time ; diego hargreeves

6 ; the party

"Please?" Maya asked, looking up at Alex with those big brown eyes. How could he say no to his favourite niece?

Alex huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at Maya. "I guess I'll come," he said. Maya's face lit up as she beamed at him, then she launched herself at him, putting her arms around his middle in a tight hug. He returned her hug in a gentler fashion.

Across from him, Mila and Roberto were amused at the scene playing out in front of them. Mila and Roberto were celebrating their wedding anniversary, and they were having a big party to go with the big event. Maya had been tasked with trying to get Alex to join them at the party; he had gotten sneakier when it came to avoiding parties.

He'd use his job and pick the hours that would just clash with the parties Mila and the others would set up. Alex could recall how Isaias and Joaquin had tried to find out when Alex's birthday was, just so that they could have a party and get shitfaced. Alex had managed to avoid that party, and Mila hadn't been pleased that the birthday boy had missed his own party.

"We should just use Maya all the time whenever we want Alex to be somewhere. See, there's a reason having kids is a good idea," Roberto said, and Mila elbowed him in the ribs, unimpressed with the man she called her husband.

"You're both awful," Alex pointed out. They were his closest friends in the time they were stuck in, but they knew how to manipulate him just enough to go along with what they wanted. Sometimes.

Alex didn't like parties, had never been fond of them. They weren't his thing, and he thought that that was alright. Apart from his sixties friends, who thought that was a bigger crime than the hate crime they dealt with on a regular basis. Alex often wondered if he had befriended a load of complete psychopaths, the amount of gushing over parties they did, how they would retaliate to hate crime.

He could let that last one slide; he hated hate crime as much as them, and couldn't sit by and let it go unnoticed. He'd gotten into trouble with the law a handful of times already, just because he spoke out against the hate.

"You love us anyway, Alejandro. Besides, when was the last time you lived?"

Alex thought there was a certain irony to that question.

🗡️☂️🔥

Alex was sat in his apartment. He had the day off and was getting ready for the anniversary party. He thought about his friends, of Diego and his crazy family. It had been two long years since he had last seen them. He was firmly stuck in nineteen-sixty-one. Music was crazy, and the Beatles had only been around for around four years, hadn't been so active until last year. Yellow Submarine hadn't even come out yet; he had to wait another five years before that one came out.

At least he could listen to some Elvis songs, like Blue Suede Shoes and Hound Dog. He was sure Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis would come out later in the year he was currently stuck in, maybe near the end of the year. He had to wait to hear the song that would remind him of Diego so much because he really couldn't help falling in love with that man.

Alex paused, sitting on his bed, mind warped with faded memories of Diego. He didn't have a picture of Diego on hand, and he knew he was starting to forget certain aspects of his appearance, the picture in his mind never fully accurate anymore. Alex was terrified of the day when he'd forget what Diego sounded like. He didn't want to forget his voice. He didn't want to forget Diego, the parts of him that he'd fallen in love with.

"Can't cry before a party. Just get through the night, and then you can mope around and cry about him later," Alex said to himself. He wiped at his face, composing himself before he finished getting ready for the stupid party he was now less than motivated to go to. It was just one night, and it wouldn't matter in the long run. It would just be for appearances, to appease Mila and Roberto. He truly did care about them and saw them as close friends, but the constant parties were ... a little bit much for Alex.