Work Text
Each timeline that was altered was observed by some force outside of it and an insider who saw some of the changes. For the most part, the observers ended up being either Martin "Marty" McFly or "Doc" Emmett Brown. The first timeline was not observed by either. The first timeline in Hill Valley was inhabited by "Doc" Emmett Brown but also by Martin Seamus McFly who preferred to use his middle name. This Martin McFly-- Seamus-- was born earlier to the same parents. In "future" iterations, a knock at the front door prevented Seamus from being conceived and Marty came along a few months later. Seamus graduated high school in the spring of 1985 by the skin of his teeth. He was smart enough but uninterested in school. He read the science fiction stories that his father wrote in his off hours and gave him feedback. He read every science fiction book, watched every movie that he could get his hands on. He worked odd jobs for Doc Brown whose life seemed to just be an extension of that.Seamus had never fit in and never wanted to. He wasn't like the people of Hill Valley. He needed to find a way out of that town, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the nest of his parents' home nor the space he'd carved out for himself in Doc Brown's garage. He came and went as he pleased. He had a bicycle, but no car. No one particularly cared how late he was out or who he was with. He was never really with anyone. He didn't trust anyone but Emmett. Emmett liked that more than he should. One October day, Seamus was tangled up in his jacket and the blanket of his bed off in the corner of Doc Brown's garage. Emmett needed his friend to be awake so he could bounce ideas off of him. He smelled of cigarette smoke but no alcohol. That was a small mercy, at least. Emmett had managed to skip the morning to test his time machine. It was working. He was onto something real."Seamus.... Seamus... Martin..."Seamus groaned. "I'm up, I'm up." He disentangled himself and moved to sit up. As he straightened himself up, he picked up a crumpled cigarette pack from the bed. "Damn it," he said under his breath."Those will stunt your growth," Emmett warned him.Seamus ran his other hand through his hair and stood up. He looked Emmett in the eye. "I'm eighteen and six foot. I think my growth can stand to be stunted." He had his father's height and his mother's backbone, everyone had always said."Well, you're not smoking in here, anyway," Emmett said, not backing down. He couldn't keep looking at this young man like that."I know, Doc, I know." Seamus sat back down on the bed with a thump. "Where've you been all day?""It's well into the afternoon, Seamus. Are you going to be late for..." Emmett trailed off, trying to find something that Seamus was supposed to be doing."Graduation was like five months ago," Seamus said. "Far as my parents are concerned, I work for you. Far as I'm concerned, I work for you. What d'ya got for me, Doc?""There's a side project that I have to take care of on my own.""What kind of side project?" Seamus said, immediately bitter and possessive. Emmett tried very carefully to phrase it in a way that would not spook his young friend. "Some work I'm completing for some--""Some freelance mad scientist shit?" Seamus said. "I'm not letting you go without backup.""You're backup?" Emmett said, looking the young man up and down. "I'm something," Seamus said, jumping back to his feet and pulling himself to his full height. His piercing blue eyes did just that."You're something else," Emmett said, shaking his heead. "I'm not some doddering old fool, I don't need a minder.""Of course you don't, doc. But what would I do if something happened to you?" Seamus said."I won't let it come to that." Emmett paused. It was as good of a time as any to pour salt on the old wound. "You're still looking for college programs for the spring?""It's my gap year," Seamus said. "All the kids are doing it." "Seamus," Emmett chided him. "You know what's going on at home right now? My parents have their thirtieth anniversary coming up," Seamus said. "From when they started dating, in high school. Nothing's changed for them in that whole time. They've got three adult kids, all of us live at home. That's the only difference from who they were and who they are now. They have roommates who look like them. I can't live like that." He moved to grab one of the cigarettes. Emmett stared at him. "Sorry.""You need to make the right choices then," Emmett said. He could feel his throat getting tight. "Don't tie yourself down to some adolescent romance..""Nothing adolescent or existent about my love life," Seamus promised him."Good, good," Emmett said, only mildly distracted. He was mentally running through the checklist of what he needed to do to produce a semblance of what his Libyan clients thought they were getting."Doc... I've been meaning to talk to you." Seamus