[FIC] "Dropping the A-Bomb"-- Marco/Ax
Wow, I haven't written much lately. This is for felinephoenix because I luff her so.
Title: Dropping the A-bomb
Author: Eppy
E-mail: LizzyPaul@aol.com
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Marco/Ax
Spoiler/Timeline: Takes place after book 51.
Category: Fluff, romance, slash
Summary: Ax has a secret that everyone knows.
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. Apologies to K.A. Applegate.
"We have a situation," Jake said. I didn't need to look up to know that his arms were crossed over his chest.
"Sure we do," I said, "but it can wait until I kill the Evil Overlord and rescue--hey!"
Jake grabbed the Gameboy and flipped it off. "No, it can't," he said.
"Jerk."
Jake ignored that and sat down. "Look, I need you to talk to Ax," he said. His eyes were intense. Something had him really worked up. I waited, but he didn't say anything more.
"About?"
Jake ran a hand through his hair. It stuck up in a few places. Looked pretty cute...or, well, it would have looked cute if I was like that. But I'm not.
Yeah.
"I can't tell you," Jake said. "I promised Ax I wouldn't. But...go talk to him."
"Dude, this can wait until I finish my game," I made a swipe for it, but he held it out of reach. He gave me a small shove.
"Come on, Marco, this is important."
I stood up and made a final, futile effort for my Gameboy. No luck. "Fine, fine," I grumbled. "You owe me one, man." Jake didn't say anything, but he looked amused. Then he went back to looking worried. Whatever was wrong with Ax had him worked up.
I stalked off towards Ax's scoop, and almost bumped into Cassie. "Your boyfriend is a fascist dictator," I said loudly.
"Go!" Jake yelled back.
Cassie gave me a sympathetic look. She put her hand on my arm. "Just...don't say anything you'll regret later. If you need to talk..."
"Okay, *what* is going on here?" I demanded.
She held up her hands. "I can't tell you," she said. "I promised Ax..."
"Sure. Fine. What*ever*," I muttered. I moved past her. Stupid Jake. Stupid Cassie. Stupid secret. Why couldn't they just tell me?
< Oh, you're here, > Tobias said. I looked up and spotted him in a nearby tree.
"Yeah. Hey, wait, you know what's going on, right?"
His fierce gaze never wavered. < Well, sure. But I -- >
"You promised Ax, right, got that," I interrupted. "You know, for a big secret, everyone sure seems to know."
< Be nice, okay, Marco? If you hurt him, I will peck out your eyeballs. >
I covered my eyes out of instinct. "Jeez, what is it with you people? Of course I'll be nice, I'm always nice..." I lowered my voice when I realized I was almost at his scoop. Feeling a bit of trepidation, I stepped in.
Ax's stalk eyes fixed on me, but he didn't turn around from what he was doing. Neither of us said anything for a moment. I shuffled a little, hoping Ax would start the conversation. No such luck. Guess it was up to me, than.
"So, Ax-man, what's up?"
< The sky, > he said. Okay, should have expected that. Ax really plays up his "I'm a strange alien and I don't understand this world" thing when he wants to avoid talking.
"Come on, dude, everyone told me to come--wait, are you packing?" I inched around to get a better look at what he was doing, and sure enough, he was throwing some of his smaller things into a knapsack. "Stop it, man."
Ax did stop. He still wouldn't look at me. Even his stalk eyes were now pointed away. < I am leaving, > he said, unnecessarily. < I will be a lone Yeerk killer. >
I had an inappropriate and distracting flashback to Angel, and Wesley's stint as a Rouge Demon Hunter. Except Ax was like, I don't know, late season two Wesley, Wesley with balls. And a tail blade.
"Oh," I couldn't think of anything to say, and I plopped into a chair. Ax resumed his packing. "Stop it!" I yelled. "You aren't going anywhere."
Ax placed another object deliberately in his knapsack. < Yes, I am. >
I jumped up. "You're a bitchy little alien, you know that, right?" I grabbed his sack away. Luckily Ax has puny arms. Sure, he could kill me ten different ways before I could blink, but I was betting he'd restrain himself.
< I have to go. > Ax said. < You must let me leave. >
"Why?" I asked. I took the sack with me and threw it on the chair, then sat on it. Ow. Something electronic was poking my ass. The things I do for people.
