PB Fic: A Monopoly on the Truth

[out_there]

Title: A Monopoly on the Truth
Fandom: Prison Break
Pairing: Michael/Sara, Michael/Alex
Rating: PG
Notes: Title from Something For Kate's song, "Whatever You Want". I blame isagel, sdwolfpup and aurora_84 for making me think about why I think an open relationship/roughly understood threesome should be canon for these three. Unbeta'd so all errors are mine.

Summary: Michael doesn't know what he's doing but Sara knows it, and Alex knows it. If he has to feel his way through this on faith, Michael can't think of two people he trusts more.


Michael's always understood the distinction between the truth and what people need to know. Even as a kid, back when Linc first got out of juvie -- when Linc sat him down and said, "Mike, whatever happens, you can tell me the truth. You know that, right?" -- Michael had known to agree, nod, and keep certain details to himself. There was no point telling the truth if it didn't make a difference to anyone. There was nothing Linc could do, nothing Linc could change, so he didn't need to know.

Linc is probably the one person who knows him best in the entire world, but there are still things Michael doesn't tell him.

He doesn't tell Linc about Alex. How the corners of Alex's fingernails caught his skin, scratching thin white lines along his arms. Alex's open mouth sliding down the inked lines of his back. The heat of Alex's palms, the damp temptation of Alex's breath against his lips.

Linc doesn't need to deal with it, so Michael doesn't tell him.

***

It's something Sara should know, so Michael tells her. Not the details -- not the way Alex talks nonsense, voice soft and low, breath catching when Michael uses teeth -- but he tells her. In the cramped cabin of the yacht, he says, "I thought you were dead. I thought I'd got you killed and while I was in Sona, there were... I did things."

Sara nods and a strand of hair falls loose from behind her ear. "Do you want to tell me?" she asks carefully, feeling her way around the subject.

"I think I should. I think..." Michael looks out, but all he can see through the glass is warehouse walls. "I don't think it changes anything but you should know."

"Okay," she says, and waits for him.

Michael gets as far as "Alex and I…" before his certainty and his courage deserts him.

"Oh," Sara says, grimacing, and then, "I kind of guessed."

"You did?"

Sara shrugs, catches chocolate-dark hair in her fingers, twists it nervously as she looks away. "I thought something had happened. Wasn't sure if I was imagining it or not, but if something hadn't happened, I thought... something might."

Michael wants to ask what this means, if this changes everything, but instead he says, "We slept together. It was only a couple of times and I thought you were dead. I wasn't sure if we were going to make it out and all Alex cared about was seeing his son again, and--"

"It's okay," Sara says simply and her eyes are kind.

Michael stares at her. He wants what he always wants from her: absolution, forgiveness, acceptance. Time and time again, she gives this to him as if it's as easy as walking, as if loving him is so simple and natural she could do it in her sleep, but every time it takes him by surprise.

She catches his hands in hers, presses a kiss to the back of one and then the other. "It's weird, I know. But… Weird isn't bad. I think it'll be okay."

"You're sure?" Michael asks, disbelief bleeding into his tone.

"If I can handle you being married to a Russian stripper--"

"Czech," Michael corrects absently, feeling stunned.

Sara smiles, nearly laughs. "If I can handle a Czech stripper, I can handle you sleeping with Alex Mahone."

One tug, and he pulls her to him. Sliding hands around her narrow shoulders, Michael kisses her temple, her cheek, the curved edge of her smile. He pulls back when her phrasing hits him. "It's not sleeping, it's slept with. In the past. It's not-- I wouldn't even-- I wouldn't consider--"

Her lips are soft and sudden on his, reassuring and gone faster than he'd like. "I'm just saying," she says, thumb brushing the side of his neck, "if something happens, I think I'd be okay with it. I think... I think we'd still be here together, you and me, and I think we'd be okay."

***

Sara blurs his boundaries, makes him capable of exceeding his own plans. She makes Michael question his decisions, leaves him unsure of his own limits. It's wonderful, if a little terrifying, how cleanly Sara can cut through his assumptions.

He's left debating whether or not he should tell Alex, not knowing if he wants this gift of trust, if he'd be abusing it or not. He doesn't know how to act so he errs on the side of caution, avoids the subject completely.

