Title: When We Collide
Author: sarahbell05/sarahbell86
Fandom: General Hospital
Characters/Pairing: Michael Corinthos/Matt Hunter
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance/Angst
Word Count: 1694
Warnings: Slash – the gay, it is all up in this fic.
Summary: Michael finds himself in a very unexpected situation.
Notes: I wrote something that wasn't Ethan/Kristina? I know, I'm shocked as well. It was really hard to get out of that mindset, so I hope I succeeded. This is set in the same universe as my other fic, "Someone Like You," but you don't need to have read that one to understand this one. It's set about a year in the future.

Michael wasn't sure what had possessed him to practically run out of Kelly's, but in that moment all he had known was that he had needed to be as far away from Matt Hunter as possible. He had thought he could handle things when his sister had invited the doctor to sit down. After all, he saw Matt at the hospital every day, right?

Okay, so maybe he had been avoiding the places he knew Matt would be at in the hospital for the past few weeks. He just…didn't understand. Whatever was going on with Matt – which was nothing, of course – was something Michael was desperately hoping to avoid. So, he figured, if he could stay out of the doctor's path everything would work itself out. Maybe he could even convince Abby to give him another shot.

"Michael!" he heard a voice call behind him and Michael increased his pace.

"Michael, wait!" he heard the voice call again, but he plunged his hands into his pockets and kept walking. If he could just get around the corner up ahead, he could disappear…

"Michael, please." There was something in the tone of the other voice, almost begging, that made Michael stop. He didn't – couldn't – turn around. He felt a hand come to rest on his arm and he involuntarily stiffened.

"Michael…" the voice said again, softly this time. "Can't you look at me?"

Hesitating, Michael slowly turned to face Matt, though he couldn't meet his eyes.

"What was that in there?" Matt asked, referring to the scene at Kelly's in front of Kristina and Ethan.

"I…" Michael started, only to find himself unable to formulate an answer through the myriad thoughts flying through his mind.

"We need to talk about what happened." Matt continued, and Michael knew he wasn't talking about Kelly's anymore.

This is, without a doubt, one of the worst days of Michael's life, which was saying something. When he had started to work at the hospital, he'd thought it would be simple. After all, the most important task he had been given was serving meals. Then, he'd brought lunch to the kids in the pediatric ward and met Lucy Peretti. He and the girl bonded instantly. The eight year old had been in a car accident that had left in her a coma for three months. When she had woken up, she'd had to completely relearn even the most basic of skills. As the weeks passed, Michael scheduled his lunch around Lucy's, spending the hour making silly, stupid jokes in the girl's room. Now, his shift was over and Lucy's room as empty. He sat next to the newly-made bed, the coloring book he'd brought for her forgotten in his hands. He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder. The physical effort it took to lift his head up unnerved Michael.

"I just heard." Matt said, pulling up a chair next to Michael. It turned out that Michael wasn't the only guy Lucy had completely charmed, and Matt had joined them on their "lunch dates" on several occasions.

Michael tensed momentarily as he felt a warm hand slip into his. It was a comforting feeling though and Michael decided to let himself enjoy the comfort being offered. Matt and Michael had become good friends over the summer, Michael simply grateful to have a friend that wasn't a sibling or his girlfriend.

"She was fine at lunch." Michael manages to choke out after a few moments. "A little tired, but…she was fine." Matt's grip on Michael's hand tightens and Michael returns the gesture as he stares at the empty bed.

"Michael, Patrick did everything he could…"

"I know that!" Michael cut him off, trying to fight the tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. "I know, okay? It doesn't…doesn't make it any less unfair." A tear escapes and trails down his cheek, and Michael gasps when he feels Matt's thumb along his cheek, wiping it away. It's only when he looks up that he sees how close Matt is and, despite everything, he feels his stomach tighten into knots. He's staring at Michael in a way that both thrills and terrifies him, and it's then that Michael realizes that Matt's thumb is still idly grazing his cheek. Matt's eye quickly flick down to Michael's lips before meeting his eyes again, and in that moment Michael sees something change in them. Matt moves slowly, giving Michael ample time to move away, but he feels as if he's frozen in place. Michael hears alarm bells going off in his head, but they're silenced the moment Matt's lips meet his. It's a soft, hesitant kiss and Michael feels like he's inside a wind tunnel. Nothing registers except the feeling of Matt's lips on his. He kisses back, matching Matt's gentle rhythm. It's fairly chaste as far as kisses go, but it sets Michael on fire. He feels Matt's hand drift down from his cheek to his jaw line before finally coming to rest against Michael's neck. He reaches out with the hand that's not still intertwined with Matt's, gripping the other man's shoulder and pulling him closer. Without thinking, he runs his tongue along Matt's bottom lip, only knowing he needs more. The move elicits a moan from Matt, and it strikes Michael that kissing Abby has never felt like this.

