon the heart, mind and soul of the person it's given to. It's like the words I love you. They can never be said enough. Repetition doesn't make them mean any less, it only shows the depth of devotion and a need to hear the value of a heart daily, and often several times a day.
Every single day that they are together is always like a dream. Sitting here in michael's lap with his full weight supported, is so powerful. No one else has ever held him like this. He can feel the strength course through the other's arms as they stretch around him, and Max doesn't have to be the one who always makes the other person feel safe, because right now, he's the one that feels safe and secure in his lover's arms. Michael does that for him, and he hopes that he will always be able to do that for Michael as well, because it's such an important feeling. Being embraced, held. loved and cherished above all else is the most complete feeling ever.
The only thing that makes it any better is the way their mouths meet in the middle and slide against one another, opening and sharing all the thoughts and feelings that will forever flow in circles as their hearts and minds pour from hand print to kiss and back through their emotional cycle. It's the perfect balance. It's the homeostasis of their lives together. ]
I love you too, baby and I will do a reception because people do need to know, and because you want it too. We need to share it with Isobel and Maria, and a few others who are close to us. We can even invite Liz and Alex so they can see exactly what they missed, but if I give you a hand job under the table, you can only assumed it's because alex stared at you too long.
[Max laughs, because he may always be a little jealous, but he knows who belongs to him wholly and completely now.]
[Those words, "I love you" really can't be said enough. He knows it's something he could be better at. Expressing his feelings has always been something he's struggled with his entire life. When you're a kid who grew up like he did, you learn pretty quickly that it's not safe to be vulnerable and open but losing Max once already made him realize a lot of things and he didn't say it nearly enough to Max before he died; he didn't tell him how he felt or what Max meant to him. It's a mistake he'll never make again and he wants to take every opportunity to make sure he knows.
Max's words startle a laugh out of him. He can imagine inviting Alex and Liz would be a shitshow but hey, he'll never pass up an opportunity to get Max's hands on him.] Oh please, the second I see Liz giving you one of those sad longing looks you two used to always give each other. I'm going to have to do a lot more than give you a hand job under the table.
[In all honesty, Michael isn't sure he's ready to see Max and Liz together and it has nothing to do with not trusting Max. He trusts Max completely. He knows Max's feelings, his heart and soul intimately. A part of him will probably always be a little jealous and possessive and maybe even a little afraid of abandonment. He knows it's something he needs to work on.]
You know it's only a matter of time before they both come back, right?
[Right now the world is theirs. There's nothing standing in their way. Liz is gone on a research grant, and Alex, well, Deep Sky has him busy doing work that kept him away from Michael after the marriage proposal fell through somehow. Max still can't figure out any of that for the life of him, but he's more grateful than there are stars in the sky. If it had worked out, the two would be married now and he'd be completely out of luck.
Thinking about it twists up his gut more often than he'd ever like to admit. It seems both of them have jealousy and insecurity issues to deal with. He knows that Michael loves him, and that his heart and soul belongs to Max. It's just something bred of time, and seeing how they went back and forth always pining for one another as well.
It's the same with Max and Liz. They didn't work together. There wasn't passion or fire the way there is with Michael, because it was always supposed to be this. He laughs a little nervously and grips Michael a little more tightly, knowing that they both feel the same. ]
You know that she can look all she wants, but you belong to me, and I belong to you. Maybe we won't invite them.
[Max finds michael's lips and consoles him with a kiss, stroking his lover's cheek and brushing up into the curls that drive him absolutely nuts every time he looks at the other. ]
Yeah, I know. I don't want them to. I don't want to see either of them again. Ever. Maybe we'll go to Oasis then...
[Nothing is standing in their way and he'll do whatever it takes to keep it that way. They haven't actually talked much about what happened between either of them. In the beginning everything felt so fresh, still a bit raw and he didn't want to ruin a good thing by bringing up the past too much and they've both kind of avoided it ever since.
Max's grip tightens and Michael can feel the nervous energy between them. As much as he loves the possessiveness, and has tested those waters a little bit, he doesn't want Max to be nervous. He strokes the thighs under his hands with his thumbs, massaging the firm muscles in what he hopes is a soothing gesture.]
You're damn right you belong to me. I don't even want her looking at you. [The kiss doesn't console him completely but it does help ease the twisting, uneasy feeling in his gut and parts his lips to deepen it, tongue darting out to taste Max's lips, sighing softly at the fingers tangled in his hair. He can always get lost in Max's kisses. The world could be ending and it wouldn't matter as long as Max is kissing him just like this.]