It's Alex who approaches him, who finds him standing on the warehouse roof, looking out across the water. "I had a very interesting conversation with Sara this morning," Alex offers as an opening gambit.

Michael shrugs. Ignores the tightness in his throat.

"You didn't have to free me," Alex says, and Michael doesn't know which time they're talking about. Although the fact that he's done it more than once, Michael knows that means something.

Michael buries his hands in his pockets, holds his ground. "I can't lose Sara."

"Tell me something I didn't know." When Michael looks sideways, Alex isn't watching him. He's watching the boats in the distance, the watery horizon stretching out. Alex smiles, as if he knows Michael's searching for clues. "I mean it, Michael. Tell me something I don't know about you."

"I prefer a latte to espresso?"

"Knew that." Alex grins at him for a moment. "I talked to your local Starbucks. Want to try again?"

"I'm not sure what I'm doing here. Not Self and the Company, but you and Sara. I'm not..." Michael shrugs. Drops his gaze to his sneakers and wriggles his toes. "People and relationships... This stuff isn't exactly my speciality."

"Really think I didn't know that?"

Strangely, that makes it okay. Michael doesn't know what he's doing but Sara knows it, and Alex knows it. Sara already has his heart and he'd put his life in Alex's hands without a moment of doubt. If he has to feel his way through this on faith, Michael can't think of two people he trusts more.

So he takes a breath and says, "When I was fifteen, Jason Beyer invited me to hang out with his friends at the arcade. I ended up in the back alley with him, making out until midnight. Linc nearly tore me a new one when I got home."

Cautiously, Michael adds, "I never told Linc what happened, how I lost track of time."

When he looks over, Alex is watching him, face open with surprise.

"Now that," Alex says with a soft smile Michael hasn't seen before, "is something I didn't know."

Comments

[cageyklio.livejournal.com]

but there’s nothing shows through the glass but warehouse walls

but nothing shows through the glass except warehouse walls

“I prefer a latte to espresso?”

Teehee!

[out-there.livejournal.com]

He's such a latte guy, you just know it.

but nothing shows through the glass except warehouse walls

thanks!

[isagel.livejournal.com]

Yes, and also YES. This is exactly it. You get across Michael's peculiar insecurity about relationships, and Sarah's certainty which balances it out, and then there's Alex, who simply leaves the door open, showing that he knows, that he knows Michael, and that it's okay. It's just the first tentative steps, but it's beautiful. I heart you quite a bit for writing this.

[out-there.livejournal.com]

*beams* I kept trying to explain inside my head why I thought the three of them would work together, and in the end, writing it was the easiest way to share my points. Michael may be brilliant and capable of exceeding everyone's expectations of possible and probable, he might be a mastermind of scheming and terrifically tuned in to others' emotional states to the point where he can manipulate people whenever he needs to, but when it comes to his own emotions, I don't think he really has a clue. Oh, yeah, he can figure out that he needs certain people near him, he *needs* to know they're safe, but deep down, I think he has trouble understanding what they see in him.

... or... hmmm. That's not quite it. I think... he sees himself in a role, defines himself by whichever role he plays in someone else's life, and is geniunely surprised when people (say, Sara or Alex) see him as who he is -- as more and less than the role he's played in the past -- and still want him.

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

Woooow. I have been a very hard sell on this threesome, even though I adore all three characters on their own, but somehow this version totally works for me. I think it's everyone being open, realizing the things they each bring to the table in their own way. My only real concern with this threesome is the Alex/Sara edge of the triangle; I'd need to really have that built up more personally to start actively 'shipping them, but you've planted a really good seed here for me.

Time and time again, she gives this to him as if it’s as easy as walking, as if loving him is so simple and natural she could do it in her sleep, but every time it takes him by surprise.

Oh I love this. Gorgeous. I also really loved the conversation at the water's edge, Alex wanting to learn something new about Michael.

[out-there.livejournal.com]

I'm answering these thoughts in opposite order. Just because I can. *g*

I also really loved the conversation at the water's edge, Alex wanting to learn something new about Michael.