< I can't tell you that. > Ax said.
So. Something he could tell Jake, Cassie, and Tobias about, but not me. "Look, did I do something to hurt your feelings?"
< No! > Ax exclaimed. < It's not you. Or, rather, it's not your fault. >
Was he deliberately trying to be as confusing as possible? "Okay, so it has something to do with me, but it's not my fault." I laughed. "You know, if you were anyone else, I'd say you have a devastating crush on me and -- " I stopped abruptly. Ax shuffled his feet. "Oh," I squeaked.
< You see why I must leave. > Ax said. < May I resume packing? >
"No!" I exclaimed, my voice an octave too high. I grabbed the sack and backed out of the scoop. "No, uh-uh, you should stay we'll talk about this later I have to go but -- " I shut up before I could say anything more stupid. "Bye!" I yelled, and ran back to my tent.
*~*~*
Jake, Cassie, and Tobias all came to me at separate times to "talk". Right. Interrogate is more like it. I didn't let any of them in. Ax's knapsack was under my pillow--still ow, by the way--and I had no intention of giving it back. He wasn't leaving because of me. We needed him. *I* needed him.
I pulled the sack out and dumped its contents on my lap. "Yeah," I said out loud, "Ax will never leave without his radio thingy." The logic was very clear: keep the sack with me, keep Ax. I threw the stuff back into the sack and put the sack back under my pillow. Ax wasn't leaving.
There was a shuffle outside my tent. "Go away," I called. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."
A pause. "Oh-kay." Ax, of course. The only person around to draw out the sounds like that. "I will leave."
I jumped up and unzipped the tent. "No," I said. "Come on in." I mentally slapped my forehead. I was inviting the guy into my tent? When he was crushing on me? And he was human?
I backed up when he came in. Now, I'm not homophobic, no way. Gays are cool. But this was Ax. It wasn't like I didn't know Ax was attractive. I'd always thought of Ax's human morph as beautiful. Human Ax was supremely odd and disturbingly gorgeous. But he was a he, and I wasn't into dudes. Nu-uh.
"May I have my knapsack back?" he asked. "Knapsack. This is a strange word. Duh. I will take my knap-uh-sack-uh and leave."
"No," I said. "You're not going anywhere." I crossed my arms stubbornly over my chest.
"Marco," he said softly, and sat on my cot. "I cannot stay. You must understand."
Putting aside major jitters, I sat next to him. "I don't understand," I said. "I mean, I do. I get that you're...uh...yeah. But that doesn't mean you have to leave." I tried to grin; it came out forced. "Heh, lots of girls have fallen prey to the Mighty Marco."
"I am not a girl," Ax said. "This is very embarrassing. And most unexpected."
I nodded. "That's the problem."
"What is?" Ax asked.
"That you aren't a girl. If you were a girl, I could--" I stopped. "Never mind," I said. "It's probably for the best, anyway. Who needs an interspecies relationship? Look at how crazy Tobias and Rachel are. And those are two *Earth* species--"
"If I was a girl," Ax interrupted, "you would consider me as a mate?"
"Whoa, whoa," I said, and held up my hands. "Back up, mister. I'm sixteen; I'm not looking for a mate. Now a boy-uh-girlfriend would be nice but I'm not ready to settle down and do the two-point-five kids, SUV thing."
"Ah," Ax said. And then he kissed me.
The kiss was...strange. Long. I'd never kissed a guy before--truth be told, I hadn't kissed all that many girls before, either. His face was smooth, which was good, as I didn't think I could handle a beard. But his lips were firm, insistent. The Ax-man had practice, which made me go to a bad place and wonder who he'd been practicing with. And when I put my hands on his chest, it was hard, flat. A boy. I didn't want to think about that, so I moved my arms around his neck. I pulled him closer.
It ended as suddenly as it had begun. Ax shoved me off and stood up. He was white, shaking. "I'm sorry," he said.
Oh my God, I was kissing Ax. An alien. A *boy* alien, and I didn't know what was weirder. "'s cool," I gasped.
"You see why I must leave," he said, his hands twisting, agitated.