I'm not ready to see them either but we'll have to eventually. Liz always comes back for you. [It's not something he likes or wants to think about. Another wave a possessiveness washes over him and his hands slide to Max's ass, gripping and dragging him closer still.]
I can't wait to make you my husband. None of that other shit matters. Whenever I'm with you it's like no one else even exists.
[Anything that happens will always be a past memory because Max knows he's got his future right here. This is his white picket fence, the happy endings to all his stories. The boy in the story doesn't have to live with half a heart, because he found the person that completes him and fills in the other half. Max's novel is finally complete and something that can be published and dedicated to this man right here. After all those years of distraction he has what he's wanted and needed all along.
Nothing will make it better. Even if Max finds Alex upsetting at times, it's merely because he knows what's his, and he doesn't want another human even thinking about trying to steal it away, or daring to try and take his eyes for a moment. They never looked away for too long, and now it's time for Max to hold Michael's looks for all eternity. ]
Even if she does look, my eyes will stay on you. You are the one that I will forever have and hold. I can feel her stare and ignore it Michael. I don't care about puppy dog eyes, or tails or anything else. Your eyes are the only ones that matter. You are the only one who will carry my mark and both of my handprints.
[Sliding up against Michael, Max slides his hands over his beloved's chest and then up and over strong shoulders into the carved muscles of Michael's back. He slowly works his hands into the tight knots found there, easing his fingers against them to work out the strain and pressure brought on by jealousy. It's not that Max doesn't feel it. He does. He feels it all too much at times, but he figures they only have time for one of them to fall apart at a time, and if michael needs this-- then max will be strong for him.]
[A white picket fence, getting married, a happy ending, that all used to be a pipe dream to Michael. It was everything he secretly wanted his entire life but it was something that other people got and deserved but it wasn't meant for him. Max changed all that. Now he was going to get it all.
He understands Max's jealousy when it comes to Alex. There was over a decade of history between them, a constant back and forth, a push and pull that often left Michael feeling used, hopeless, and heartbroken. That was all in the past. Even if Alex did show up, it didn't matter. Michael did look away and knew he would never look back. Max was all Michael could see, the only person he wants for the rest of his life and after.]
I can't wait for you to give me your mark and for you to carry mine. I belong to you. Liz, Alex I don't care. How can I see anyone else when you're in the room? It's you. It's only you forever, Max.
[The tension and uneasiness seems to melt away under his lover's, his fiance's hands and he groans softly at the firm press of fingers into tight muscles. He knows Max feels it too, that jealousy just under the surface, he can feel it radiating from the handprint and humming under his skin. His hands travel across bare skin, fingers ghosting along his lower back and up, mapping every dip and curve, the smooth planes of muscle that he's come to know so well but never enough.]
Max...I love you so much. Like an embarrassing amount. I didn't even know it was possible to love someone this much. You make me feel crazy and at the same time the most at peace I've ever felt. You are my soulmate. I don't know another word to explain it yet it's somehow not enough.
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carisma_sensei
no subject
Date: 2023-05-11 02:24 pm (UTC)They were doing this early, but yes, it had been something they'd been preparing for their entire lives. Ever since the day they came out of those pods, and Michael began protecting max, to the day Max worked to protect Michael. They fought endlessly trying to take care of one another, and because they knew that they were bound already in some inexplicable way. It was far more than the DNA in their system. There was a love there that was even picked up on by other people.
Max and Michael had both been asked if they were dating, and while denying their souls had felt wrong for Max, he knew secretly that he'd wanted to be that person for Michael. They'd both already spent years dreaming of this day, and now that they were together, there was nothing that could pull them apart. Max knew that Michael was making himself a home. It didn't matter if the tiny place he was at still existed, Michael had been sleeping at Max's since that day they'd agreed never to part, and their souls had been stuck together since then.
The handprint was never allowed to fade, and they were always bound by so much more. It was getting to the point that even when the hand print was beginning to fade, Max could still feel Michael as loudly as the day he placed it. Even their telepathy was increasing. He knew that his mind was closer now to Michael than it was to Isobel. It was merely practice and the need to be closer.
They are the past, present and future for one another, and Max knows it as he sits there on the ground holding Michael's hand, and his breath until Michael gives his answer.
Tears immediately spring to Max's eyes as he climbs back onto the couch and wraps himself around his love, his future husband, his fiancee. ]
Thank god. I thought for a second I misguessed, but this was already all those things, and I thought why the hell can't it make us husbands, I love you and need you forever. I want to call you mine, and my husband. You've made me the happiest man as well, and I promise to love you and cherish you for all my days. I do.