said, looking down at the cigarette pack again. "It's about that, kind of.""Yes?" Emmett said. If he wasn't careful, he might actually deliver something workable to them. He wasn't used to deliberate self-sabotage no matter what anyone might think. "I think... I think I'm..." Seamus crushed the pack in his hands. "I think I'm going to quit smoking.""Good!" Emmett clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "I need to get some things ready for our clients tonight.""Right, right," Seamus said.For the rest of the afternoon, Seamus was pacing around the garage, talking to himself. He was practicing a speech that he could not get to come out right. Emmett didn't want to eavesdrop, really, just give his friend some pointers. The fact that the speech seemed to be designed for him made it all the much worse."Doc, I'm gay," Seamus said, looking down at the floor. He frowned, apparently not liking that. Emmett wouldn't have reacted badly to his friend's confession. It was something that they had in common, after all. "Emmett, I'm a homosexual," he told the wall, wringing his hands. The imagined response to that was apparently even worse."Doc, how did you know that you--" Seamus started, immediately cutting himself with, "nope, nope, that is not how this is gonna go." Emmett was intrigued how that was supposed to go in the first place."Hey, Doc, I can blow smoke rings and I'm hoping this talent somehow translates to sucking cock!" Seamus delivered this so loudly and so earnestly that Emmett couldn't help but laugh. It was the worst pick-up line that Emmett had ever heard. Seamus froze and turned to him. "Hey, Doc," he said. All the blood drained out of his face.Emmett racked his brain for something to say. "I'm meeting with the clients tonight if you want to come with.""Yeah, that'd be great," Seamus said."We're delivering their product and receiving our payment," Emmett said. The words "bomb" and "plutonium" were as far away from his mind as he could post them."That would be incredibly normal if you didn't say it like that," Seamus said."Since when are we incredibly normal?" Emmett asked. Seamus chuckled. "Fair enough.""We're just about ready to go," Emmett said. "You want to get something to eat first?""Burgers on you?""Of course," Emmett said. Seamus's answering smile was a thing of beauty.Dinner was easy enough, cheap fast food burgers and fries that Seamus stole from Emmett. Neither of them joked about Seamus being a growing boy. He was a man, if a young and oddly sheltered one. It wasn't a date, Emmett had to tell himself. He wasn't sure where exactly the thought had come from. They relied on one another, depended on each other for a thousand small things. They were a partnership, albeit a very odd one. It was still a mentorship and there were still rules that Emmett wanted to follow.He never wanted to take advantage of Seamus and his trusting nature. He knew that many people outside of their little bubble assumed that he already had. He didn't know what Seamus's family thought of the arrangement, what they even knew of it. He knew that Seamus didn't look at him like a starry-eyed pupil. The younger man saw him as a friend, a colleague, an interesting person to be around. There was no reason that all of that would translate into physical attraction. Seamus was a good looking young man. If he was homosexual, which seemed to be the case, Hill Valley might be difficult for him, but he could still find someone his own age there or elsewhere.Emmett couldn't get any younger, but he could pause his own aging by skipping forward in time. He had no guarantee that Seamus would still want him if he really did now. He could go forward, then back if it didn't pan out. He could manipulate the timeline just to seduce his friend. It wasn't a good plan, but it was a plan. "You're quiet," Seamus said."Distracted," Emmett said. "We'd better get going." "So, okay Doc. What are we delivering?" Seamus asked as they headed out to the rendezvous point."Nothing much," Emmett said, keeping an eye out for his connection."What are we picking up?" Seamus pushed."Crucial materials," Emmett said. "So, we're making out like bandits?"Emmett flushed at the phrasing. "Best not to think of it that way until our business is done.""I got a bad feeling about this, Doc," Seamus said."That's one of the things I like about you, Seamus. You've got good instincts." "I like that about you too, Doc," Seamus said.Emmett allowed himself a moment to bask in the praise."You're an evil mad scientist," Seamus said."Properly evil scientists have sexy young henchmen around the place. I suppose I have that going for me." Emmett considered carefully. "I knew I was a homosexual before I knew I wanted to be a scientist. Both have always just seemed like the way it should be.""You're not..." Seamus stared at him. "You're shitting me.""Shh, our clients are here. They