"No," I said. My breathing started to return to normal. I put a hand on my forehead. Time to think rationally. "Dude, it may have escaped your notice, but I was kissing you back."
"I'm sorry," Ax said again. "I know you do not prefer men. I will tell Prince Jake what I have done and he will take the appropriate--"
"NO!" I yelled, startling Ax. "No, uh, let's not tell Jake. Let's keep it to ourselves, okay man? For right now at least." I so did not want to deal with the collective shit that would fly once people found out about what happened.
Ax continued stubbornly, "I have violated--"
"You violated nothing," I insisted. "It's okay. I kissed you back. I..." dear god, "...I liked it," I continued, plowing ahead even though I could feel my face flame. I sat down, hard. "You kissed me and I liked it," I said.
There was a long silence. I didn't look at Ax, couldn't look at him. I pretended to find my fingertips fascinating. "Do you want me to go?" Ax said.
I sighed. "I already told you, you don't need to leave. I don't want you to become the Rouge Yeerk Hunter."
Ax paused, then said, "I mean, do you want me to leave your tent."
Oh. Damn. "Uh...I...yeah," I stammered. "I'll, uh, catch you later, right?"
Ax didn't respond, but turned and left.
*~*~*
The next day, I slung Ax's sack over my shoulder and went to his scoop. He was waiting for me when I arrived. Just once, I'd like to sneak up on the guy. "Hey Ax," I said, trying to sound normal. I looked around but I couldn't see Tobias. Didn't mean he wasn't there, though.
< Hello, Marco. > Ax said. I stared at him. He stared at me.
"I, uh, brought your stuff," I said. "Sorry." I set the knapsack down but didn't take my eyes off him. Two of Ax's eyes never left mine, either.
< Thank you. >
I walked towards him, slowly. "I thought about what happened," I said,
< As did I. >
I hesitated, but reached out and slowly ran my hand down his side. His blue fur slipped through my fingers. "Could you morph human?" I asked.
< This is who I am, Marco, > Ax said. < If we are to be...whatever we are to be, you must understand that. >
"No, I get that, totally," I said. I looked around, lowered my voice.
"It's just, I'd like to...you know...and that's hard to do when you're big and blue."
< Will there be more kissing? > Ax asked.
You know that expression, 'My heart skipped a beat'? I totally felt that. "Oh yeah," I said, my voice husky. "Definitely."
I stepped back, and Ax transformed. Normally I don't like to watch, because ew, but this time I was fascinated. I watched the alien merge into the boy I was, in spite of myself, attracted to. Which one was the real one?
The change was done, and Ax stepped towards me. I moved towards him. He put his hands near my wrists and ran them up my arms, slowly. Uncontrollable goosebumps broke out. He moved his hands over my shoulder, brushed my neck, and then tangled them in my hair. He pulled me close, and I willingly followed.
And then we kissed.
It was slow at first. Hesitant. Closed mouths, and almost chaste. But it was Ax. Kissing me. And I was okay with that. Better than okay.
I don't know how long we stood there in the middle of the scoop, but eventually we heard, < Okay, you two, break it up. It's getting so a bird can't even do a security fly-over around here. >
Whoa, embarrassment. Ax and I jumped apart. "Sorry," I muttered.
Ax reached out and brushed my face. "It is I who should be sorry," he said.
< Marco. > Tobias sounded stern. < We need to talk. >
I sighed, and gave Ax a sardonic grin. "Time to go face the music."
"I do not think Tobias will sing," Ax said.
"That's not what I--" but Ax was smiling. A joke. Good for him. "Ha ha." Tobias flew off, and I followed him out of the scoop.
"Look, don't even start," I told him.
< He's an alien, > Tobias said.
"Oh, please. Do not even start on me, Tobias. You're a fucking bird. Fucking being the operative word. With Rachel. A *human*. Prick."
There was a pause. < Are you finished? >
I shrugged. "I guess, for now."
< If Ax hadn't said anything, would you have thought about it? You don't even like guys, Marco. >
"I like Ax," I said, stubborn. "I like Ax a lot."
< All of us like Ax, > Tobias said. < None of us are making out with him. >
"Yeah, well, I like kissing him, too," I said.
< I don't get you, Marco. >
"Welcome to the club," I muttered.