I've had the truth angle of this story stewing in the back of my head for a while. The idea of Michael loving Linc absolutely but not telling him every truth, the (almost feminine, I must admit) idea of Michael using confidences as relationship currency, telling secrets he hasn't and wouldn't tell anyone else as a way of demonstrating his trust and affection. Ever since I started researching PB in a fannish way and remembered Veronica saying, "You two have the most dysfuntional idea of love I've ever seen. What, he beats you up to keep you off the streets, so you get yourself thrown into Fox River with him?" I've had an internal canon of Michael being way more bi than he appears, and able to keep secrets from everyone (without considering that he's doing anything wrong).

It's a lot of fun to have the truth as this gift that Michael gives to Sara and Alex. To both of them, he's more honest than he feels he can or should be with Linc. To both of them, he tells them something he's never verbalised to anyone else. And both Alex and Sara are smart enough, are observant enough, know Michael well enough to accept the gift as what it is: a sign of Michael's trust and affection.

I think it's everyone being open, realizing the things they each bring to the table in their own way. My only real concern with this threesome is the Alex/Sara edge of the triangle

I think both Alex and Sara can see Michael well enough to recognise that Michael needs them, needs both of them. I think they also know that Michael would never act on his need, would never turn his back on what he's promised Sara (if he'd known Alex first, fallen for him first, I think it would be the same with his attraction and feelings for Sara); I think they both recognise that Michael is perfectly willing to make himself miserable for someone else's happiness, that he would sacrifice himself because he can't prioritise himself over those he cares about. Michael needs permission and encouragement to be happy, he needs acceptance from both Sara and Alex before persuing this.

Strangely enough, in this threesome, it's Alex and Sara who are the equals, who band together to care for Michael, while Michael plans and protects everyone else. They're the two who could discuss the situation and find ways to make it work. But I don't think Sara/Alex would ever be a sexually-based pairing. I think they're drawn together by their love of Michael, by their shared history of addiction, by grief over their families and I think their bond would be mostly emotional. They would be each other's emotional support for all the times when Michael's...

...Michael's somewhat emotionally-challenged. He doesn't mean to be, and it's understandable, but dealing with someone so constantly focused, so outward-looking, so willing to love absolutely and utterly with very little concern for his own well-being? Every so often, that has to be draining. Every so often, you'd want someone who could react in a less emotionally-dysfunctional way. And for all that Alex has his obsessive tendencies, for all that he can wear blinders while accomplishing a task, he strikes me as emotionally aware and very grounded, able to empathise without being overwhelmed.

So, yeah, they kind of are my OT3 of this season. (Not that, y'know, I've put a lot of thought into how they'll deal with the eventual death of Wyatt and how much Alex would need the support of Michael and Sara. Not really.)

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

You're a rebel. *g*

Michael using confidences as relationship currency, telling secrets he hasn't and wouldn't tell anyone else as a way of demonstrating his trust and affection

And based on what we know of Michael in the show, that seems easily extrapolated from the canon. Admittedly, all of our knowledge of Michael (or rather, most of it) is him having to keep everything played very close to the vest. Stuck alone in Fox River, he's had to be careful about forming alliances and relationships with people, and ultimately they've all been engaged initially as based on need, never on want. He needed Sucre, and Sara, and Pope. He grew to like or love them all, but that wasn't his starting intention.

Which is kind of especially interesting when you consider his relationship with Alex. He never needed to be friends with Alex, he just needed to be cordial enough to him that Alex would do what he wanted, first in Sona, now in Los Angeles. (Also, something just occurred to me: can we talk about how monumentally stupid it is for all of the Scylla cardholders to live in LA? Whose dumbass idea was THAT? You spread them out all over the world precisely so this doesn't happen!) Anyway, uh, where was I? Right, friendship. I don't know that I'd say canonically Alex and Michael were ever friends in season 3; I'd say it's only been very, very recently you could point to it in season 4, and it's still not like his friendship with Sucre. They're really more partners, and that's been happening since late season 3.

It's just...it's interesting, the way Michael is with Alex. So different from anyone else he knows, even Sara.

Michael needs permission and encouragement to be happy, he needs acceptance from both Sara and Alex before persuing this

Yes, absolutely, which is why your take on this threesome works really well for me, because that's what you're addressing here. I think having a sexually-based Sara/Alex relationship would be extremely difficult. I could see it happening in terms of a sexual threesome, but I just have trouble getting there on their own.