might not appreciate this."Seamus grumbled as Emmett go out of the vehicle. He watched intently as items and words were exchanged."Pedal to the metal, Seamus," Emmett said as he buckled his seatbelt."What's in the case?""Which one?" Emmett said. "Either! Both!""Best not to think about it," Emmett said, flooring it to get back home."Who the fuck were those guys, Doc?""Clients," Emmett said, taking a curve a little too sharply. That killed conversation. They didn't talk about it until they were back at Emmett's."Tomorrow morning, we're going to start the final phase of the time machine.""Final phase?" Seamus said. "You've been hiding it from me?""Yes.""Fine," Seamus said."Tonight, we're going to talk.""Not fine," Seamus said. "I can't deal with anything else heavy tonight, Doc.""You didn't actually confess that you're a homosexual to me." "I feel like we're having a few conversations at once, Doc," Seamus said."When you were practicing your declaration of homosexuality--" Emmett said in a rush."Doc, you're killing me," Seamus said."It sounded as though you had a specific reason for doing so.""Yeah, I'm throwing myself at the feet of an evil mad scientist," Seamus said."If I were really evil, I'd let you.""I'm in love with you," Seamus said, completely deadpan. "I saved my notebooks from school just so I could write 'Seamus Brown' over and over with a little heart for the 'o.'"Emmett could feel his face fall. It was nothing but a joke to Seamus. "Glad we have this taken care of," Emmett managed to say. He was nothing but an old fool, worrying over nothing.. "Christ, Doc, I don't..." Seamus walked over to him. The younger man put his hands on the older man's shoulders. It forced the old man to look at him. "I think I'm in love with you.""So you said," Emmett sniffed. He wasn't going to cry about it."Doc," Seamus said. "Emmett.""Seamus, I need to focus on the time machine and I can't risk...""I'll help you," Seamus said. "I'll always help you." "What would you do right now if I let you?" Emmett asked, meeting Seamus's eye.Seamus whimpered. Emmett could see the eyes flitting behind Seamus's blue, blue eyes. Whatever erotic imagination the young man had was being focused on this one target. "Just give me a chance," he managed to plead. He was on the verge of outright begging. It shouldn't have been appealing.Emmett threw his hands in the air, knocking Seamus's hands away. "A distraction." Seamus reached for him again, pulled him in close and kissed him. It was chaste and quick, a kiss that was an experimental proof of concept.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Seamus perched on a stool, eating potato chips straight from the bag. "Doc, I still don't understand.""Mm," Doc said, a hum of acknowledgement that Seamus had spoken and nothing more.He wanted to run out, get some cigarettes, smoke half of the cigarettes, and try to kiss Doc again. There were several flaws to the plan. For one, he didn't think Doc wanted to kiss an ashtray. For two, he didn't think that Doc wanted to kiss him again. He'd been presented with the opportunity and took it. That was going to be his only chance."Sure I'm not too much of a distraction?""Physically, yes. I am able to make the adjustments that I need to make." Doc paused. He didn't look at Seamus. "Mentally and emotionally, I am barely able to function."Seamus let the potato chips fall to the floor as he got up to walk over to Doc. "Christ, Doc, I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I never meant to...""What's done is done," Doc chuckled. "Maybe not for much longer.""You really don't love me back..." Seamus said. He wasn't going to cry about it. There was nothing to cry about. His feelings? Not a big deal. Completely changeable."Hm?" Doc said. Of course he wasn't listening. He had real things to be worrying about. Seamus wasn't real like that."I'm sorry I kissed you," Seamus said. He almost meant it."I accept your apology," Doc said so magnanimously that it was all that Seamus could do to stop himself from kissing the words out of his mouth. "That was impulsive and poorly timed."Seamus mumbled something go through effect of "there was never going to be a good time."Doc took pity on him, "Of course I love you back."Seamus could nearly hear a record scratch. What he did near was the beating of his heart. He could feel his blood in his throat. "Wait, seriously?""Seamus--" Doc said, immediately trying to walk back what he said. "Seriously?" Seamus said. His voice didn't quite crack, which was good as he was a responsible adult. "Being in love is doing nothing for your vocabulary," Doc said with a knowing smile and an understanding shake of his head.That was the worst. The absolute worst response was just to be dismissed so easily. Seamus's feelings didn't matter, Doc's feelings didn't matter, they loved each other and nothing was going to be done about