All The Stuff

TBH I thought this would be harder, would require way more work, but somehow it really hasn’t been. I found a clinic in my area that offered HRT, called them, and learned I could walk in and ask to start, no appointment needed. So I did. Then the doctor did all the stuff necessary to clear me for the HRT treatment and sent me off to schedule an appointment in two weeks for my first shot. I even qualified to have my first appointment covered through a grant rather than billing my insurance.

My best friend @queer-and-sunny just happened to be there when I went for my first shot, so they came with. I went, I talked to the doctor, and they sent me to their in house pharmacy for the T. When my insurance required a prior authorization (takes 2/3 days), they just gave me a shot out of their supply. I was stunned! I didn’t have to pay extra. Everything was super chill.

I didn’t realize it could possibly be that simple.

There were pride flags everywhere! Majority of the staff was openly LGBTQ+. I believe they can be your primary care provider if you want!

They also asked our preferred names & the pronouns. Staff who didn't know always used they. I almost started crying even though it wasn't my appointment because it was so inclusive & welcoming.

It’s a bright June morning. The songbirds are out in force and the bumblebees are flitting from flower to flower. Alex’s bed is empty. The sheets and duvet all tucked into the corners, not a wrinkle in sight. Out in the hallway is where the chaos begins.

Cowboy boots have been abandoned by the front door. Followed in short order by a silver and turquoise belt buckle. No one knows where the belt itself has landed. The trail of clothing picks up pace as the living room comes into view. Two pairs of jeans are tossed on an armchair. A t-shirt is hung over a lamp.

Michael and Alex are curled up together on the couch. One of Michael’s long legs is hanging off the side, the other hidden underneath the handwoven blanket. All that’s visible of Alex is his head rising and falling on Michael’s chest.

They aren’t asleep. Haven’t been for some time. No one has spoken yet. Both content to lie there and let the birds serenade them on this lazy Sunday morning. Both thankful to be back in each other’s arms.

But Alex’s stomach growls and he starts to giggle. And then Michael’s stomach growls and he laughs even harder.

‘I guess we expended a lot of energy last night.’ Michael pokes Alex in his side, sending him into another fit of giggles. To Michael, it’s the sound of all his dreams coming true.

‘You also distracted me from eating dinner last night. So, I demand a home-cooked breakfast.’ He circles a lazy finger around Michael’s nipple, circles the other with his tongue.

Michael smiles down into Alex’s hair. ‘Keep that up and we may never eat again.’ He feels Alex giggle before he hears him. His whole body riddled with laughter, shaking Michael from chest to thigh. ‘What’s wrong with you this morning?’

He pushes Alex off his chest and onto his side, turning into him and kissing the giggles from his mouth. It works for a minute, but then Alex starts again. Laughing against Michael’s lips, sending a tiny shockwave of vibrations dancing across his face.

‘It’s the starvation. I’m losing brain cells.’ He smiles into Michael’s mouth, the giggles dissipating for the moment. But only long enough for him to bump his nose against Michael’s and begin all over again.

‘I know what will help.’ He shoves Alex onto his back and climbs between his thighs. Weaving their fingers together and holding Alex’s hands hostage above his head.

‘Food?’ Alex chuckles up at him.

‘No, baby. Not food.’ The look in Michael’s eyes has turned suddenly serious. He’s staring down at Alex, demanding that he not look away. Alex doesn’t, but the humor still lingers in the crinkles around his eyes. ‘I was going to wait until tonight, but I don’t want to anymore.’

Tonight. They and all their friends have plans to drive up into the mountains to watch the lunar eclipse. Camping out beneath the stars in the way that only summer allows.

Alex’s humor has shifted to confusion. A hint of concern.

Michael leans down, nuzzling their noses together. His mouth hovering just over Alex’s, their breath mingling. Eyes in constant contact. ‘Marry me.’