Every so often, you'd want someone who could react in a less emotionally-dysfunctional way

Right! I adore Michael but, wow, he's an emotional juggling act sometimes. You'd have to always be careful to not be too upset around him, because he seems to take it all so personally. Given this, I'm going to go back on my earlier statement and say that I could buy Sara/Alex comfort sex. They don't love each other the same way, but I could see that need to be with someone not!Michael while not 'cheating' on Michael drawing them together. Because they're both involved with him, it would make it ok. And they'd let him know, too.

Not that, y'know, I've put a lot of thought into how they'll deal with the eventual death of Wyatt and how much Alex would need the support of Michael and Sara. Not really.

Nooo, not at all. Hee.

[out-there.livejournal.com]

(Also, something just occurred to me: can we talk about how monumentally stupid it is for all of the Scylla cardholders to live in LA? Whose dumbass idea was THAT? You spread them out all over the world precisely so this doesn't happen!)

Do they all live in LA? The vibe I got was that they all have houses and security in LA but don't necessarily live in LA full-time. They all seem to be jetsetting around the place, but were in LA for whatever big meeting it was.

Mind you, if you're going to carry out super-sekret conspiracies, maybe it's best not to have to rely on international phone calls every time you want to arrange something.

I adore Michael but, wow, he's an emotional juggling act sometimes. You'd have to always be careful to not be too upset around him, because he seems to take it all so personally. Given this, I'm going to go back on my earlier statement and say that I could buy Sara/Alex comfort sex. They don't love each other the same way, but I could see that need to be with someone not!Michael while not 'cheating' on Michael drawing them together. Because they're both involved with him, it would make it ok. And they'd let him know, too.

Exactly. That's it exactly.

[aurora]

Ooooooooh!! I love the balance you strike between Michael/Sara and Michael/Alex. I love the open-ness and I really love Michael being all confused, but trusting in Sara and Alex enough to go with it.

[out-there.livejournal.com]

*bounces* I had such trouble trying to explain why I thought these three should work, and sometimes forcing it out in fic just ... explains more, y'know?

I love the open-ness and I really love Michael being all confused, but trusting in Sara and Alex enough to go with it.

Michael doesn't strike me as someone particularly emotionally *aware*, you know? I mean, I'm a fan who totally buys the Michael/Sara onscreen, but to believe that's the only woman he's ever loved, you've got to assume that despite being financially secure, good-looking, in a good job and his own lovely apartment (seriously? That view alone would be worth a few dates), Michael genuinely feels so uncomfortable around other people that he doesn't let them near. He might be someone who's capable of using his looks/attractiveness to others to get a result, but he's not someone used to *feeling* for other people or dealing with them.

(Oh, PB, you are so full of damaged and dysfunctional people. And I love them all all the non-creepy ones.)

[aurora]

(Oh, PB, you are so full of damaged and dysfunctional people. And I love them all all the non-creepy ones.)
I knoow! They're the most fun to play with. \o/

[cageyklio.livejournal.com]

Ha! Saw an icon and thought of this. Check out #20:
http://community.livejournal.com/duskicons/12319.html#cutid1

[out-there.livejournal.com]

Bwah! Poor Alex and his Starbucks withdrawals!

[junalele.livejournal.com]

Oh, I quite like this. The Michael-Alex-part. The Sara-part - to me it just feels like the chemistry between Michael and Sara isn't quite there this season but what is with this weird writing. *shrugs helplessly*

[out-there.livejournal.com]

...I have a feeling that Sara/Michael is either a relationship that you believed in S1 (which I did) or one you never quite bought. So, depending on that, you might not adore the Michael/Sara vibe as much as I do. But as long as you enjoyed the Michael/Alex part, I'm happy.

[junalele.livejournal.com]

Hmm. You probably have a point. Though some of their scenes made me shiver. Mostly it's the writing of season 4, though. I just feel like they let many relationships just go. Also the one between Michael and Sucre. Oh well.

[sarkastic.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this! I've been trying to figure out ways for Michael/Alex/Sara to work, and I like this not-quite-threesome version of it.