it. "Doc," he said. He hated how he sounded. "Listen. I'm going to need your help after midnight. Why don't you go home, change your clothes, let your parents know you're alive?""And I should do that because I'm a disheveled distraction.""Sure, why not?" Doc waved him off. Seamus went home and showered a day's worth of sweat, maybe more. He changed into clean enough jeans and a fresh white T-shirt. Properly clad, he immediately started going through his father's paperbacks. His father watched him on his mission. George let him go on for a while before joining in. "Martin. Whatcha looking for?""Was Asimov the one who wrote about the guy stepping on the butterfly?" Seamus said, eyes not leaving the spines of the books. George lit up. "No, that was Bradbury actually. I know it seems like harder science in that one, but it's actually pretty soft.""Soft because he didn't show his work?" Seamus asked. He knew full well the difference between hard and soft science fiction. Hard science fiction was about the physics and chemistry and all the things that Doc Brown focused on. Soft science fiction was about the psychology and personalities that went into it. The difference really wasn't there. "Exactly!" George said. This was a go-to problem of his. He thought that he wrote hard science fiction, but he didn't have the mathematics to back it up. Seamus would never voice this criticism to his father because he liked having a somewhat harmonious home life. Seamus tried to figure out the best approach to explain himself. "I'm showing a friend everything that I can on science fiction, on the little ways you can change the past. And not how aliens or people from the future do it. How we would, here and now, if we had access to the right kind of technology."George snickered. "What's ole Doc Brown up to now?"Seamus did his best to roll his eyes and shrug it off. "See, that is exactly why I'm looking for this kind of over-the-top fiction...""Bradbury is over the top?" George frowned. That was close to fighting words."No, I mean, like... time travel, y'know? It's not real.""So, you're looking for the little changes," George said, starting to catch onto the game. "H.G. Wells is out of the question?""Yeah, and Heinlein almost seems too big. 'Time Enough for Love' with that whole bit in Kansas City kinda seems like it's where it's at, but..."George gave his nervous chuckle. "Is your friend really ready for Lazarus Long?" "Definitely not," Seamus said with a snort that was a little too much like his father. "Trying just to focus on the time travel effects not the whole free love bit.""Don't want to give the wrong impression," George said, tapping the side of his nose. Seamus kind of shrugged, unsure what the wrong impression would be. Heinlein definitely would endorse an older man and his assistant. His male assistant might've been a harder sell, but it was buried in there if you really looked for it. Seamus was used to looking for it. "There's that new one from Heinlein, 'The Cat Who Walks Through Walls' where cannibalism is replaced with those ready-to-eat meals.""Heavy," Seamus said. "Kind of a cop out to walk it back like that, though.""Y'know, Clarke has that short story that's kind of like Bradbury's. 'Time's Arrow,' it's called. It's in one of these, I think.""Travel back to the time of dinosaurs?" Seamus said. "That's kind of what I'm going for but I'm not sure...""Yeah!" George said, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet. He was bonding with his youngest son over his main interest. Seamus grabbed his backpack and shoved the books in. He clapped George on the shoulder. "Thanks, Dad." George just beamed, even as Seamus rushed out of the house to bicycle to the mad scientist's place in the dark. It hardly seemed to occur to George to be concerned about anything but the pages of the worn books.When Seamus re-entered the garage, Doc Brown was dancing for joy. That or he had a bee down his shirt that was drawn to the garish flowers printed on it.Seamus nearly was able to ask what was going on when Doc Brown waltzed his way over, placed his hands on either side of Seamus's face, and kissed him quickly. It was a celebratory kiss, one that could have been delivered to any random person who came in off the street. Seamus let his backpack drop off his shoulder. He held Doc's face in his hands to returning the kiss. It wasn't enough; he pulled Doc closer to him, trying to make the kiss real. It had to mean something. It wasn't just about time travel. It wasn't just marking an achievement. Doc broke away, because it was about the achievement and not about Seamus's feelings. If Seamus's heart could break, it would. Conveniently, it had already broken when Doc called him a distraction so everything from that point was just gravy. "You can't distract me when this is done," Doc said.Seamus could feel his heart falling into his