Several emotions cross Alex’s face. His forehead creases. A short exhale of breath. A flush in his cheeks. ‘What?’ He sits up, pushing Michael along with him. ‘Are you serious?’

Michael hugs Alex’s hips with his thighs. Runs his hands up his arms, pauses briefly to squeeze his shoulders, and then settles them on Alex’s neck. His thumbs reach up to caress his jawline. ‘I’ve never been more serious.’

It’s the kind of moment you want to remember forever. And then Alex dissolves into giggles. Again. And all Michael can do is watch, a bit dismayed at the unexpected reaction.

But when he feels Michael start to pull away, Alex wraps his arms firmly around Michael’s waist. Presses his ear to his chest and listens to his heartbeat. ‘I love you. And I’d marry you every day for the rest of my life if that was a reasonable thing people did.’ He smiles up at Michael. ‘So, yes. Yes, yes, yes.’ He punctuates each yes with a kiss.

And then his stomach growls. This time it’s Michael who laughs. He untangles himself from Alex and heads towards the kitchen. ‘Any special requests?’

-

Andy is speaking, setting the plan up almost immediately, telling them where they need to go, reminding him of Munich '85, but most of Nicky's attention is stuck down the hall where Joe still hasn't made his appearance.

"Nicky," Andy's voice snaps him back to attention, and he turns to look at her. "You with me?"

She's breathing heavily, and there is a still healing scar cutting through one of her eye brows, and blood splattered across her cheek, but her eyes are clear and focused and he can see that she needs him with her one hundred percent.

"Always," he says, nodding his head once and then heading down the hall, the opposite way that Joe should've already ran down, and heads towards the elevator.

He'll take care of the group downstairs so that they have a clear line of escape once Nile and Andy set up the explosives in the lab while also making sure that there aren't any more civilians inside of the building.

They'd done a sweep before, but it never hurt to be thorough, especially when their plan was likely to collapse the already unstable building.

When he presses for the elevator he can tell that it's going to take too long, and opts for the stairs, taking them down two at a time, and very nearly face planting after the last landing.

He manages to stay on his feet, and keep a hold of his gun, which is useful since he walks out of the door and right into a group of eight soldiers.

Nicky doesn't give them the time to react before he's moving.

He gets two shots off, killing two of them instantly, and then uses the butt of the gun to knock another one down as they get too close to him.

He turns the gun around and shoots another in the head. The soldier goes flying backwards into his teammate behind him and Nicky pulls out a khanjar that Joe had gifted to him decades ago, the blade deadly and sharp and hooked, and he turns, keeping his finger right on the trigger, and slashes the soldier coming up behind him across the throat, pushing his gun down and to the side, to avoid the spray of bullets and from the pained grunt Nicky hears, catching at least one of the soldiers as he goes down.

Nicky moves forward, and goes down with the man he just stabbed, and then rolls and slashes another guard around the ankles, lifting the gun to shoot at the two coming at him from the left, catching one bullet right on his shoulder and another one in the thigh.

He grunts through the pain, gritting his teeth, and moves the dagger so that the blade is pressed along his palm and the inside of his wrist, and he grabs the rifle from the dead soldier at his feet and hits the closest soldier in the face with it before he shoots him, managing to get a few shots off before the rifle clicks on empty.

He tosses it aside and runs at the two still standing.

He throws himself at the nearest one, stabbing him in the throat and turning to use him as a shield as the other soldier empties the rest of his gun.

The rifle clicks on empty and Nicky sidesteps the falling soldier, and shoots him while he's still trying to reload.

He turns to the side to see if he missed any, and finds one soldier, getting to his feet, clutching his rifle and aiming at Nicky, gritting his teeth in determination.

Nicky lifts his hand and presses down on the trigger and his gun clicks on empty, and he knows that he won't be able to throw his dagger before the soldier gets a shot off.