[out-there.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that Alex/Michael/Sara really is my OT3 of this season, but it's not a traditional threesome in that all three sleep together. I think it's more Michael/Alex and Michael/Sara, because he's attracted to both of them and I think he's fallen for each of them, with a strong, caring Alex/Sara friendship on the side. Without Michael, I don't think Sara/Alex would hold much interest for each other, but I think they'd both balance Michael out. Together, they'd be a strong combination.

[cerebel.livejournal.com]

I love Michael/Alex/Sara, and this is pretty much exactly how I imagine the dynamic going. Michael's awkwardness, Sara's hesitation and acceptance, and Alex's point-blank "yeah, knew this already, so what?"

Fantastic job :)

[out-there.livejournal.com]

I'm a little amazed there's so much support for Michael/Alex/Sara. I mean, the combination makes total, utter sense to me, but it's seriously cool that so many other people agree.

Alex's point-blank "yeah, knew this already, so what?"

Because Alex is just that inherently cool.

[jolietjones.livejournal.com]

Oh I really liked this, well done! I'm always drawn to Michael/Alex fics anyway, but I have a secret yearning for more Sara/Alex and all three of them sounds just great to me. I read a fic once by rosie_spleen where Michael has disappeared somehow (forget the details) and Alex and Sara eventually end up together when it's all over and I thought they made a good match. I think I'm pretty much on my own with that one though, lol.

I like the way he doesn't know what he's doing, but that he trusts the other two.

This was fab. Thank you for sharing.

[out-there.livejournal.com]

I think I'm pretty much on my own with that one though, lol.

I don't know. I'm impressed with how many people responded to this story by confessing their love for Alex/Michael/Sara and various combinations of the three. It's very cool.

I like the way he doesn't know what he's doing, but that he trusts the other two.

I don't think Michael's particularly... comfortable with his own feelings. Intellectually, he may understand them but he's out of his element. Whereas both Sara and Alex seem to have more life experience, and I think it's like Michael for him to place his faith in them.

[vibishan.livejournal.com]

Oooh, this is gorgeous. So spare and subtle and loose-tooth-achy, simple, elegant strokes that make this beautiful picture.

Plus, it feels so *true*. I mean, I *routinely* give my fannish characters a pass, both as a reader and a writer, for doing things I don't actually see as IC for them, *only* in relation to canonical love interests/relationships. But this - DOES NOT NEED THAT. This is *exactly* how Michael would behave, his confession, his urge to correct Sara's tense, the way they let him be himself between them. So. So wonderful.

*loves on you*

[out-there.livejournal.com]

So spare and subtle and loose-tooth-achy, simple, elegant strokes that make this beautiful picture.

I love the phrase "loose-tooth-achy". That's really how this story feels: hopeful but cautious, like Michael himself.

his is *exactly* how Michael would behave, his confession, his urge to correct Sara's tense, the way they let him be himself between them.

Threesomes are one of those things I routinely roll my eyes at because for most characters, it just wouldn't work. Okay, yes, the sex or whatever is hot but in the long-run, I can't see the relationship working. This arrangement, on the other hand, I think would work because none of them are precisely normal (they're all brilliant and wonderful, but damaged in their own way) and they're all living under extreme conditions of stress right now -- to the extent where this type of understanding is emotionally logical for them.

[sol-se.livejournal.com]

Oh, I ADORE this!!! They're totally my OT3. I'm so happy to see more fic of them.

[out-there.livejournal.com]

*beams* Thanks. I'm surprised -- and thrilled -- at how many people liked this combination. These characters are very awesome.

[flurblewig.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness, yes. This is just so perfect. Michael needs both of them to balance him, and they would both see and understand that so much better than he does, heh. Sara has learned such strength, she *deals* with shit, and she would totally handle this situation with aplomb :-)

Great work!

[out-there.livejournal.com]

How did I not say thank you for this comment? I honestly don't know.

needs both of them to balance him, and they would both see and understand that so much better than he does, heh. Sara has learned such strength, she *deals* with shit, and she would totally handle this situation with aplomb

Sara's ability to deal with emotional things is truly inspiring, I have to say. And it's exactly what Michael -- and to a lesser extent Alex -- need to get this relationship off the ground: someone with the emotional strength and personal confidence to encourage and support this relationship without being personally threatened or hurt.

*hearts Sara*