stomach, dragging his face down with it."Let me rephrase," Doc said, still cheerfully as before. "You won't be distracting because I'll be focusing on you.""Wha--" Seamus said, the final consonant escaping him. "We have a lot to do before we can discuss that," Doc said.He was stringing Seamus along to get him to help with the work. Seamus was almost certain of it. That had to be the case because otherwise Doc was saying that they would... that they could..."What do you need me to do?" Seamus said, mouth dry. "Record," Doc said. "Posterity will need to see how this experiment goes.""I'm your outside observer?" Seamus said. He was definitely not pouting. "You really need to accept these things," Doc chided him. "Part of a good partnership is embracing our complementary roles."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Emmett was no longer racing against the clock and now killing time until the conditions would be right to conduct the next test. Normally, he could tell his friend that and they'd work on something else together. Or just spend time together.It was ridiculous, but Emmett was missing Seamus even while the young man was right. He was busy pining over Emmett, who was also right there. It was a surprise that they fit in the room, with all the longing and pining and whatnot filling up the space. Emmett's heart broke to see Seamus sulking like he was. The young man was so sad for no reason whatsoever. Emmett was on the verge of a breakthrough, of decades of work finally coming to fruition. He'd had this on the back burner since before Seamus was a glint in his father's eye. Emmett's mind kept going back to the age difference. Seamus was a distraction, whether or not they were talking about it. Emmett was old enough to be Seamus's-- he cut the thought off there, repeatedly. Father, maybe, but Emmett knew Seamus's parents enough to know that he wasn't old enough to be either of their fathers. He was only too old, not far too old. It was just a normal level of May-December romance. Assuming they ever got around to the romance part. Emmett wholeheartedly intended on approaching the topic again. He could be patient, even if Seamus couldn't. He was used to waiting for what he wanted, for working for everything that he got. He'd had his own heart broken before and didn't want that to happen to Seamus. Never mind that simply being told "not now, not yet" was apparently the same thing as being told "never, ever" for Seamus. That was another distracting thought: what had Seamus ever been given before? How had his young heart already been broken, that all he expected was disappointment? Was that why he'd set his cap for Emmett, so he could get let down in advance?"Doc, what do you need me to do?" Seamus said. Seamus's unruly hair was falling over his face. Emmett brushed it away without realizing it. He'd given his hands permission to act on their own. Seamus's eyes kept darting between Emmett's own eyes and his mouth. The younger man was looking for something there, something he was trying to understand.He leaned in for a kiss. Seamus was nearly his height, he scarcely had to move. It was as easy as falling. His lips brushed against Seamus's.Emmett still had his hand on Seamus's face. "This is why I said it was a distraction," he said, disentangling himself. "Hate you," Seamus said."That seems unlikely," Emmett checked his watch, the clock, everything he could find. There was still time to kill. Emmett hated and loved that time in equal measure. "We have a couple of hours.""I can work with a couple of hours," Seamus sighed into a kiss, preventing Emmett from moving away.Once it was established that Emmett wasn't pulling away just yet, Seamus escalated. He kissed hungrily, frantically, with teeth and tongue and hands grabbing at Emmett. Emmett tried to calm him down. This was just a simple interlude, one of many. It wasn't the only time they'd get this chance. Even if it was, that didn't mean that they had to rush. If Emmett could spend a lifetime showing Seamus the benefits of being patient, then he would. Seamus relaxed, went a bit more pliable under Emmett's hands. He stopped trying to win the kiss like it was a fight. He'd already won; the kiss wasn't the battle, it was the celebration. Emmett kept a hold of Seamus and made sure Seamus held onto him in turn. He was worried that either of them might swoon. Seamus pulled back to catch his breath. "I'm not distracting you, am I?" he said, panting just a little."Not at all," Emmett said. He was proud of himself for not being the slightest bit breathless. "I know exactly what I'm doing.""You're not kidding." Seamus rested his forehead on the top of Emmett's shoulder. "You've been holding out on me.""Only way we can get anything done," Emmett said. He was vaguely annoyed by how true it was."You're telling me," Seamus said. He shifted just enough to start to kiss Emmett's