Nicky breathes in deeply, preparing himself for the inevitability of getting shot and killed at least once, wishing that he hadn't left his sword behind, when the elevator dings, right as the sound of a gun goes off.

There is the horrible wet sound of someone getting shot in the head, and then silence.

Nicky feels lost for two seconds until he turns and there is Joe, holding a gun in his hand, a smirk on his bloody face.

He opens his mouth to speak, but Nicky can already hear the fifty-two inappropriate comments that he would be making right now, and moves, dropping his gun on the floor, and gets to Joe before he even manages to inhale properly.

Nicky fists his hands in Joe's too red shirt, and pushes backwards until Joe hits the wall and leans heavily against him, dragging their mouths together into a messy kiss, telling him without words that he had been worried, and was so happy, so relieved that Joe was okay.

There is always a small part of him that holds onto the hope that if Joe's time is up he'll know, he'll be able to feel it, so it never worries, knowing that Joe will be safe.

But there is a much bigger part that is terrified that something will happen, and he'll go on, not realizing that it was time until it's too late.

He hears the clatter as Joe drops his gun to the floor in favor of dragging his fingers into Nicky's hair, making a restless sound when he feels how wet Nicky's hair is with blood, and deepens the kiss, keeping Nicky close and biting against his mouth insistently.

Nicky feels the relief give way to heat, pooling low in his belly, and he knows that they should stop, that this isn't really the right place to do this, and then Joe licks into his mouth, dragging his tongue against Nicky's, and all of Nicky's higher brain functions go off line.

He leans heavier against Joe, who slots their legs together, hitching one knee up by Nicky's thigh.

Nicky hears noise filtering in from outside of the bubble he and Joe are wrapped in, and they're Andy-like and Nile-like, which doesn't fill him up with alarm or danger, so he ignores them in favor of dropping one hand down to Joe's thigh and hitching his leg up over his hip.

"Is now really the best time?" Nile says, and there is a low exploding sound and then the building starts to rumble. "The building is about to go down."

Nicky eases away from the kiss, and turns to Nile to see her halfway to the door, Andy holding the door open and giving them exasperated looks.

Nicky looks back to Joe who doesn't look that concerned about the impending building collapse, and presses one more kiss to his mouth.

"Come on," he says, as another explosion goes off and the ceiling starts cracking and falling, dust starting to rain down.

He moves to pull away from Joe, and Joe just pulls him back in for another quick kiss, before he's pushing him back and grabbing his hand.

Nicky shakes his head, and slots their fingers together, running towards the exit.

They manage to get far away in time before the building collapses and the dust fills the air, bringing out spectators and emergency services.

Andy goes to find a car while Nile leans back against the stone wall of a shop front, catching her breath.

Joe uses his hold on Nicky's hand to tug him in close and then crowd him back against the wall, right next to Nile, who makes a noise like she doesn't get paid enough to deal with them, as Joe leans in close.

"We made it," he says, grinning wide. "Victory kiss?"

Based on the beautiful words prompt:

Naz (Urdu)

- assurance/pride in knowing that the other’s love is unconditional and unshakable.

I can’t find the original request, but I think @britrnm asked for this one.  Please let me know if I am wrong.  Also, this is way fluffier than the beginning will lead you to believe.

Title from U2′s “Magnifient”

Only Love Can Leave Such a Mark on AO3

This isn’t how Michael imagined it, straddling Alex’s lap in the back of Isobel’s car while he keeps pressure on the gunshot wound in Alex’s shoulder, and she speeds them toward the hospital.

Isobel swerves hard to the left, and Michael catches the way Alex winces.  “You wanna be a little more careful up there,” he yells to her.

“Just trying to make sure your boyfriend doesn’t bleed out in my car.  Thank God I went for leather seats,” Isobel responds with forced levity.

“The bullet went straight through, it’s basically just a flesh wound,” Alex reminds them for what Michael thinks has to be the fifth time.  “Kyle will have it taken care of in a few minutes.”