Abby.

In an instant, Michael pushes away, the image of his girlfriend clear in his mind. Shock and confusion is clearly written on Matt's face, and he's sure the emotions are reflected in his own. He's not sure what just happened, but he knows that he just cheated on Abby, and anything else he's feeling is superseded by guilt as he stares at Matt Hunter.

Matt opens his mouth as if he's about to say something, but Michael shakes his head.

"I can't." he whispers, moving away from the bed and pushing himself out of the chair. As he moves away, he feels his hand leave Matt's, and he can't help but notice that he suddenly feels emptier.

Michael is pulled from his thoughts when Matt grips his arm, and he shrugs him off.

"There's nothing to talk about." Michael snaps.

"You broke up with Abby?"

Michael is thrown by the question and looks to the ground, shrugging.

"That tends to happen when you tell your girlfriend you kissed someone else. Besides, I can't be in a relationship with her if I'm…confused about things. It's not fair to her."

"You're not the only who's confused, you know." Matt replies.

"Why did you kiss me?" Michael blurts out, and it's Matt's turn to look at the ground.

"I guess…because I wanted to. I didn't even really think about it before I did it. I don't regret it though. Do you?"

"I just…you dated Maxie?" It comes out as a question, and Michael knew he didn't answer Matt's question.

"Very true." Matt replied, nodding. "And now I'm not."

Michael sighs and runs his fingers through his hair.

"Look, Michael." Matt says, throwing his hands up. "I'm not sure what's going on here. I only know what I know. And, for some reason, I'm attracted to you. Now, I can handle that. The question is, can you?" He looks as if he wants a response, but Michael finds himself completely unable. After a few tense moments, Matt sighs and turns away from Michael, heading back the way he came.

Suddenly, the sight of Matt walking away made panic rise inside of Michael, much different than what he had experienced at Kelly's. This was full of desperation and longing, and memories of the kiss they had shared at the hospital. Michael's body moves of its own accord, racing to close the ever-widening gap between himself and Matt. His hand reached out, grabbing the other man's wrist, praying Matt would stop. Michael acted purely on instinct in that moment, his other hand reaching out to meet Matt's neck as the doctor turned to face him. His lips crashed onto Matt's, his panic evident in the frantic kiss. It was different from their previous kiss, shyness and timidity replaced by passion. Matt responded almost immediately, his arms wrapping around Michael's waist, pulling him flush against him. Some distant party of Michael's mind is screaming at him that anyone could walk by, but right now, all he wants is more of this. He feels Matt run his tongue along the seam of his lips, and Michael grants him access. Suddenly, he's definitely sure that kissing Abby never felt like this.

Michael whimpers in protest when Matt pulls away, though he's comforted by the fact that Matt keeps his hands locked on Michael's hips. Michael feels a bit of vain satisfaction and the dazed look on the doctor's face.

"Well, that was…unexpected." Matt finally said after a few moments, a smirk on his face.

"I am attracted to you." Michael says, feeling like he's stating the obvious. "I just…don't understand what's going on. I don't know what it means." Michael attempts to move away from Matt as he feels the panic return. Matt lets him back off a few inches before tightening his grip on Michael.

"Hey, hey…" Matt says, forcing Michael to look at him. "Calm down, okay? There's no rule that says we have to figure this out right now."

Michael visibly relaxes and Matt breathes a sigh of relief as he runs a hand underneath the back of Michael's shirt, shivering at the feel of flesh on flesh. He leans in and kisses Michael, gentler this time, savoring the lazy kiss. Vaguely, he hears a gasp of shock, and instantly Michael shoots away from him, eyes wide. He follows the other man's wide-eyed gaze over his shoulder. Turning, he saw Kristina staring at them, one hand covering her mouth. He supposes this is what they get for making out in public in a place like Port Charles, though he doubts that Michael will see it that way. He turns back to Michael, but finds nothing but the empty space where the other man was standing.

Once again, Michael was gone.