neck."Seamus..." Emmett said. He couldn't bring himself to tell Seamus to stop, even as the younger man was working to move his collar out of the way. "God, Doc," Seamus said into his skin. He started to unbutton Emmett's shirt, just enough to move the fabric away from Emmett's neck. Emmett tried to tell himself that this was actually more discreet. If Seamus left any marks, they would be ones that were normally covered by his clothes. Modesty and respectability would still be maintained. Emmett's breath was coming a little harder. Standing seemed a little more difficult. He wrapped his arm around Seamus's waist. It could've been step one in separating the two of them. Or it could have been him securing Seamus in place. "Please," Seamus said. He didn't even know what he was asking for. "Anything," Emmett said, which was not exactly the same thing as getting clarification. It was more the antithesis of clarification. It was an ambiguous statement, leaving the next step to Seamus's considerable imagination. Seamus who had stopped moving. Emmett had worked with computer programs that would freeze and glitch and stop working. In that moment, that was Seamus. His code had hit a breaking point."Seamus?" Emmett said softly. A large part of him said it was just as well, that he did have other work that he could be doing. A larger still part of him told the first part to get stuffed. He was still holding him. "Too much?""No," Seamus said, proving that he was still responding to some kind of verbal stimuli."Too fast?" Emmett hazarded."Definitely not too fast," Seamus said. It was an entire sentence. Emmett was proud of them both. "Fuck, it's just... there's so much I want to do and I don't know how to do most of it or if you'd want to or if..." Seamus balled Emmett's shirt up in his fists. He put his head back down on Emmett's shoulder.Emmett patted Seamus's back. "Whatever you want, whatever you need," he promised."So selfless," Seamus said. He still seemed overwhelmed. He didn't know what to do now that he'd caught his target. "Hardly," Emmett said. Seamus laughed. He still seemed to be a little less than his usual self. He was a little too two-dimensional, a little flat somehow. "What can I do?"Seamus pulled away to wave his hands. "Why are we still standing here?""You're barely standing," Emmett said."That's my point." Seamus scuffed his foot on the floor to keep from swaying. "Let's go to bed," Emmett said."What, really?" Seamus said."Fine, the couch," Emmett said, offering a compromise. "I wasn't complaining!" Seamus said quickly. "We've got a long night ahead of us before we can go to bed," Emmett said. He grinned. "Baby, you can drive my car."Seamus tried to place the lyrics. "And maybe I'll love you," he said finally. He grinned back. He had no idea what Emmett was offering him, not yet.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The second half of the twentieth century was ticking away. The world was moving in millions of directions all at once. Emmett Brown found himself wanting to contribute something good to the world.Emmett was working on a machine to read minds. It looked something like a chandelier to wear on one's head, but that was just a byproduct of its mechanisms. Form followed function. He had almost gotten it right, almost found the way to transmit the thoughts from one person to another electrically.Having a second person on hand to test such a thing was mandatory. Finding the right person to use for a test was more difficult. Not for the first time, Emmett found himself wishing he had a lab assistant of some kind. Even if he couldn't test this contraption on them, at least they could help him arrange the test. There was a knock at the door. It was too much to hope for a gift wrapped lab assistant, but it seems a nice thought as he made his way to answer it. Emmett nearly didn't answer the door. The young man standing on Emmett's doorstep could best be described as lanky. He would be a perfect lab assistant, if only from an aesthetic standpoint.Emmett opened the door and waited for the young man to explain his presence. "Yes?" he said, in a parody of polite conversation."Oh my god, it's really you," the young man said. He had no hat, but managed to give the perception of respectfully taking it off and holding it in his hands. "Dr. Brown, if I could just have a minute of your time?""I gave at the office," Emmett said reflexively.The visitor blinked and smiled. "Dr. Brown, this is your office," he said, in a gentle and soothing tone that made Emmett want to slam the door shut and run."Who are you, young man?" Emmett said, resisting the urge to flee."My name is Seamus. I was referred to by a colleague who wishes to remain anonymous. He's working on a dangerous experiment.""What does that have to do with me?" Emmett said."He asked that I meet with you," Seamus said, not quite making eye contact as