[Max leaned in and kissed Michael with a passion like he'd never had before. It said all the unspoken poetry he'd left out of his proposal, the things that would come in his vows that he'd been working on for weeks now. He knew that he'd love Michael and be with him, and as his tongue scored across and dipped along his fiancee's he pushed the knowledge of that into their kiss, aching to show him every mountaintop life had to show.]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-12 02:50 am (UTC)You didn't misguess. Not at all. You just took me by surprise. After everything you went through and the other day you said this ritual would be like our own kind of vows better than a marriage so I didn't think you were interested or ready for that...
[He trails his lips across Max's jaw, down his neck, over his pulse point as he slips a hand under the hem of his t-shirt, fingertips marking a path over the smooth planes of his abdomen, reverently tracing the scar that runs the length of his chest, a reminder of what it took to get to this moment. His lips part on a soft sigh and he lifts his head to look into those warm brown eyes that show such sincerity, his future reflected back to him.
With Max, there was never any doubt. This man knew him so completely, mind, body, and soul and still wanted every part of him.]
This ritual can be the date. We can go to City Hall, do the paperwork and this can make us husbands but... if we're getting married, like the real deal, if you're going to be my husband I want to celebrate that with the people in our lives. It doesn't have to be a wedding, it could just be a small thing. I know it's stupid. You can laugh. It's just I want people to know, I want to shout it to the world. I know before you were looking forward to a wedding and you deserve at least a part of that.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-12 05:45 pm (UTC)Max lifts his chin, giving Michael his neck and even reaches down to shed his shirt as well so that they have the warm touch of skin to skin while they speak so intimately of the lives their going to build together.
It takes max a little bit by surprise that michael really wants to do all things completely legal and spread out into telling the world, but then it makes complete sense. He had to stand in alex's closet for so long. Why should he have to hide anything, this is all that he's ever wanted and Max would love for their family and friends to see them both happy and in love, and to know that they've both taken the final step in loving one another.
He thinks about it for a second and then with a short kiss to Michael's lips nods.]
We can do city hall the morning before the ritual, so that the day is legal. I really would like that to work out. Then we can throw a reception when we've got the time and have things settled so we can send out formal invites to a few people that we want, and find a good place to have it and all that. So, we'll have this for you and me, and then a reception for everyone else to see and know. How's that?
[Max slings his arms around Michael's neck and leans back to stare into his fiancee's eyes biting at his lips in a hopeful manner, wanting this so badly to work. He doesn't want to wait to get married, and getting all the things ready for everyone else would take time. he's got most the things set for the ritual already, and city hall is easy to set up with him being former sheriff and all.]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-13 01:49 am (UTC)I'm so madly in love with you, Max Evans. [He sighs against his lips. They are so in tune with one another after being connected for so long, keeping the bond from fading between them has allowed it to become stronger. They were more connected than ever before and he knows his request took Max by surprise.] We don't need to do a reception if you want to keep it just between us. What matters is our ritual, you hearing my vows. You're all I need. I didn't mean to make it complicated.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-13 02:36 am (UTC)Every single day that they are together is always like a dream. Sitting here in michael's lap with his full weight supported, is so powerful. No one else has ever held him like this. He can feel the strength course through the other's arms as they stretch around him, and Max doesn't have to be the one who always makes the other person feel safe, because right now, he's the one that feels safe and secure in his lover's arms. Michael does that for him, and he hopes that he will always be able to do that for Michael as well, because it's such an important feeling. Being embraced, held. loved and cherished above all else is the most complete feeling ever.
The only thing that makes it any better is the way their mouths meet in the middle and slide against one another, opening and sharing all the thoughts and feelings that will forever flow in circles as their hearts and minds pour from hand print to kiss and back through their emotional cycle. It's the perfect balance. It's the homeostasis of their lives together. ]
I love you too, baby and I will do a reception because people do need to know, and because you want it too. We need to share it with Isobel and Maria, and a few others who are close to us. We can even invite Liz and Alex so they can see exactly what they missed, but if I give you a hand job under the table, you can only assumed it's because alex stared at you too long.
[Max laughs, because he may always be a little jealous, but he knows who belongs to him wholly and completely now.]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-13 11:13 pm (UTC)Max's words startle a laugh out of him. He can imagine inviting Alex and Liz would be a shitshow but hey, he'll never pass up an opportunity to get Max's hands on him.] Oh please, the second I see Liz giving you one of those sad longing looks you two used to always give each other. I'm going to have to do a lot more than give you a hand job under the table.