he said it. Emmett grudgingly let the man in. "You're a detective?""What?" the visitor said, nearly knocking over a lamp with his overly full backpack. "You said you're a shamus?" Emmett said. "Oh no, my name is Seamus," the young man stammered. "I was named after my great-great-grandfather.""Amazing how far back some people can trace their lineage," Emmett said abstractly. His family had only been "Brown" for a handful of decades. "What exactly is it that you need from me?""Help fixing a time machine," Seamus said. "Did you say building?" Emmett asked."No, I did not," Seamus said. "Look, I've got notes and… here, just look through this bag, take out whatever you want." Emmett rummaged through the battered books in the strange young man's even stranger backpack. It was an obvious ploy. He was trying to convince Emmett of something. The dates were from years, decades in the future. Some of the stories were old already, otherwise appeared to be salacious new works from authors who were just up-and-coming.Someone had dog-eared pages, stuck bits of paper in as bookmarks. Someone was looking for something. The common theme was clear. No fantastic tales of space travel or the like. It was all focused on time travel.Emmett was going to be the one to crack it. Or, at least, he was going to be known to the person who did. Seamus really was from the future. "I've read this one," Emmett said, holding up an unfamiliar anthology full of familiar stories. Seamus nodded so eagerly Emmett was half worried that his head might fall off. "I didn't know which of those you've already read. I wanted something to help me, something that I could show you. A lot of the good ones are from after this time. Sorry. I mean, you'll be living those years anyway, but...""Great Scott," Emmett said. The young man came closer. "This is perfect. Robert Heinlein's 'By His Bootstraps.' A man is working when he is interrupted by a mysterious stranger.""You know the story," Seamus said with an unmitigated amount of relief. "He was working on his thesis that time travel is impossible. Cute gimmick. Heinlein's good with those.""The stranger is 'Joe,' but he doesn't recognize himself," Seamus said excitedly. "He doesn't even like himself.""Are you me?" Emmett said. The young man's smile was downright predatory. He looked Emmett up and down, his eyes clearly cataloging every flaw. He still looked hungry despite it. "Do I look like it?""Bob didn't recognize himself in Heinlein's story," Emmett said. "Yeah, neither did Jane," Seamus said, waiting for some kind of reaction out of Emmett, some acknowledgement of a reference that Emmett couldn't place. Emmett frowned. "I haven't taken an instant dislike to you, which by Heinlein's logic means you're not me."Seamus grinned. "The other version, the time traveler couldn't stop himself from trying to seduce his younger self. Well, one iteration...""I can stop myself from seducing you," Emmett promised.It was only for a moment, but the young man's face fell. He looked genuinely put out by the idea that Emmett could resist his charms. His self-confidence alone was attractive. "This is the most convoluted honeypot trap I've ever heard of," Emmett said."Honeypot?" Seamus repeated.Emmett was too used to working alone; he scarcely noticed when he vocalized a thought. "Forget it, kid.""I'm not a kid," Seamus sulked."You're staring," Emmett told his mysterious young visitor. It was doubtful that the young man was there on some kind of witch hunt, but one couldn't be too paranoid. "You're tall," the lanky young man said.Emmett stared at him, brown eyes meeting blue for a long moment. "How old are you?""Eighteen," Seamus said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why?""Because you're tall enough yourself," Emmett said. "I was wondering how recent of a development it was."Seamus gave a huff that was almost a laugh. "You're taller than… than I expected. Better posture."Emmett huffed a laugh. "Better hair?""Now that you mention it." Seamus's smile was nearly blinding. "You're younger than I thought you'd be.""I'm thirty-five.""That's younger. I thought you'd be in your forties or something. My boss wasn't too clear about that. I knew you were gonna be...younger. I didn't know how much." Emmett put the books down. "So, you need help repairing your time machine.""Yeah, Doc," Seamus said. "You're my only hope to get home."Emmett stopped himself from critiquing Seamus's "damsel in distress" routine. A young man like him would do better projecting the kind of rugged masculinity that was all the rage in mid-century California. There was something so unguarded in his manner. "Let me review the non-fiction notes here," Emmett said. "Fictional ones might be more helpful," Seamus said. "There's more of them, for one."Emmett scoffed and waved off the very notion. "Who wrote these?" Emmett said. "I copied down what my boss had," Seamus said. "I copied it very carefully, exactly what he had. I think. I hope.""You don't have the originals?" Emmett said. "No," Seamus said, looking away."Pity," Emmett said. "I could've used those.""The test didn't go as planned," Seamus said. "I'm lucky to have what I do.""Have you eaten?" Emmett asked. "Not in a few decades," Seamus said with a smile."Time travel humor," Emmett said knowingly. "Let's get you something to eat and you can explain just exactly what you expect me to do."Seamus waved his hands erratically. "Oh, no, Doc, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." "I thought that the whole point of your visit was for me to worry about you." That stopped Emmett in his tracks. "Yeah, Doc, but you don't even know me.""You're asking me to learn a whole new approach to science. A sandwich is nothing."Seamus ate the sandwich as he peered over Emmett's shoulder, spilling crumbs on the floor. Emmett mostly didn't care. Uncouth youth from the distant future. There was a recent novel that said the past was a foreign country. That must have been how Seamus felt."Don't tell me anything about yourself," Emmett said."I wasn't saying anything, Doc.""If I know too much about you, your boss, the lab where you work... it could have dire effects rippling through time. It's bad enough that you told me that you did time travel.""Technically I didn't say that I time traveled," Seamus pointed out. "I could be down here from Berkeley or somewhere."Emmett tapped the small stack of useful notes and books that he'd separated from the rest. "Do you always argue against your own self interest?""Not always." Seamus took another bite of his sandwich. "I'm either from the future or from far away, your pick."Emmett chuckled. "It's the same thing, isn't it?""Yeah," Seamus said, good humor wiped away. "I need to get back.""Of course, of course," Emmett said agreeable. "I can't ask you about nuclear war or communism or any of the the scary things lurking outside.""But?" Seamus prompted. "Judging by the looks you've been giving me, I imagine homosexuality is no longer taboo?"Seamus choked on a bite of sandwich. Emmett patted him on the back until the coughing stopped. "No, it... it kind of still is? This is just...me. Sorry."Emmett waved away his apology. "Always nice to be wanted for my brain instead of my body." "I wouldn't rule that out completely." Seamus put the sandwich down on the nearest flat surface, bread directly on wood. Emmett noticed it and then forgot. "You're not...upset?""I know my reputation precedes me," Emmett said with a sad smile. "Was your boss the one who told you that I was a homosexual?""No, no.... I mean, kind of?" Seamus said. "Just...something we...might have in common." Emmett turned away, his attention back to the notes. Seamus discarded the sandwich. Emmett sat down on the couch. Seamus joined him, hands fidgeting. Emmett could feel the weight of Seamus's eyes on him. "You need to stop looking at me like that. It's very distracting.""Like what?" Seamus said, voice soft. It was so easy to lean into him. He was a force of nature all of his own."Like you're about to pounce," Emmett said. It wasn't quite true; he was on the verge of pouncing on Seamus himself. "I wouldn't do that, Doc. Dr. Brown. I respect you, your work. I wouldn't do anything to make you uncomfortable."Emmett stared off at nothing in particular, evaluating the pros and cons of what he was about to say. "A sexual liaison between us, while having a diminished risk in traditional encounters, could still have ripples in the timestream.""'Diminished risk?'" Seamus said, as if that was the most scandalous part of what Emmett had just said. "I can't get you pregnant," Emmett said.Seamus looked a little stunned. "Yeah, no, that's my understanding of the biology of...us.""Could I get you pregnant?" Emmett said, cocking his head to the side. He didn't know how far in the future Seamus had come and what their advances might have been. Seamus's eyes widened as he considered the concept. "I mean you could try but I don't think it would get anywhere. You know, I think you'd really like that other Heinlein story." "I'd rather not disrupt the timeline like that.""It's really not a risk, I promise," Seamus said. Emmett kissed the young man. Seamus immediately reciprocated; within moments he was half on top of Emmett. Emmett managed to get on top, pinning Seamus onto the couch. Seamus had an extensive repertoire of appreciative sounds, all moaned into Emmett's mouth and shooting straight to his groin.Emmett pulled away just enough to talk. "Olive oil in the kitchen," Emmett said.Seamus started laughing. "You want to fuck me with olive oil?""What would you prefer?" "I'd rather suck you off," Seamus said, just barely stammering. He managed to roll his hips underneath Emmett.Emmett answered the action and pushed back. "I think we can arrange that."