[In all honesty, Michael isn't sure he's ready to see Max and Liz together and it has nothing to do with not trusting Max. He trusts Max completely. He knows Max's feelings, his heart and soul intimately. A part of him will probably always be a little jealous and possessive and maybe even a little afraid of abandonment. He knows it's something he needs to work on.]
You know it's only a matter of time before they both come back, right?
no subject
Date: 2023-05-14 04:52 pm (UTC)Thinking about it twists up his gut more often than he'd ever like to admit. It seems both of them have jealousy and insecurity issues to deal with. He knows that Michael loves him, and that his heart and soul belongs to Max. It's just something bred of time, and seeing how they went back and forth always pining for one another as well.
It's the same with Max and Liz. They didn't work together. There wasn't passion or fire the way there is with Michael, because it was always supposed to be this. He laughs a little nervously and grips Michael a little more tightly, knowing that they both feel the same. ]
You know that she can look all she wants, but you belong to me, and I belong to you. Maybe we won't invite them.
[Max finds michael's lips and consoles him with a kiss, stroking his lover's cheek and brushing up into the curls that drive him absolutely nuts every time he looks at the other. ]
Yeah, I know. I don't want them to. I don't want to see either of them again. Ever. Maybe we'll go to Oasis then...
[He says, only half joking. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-14 07:32 pm (UTC)Max's grip tightens and Michael can feel the nervous energy between them. As much as he loves the possessiveness, and has tested those waters a little bit, he doesn't want Max to be nervous. He strokes the thighs under his hands with his thumbs, massaging the firm muscles in what he hopes is a soothing gesture.]
You're damn right you belong to me. I don't even want her looking at you. [The kiss doesn't console him completely but it does help ease the twisting, uneasy feeling in his gut and parts his lips to deepen it, tongue darting out to taste Max's lips, sighing softly at the fingers tangled in his hair. He can always get lost in Max's kisses. The world could be ending and it wouldn't matter as long as Max is kissing him just like this.]
I'm not ready to see them either but we'll have to eventually. Liz always comes back for you. [It's not something he likes or wants to think about. Another wave a possessiveness washes over him and his hands slide to Max's ass, gripping and dragging him closer still.]
I can't wait to make you my husband. None of that other shit matters. Whenever I'm with you it's like no one else even exists.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-17 05:45 pm (UTC)Nothing will make it better. Even if Max finds Alex upsetting at times, it's merely because he knows what's his, and he doesn't want another human even thinking about trying to steal it away, or daring to try and take his eyes for a moment. They never looked away for too long, and now it's time for Max to hold Michael's looks for all eternity. ]
Even if she does look, my eyes will stay on you. You are the one that I will forever have and hold. I can feel her stare and ignore it Michael. I don't care about puppy dog eyes, or tails or anything else. Your eyes are the only ones that matter. You are the only one who will carry my mark and both of my handprints.
[Sliding up against Michael, Max slides his hands over his beloved's chest and then up and over strong shoulders into the carved muscles of Michael's back. He slowly works his hands into the tight knots found there, easing his fingers against them to work out the strain and pressure brought on by jealousy. It's not that Max doesn't feel it. He does. He feels it all too much at times, but he figures they only have time for one of them to fall apart at a time, and if michael needs this-- then max will be strong for him.]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-19 01:00 am (UTC)He understands Max's jealousy when it comes to Alex. There was over a decade of history between them, a constant back and forth, a push and pull that often left Michael feeling used, hopeless, and heartbroken. That was all in the past. Even if Alex did show up, it didn't matter. Michael did look away and knew he would never look back. Max was all Michael could see, the only person he wants for the rest of his life and after.]
I can't wait for you to give me your mark and for you to carry mine. I belong to you. Liz, Alex I don't care. How can I see anyone else when you're in the room? It's you. It's only you forever, Max.
[The tension and uneasiness seems to melt away under his lover's, his fiance's hands and he groans softly at the firm press of fingers into tight muscles. He knows Max feels it too, that jealousy just under the surface, he can feel it radiating from the handprint and humming under his skin. His hands travel across bare skin, fingers ghosting along his lower back and up, mapping every dip and curve, the smooth planes of muscle that he's come to know so well but never enough.]
Max...I love you so much. Like an embarrassing amount. I didn't even know it was possible to love someone this much. You make me feel crazy and at the same time the most at peace I've ever felt. You are my soulmate. I don't know another word to explain it yet it's somehow not enough.