< The threat stands, > Tobias continued, like I hadn't spoken. < You hurt Ax, I peck your eyes out. >
"I get that," I said. "And I'm not going to hurt him."
< I just bet. > Tobias did not sound pleased. < Oh. Jake said there's a meeting. Now. Or, rather, a few minutes ago. > He flew off.
"Jerk," I grumbled. Then I ran over to Ax's. I stuck my head in. "Dude. Meeting."
Ax was back to being an Andalite. Darn. No chance to sneak in a kiss before the meeting. < Tobias told me, > he said. < I was on my way. > He hesitated, then said, < Would you like to walk with me? >
"Hell, yeah!" I exclaimed. It was hard to walk next to him, but both of us attempted to change our pace to make it manageable. "I still like you, even when you're an Andalite."
< That is very...cool. >
I gave Ax a light punch. "See dude? You're learning."
Jake was Not Pleased. "You're late," he said, curt.
"It's the bird's fault," I said. I sat down, and Ax stood next to me.
"Yeah," Rachel sneered, "blame Tobias."
"Okay, I will."
"Children," Jake snapped. "Can we get this started?"
"Yes, daddy," I lisped. Rachel giggled. Even Cassie had to hide a grin. Boy gets too serious sometimes.
It wasn't even that important of a meeting. No new information or anything, just the same old, 'yeah we're screwed, keep your spirits up' bullshit we've been saying for years. Boring. I hadn't slept well the night before, and I caught myself swaying slightly. Ax backed up behind me. I looked up. He couldn't...
< Go ahead. >
I leaned back against him. He shuffled a bit, then adjusted to my weight. It was so comfortable, my own fur chair. My body moved with every breath he took. I was so focused that I didn't hear Jake stop talking.
"Something you'd like to add?" he asked, tone icy.
I looked around. Jake looked pissed, Cassie worried, and Rachel confused. Tobias wasn't looking at us at all. "Oh," I coughed. "Not really."
"Marco," Rachel snapped, "Ax isn't your personal servant. You don't need to hold him up, Ax. Let him fall over."
There was a pause, then Ax said, < But I want to. >
I jumped up and clasped my hands together. "So! I'm going to go...a...take a swim, clean off a bit, so I'll be by the river if anyone wants to...uh...find me. Bye!" I took off running.
It wasn't long before I heard the clip-clop of Ax's hoofs behind me. I stopped running and let him catch up. Okay, he would have overtaken me in no time, but a boy's got to have his pride, right? He glided up next to me. Then he morphed human.
"You don't wish for anyone to know?" he asked when he was finished.
"Tobias knows. If Jake and Cassie don't they're a lot dumber then I think. I don't want to tell Rachel right now. She'll -- well, she won't understand. And she'll make problems." Acting totally on instinct, I grabbed Ax's hand. "I just want to enjoy this right now. And figure it out myself."
"I understand," Ax said. He tugged, and I came forward. He kissed me, a soft kiss, and short.
"You understand?" I laughed softly. "Good, because I sure don't. I don't think I'm gay, and I'm sure not Andalite-sexual."
"You aren't?" Ax asked. He looked worried. Upset.
"Hey, man, I'm Axsexual." I smiled up at him. "Totally and completely Axsexual. I think you've ruined me for everyone else."
"Good," Ax said. Then he kissed me again.
***END***
Title: Dropping the A-bomb
Author: Eppy
E-mail: LizzyPaul@aol.com
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Marco/Ax
Spoiler/Timeline: Takes place after book 51.
Category: Fluff, romance, slash
Summary: Ax has a secret that everyone knows.
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. Apologies to K.A. Applegate.
"We have a situation," Jake said. I didn't need to look up to know that his arms were crossed over his chest.
"Sure we do," I said, "but it can wait until I kill the Evil Overlord and rescue--hey!"
Jake grabbed the Gameboy and flipped it off. "No, it can't," he said.
"Jerk."
Jake ignored that and sat down. "Look, I need you to talk to Ax," he said. His eyes were intense. Something had him really worked up. I waited, but he didn't say anything more.
"About?"
Jake ran a hand through his hair. It stuck up in a few places. Looked pretty cute...or, well, it would have looked cute if I was like that. But I'm not.
Yeah.
"I can't tell you," Jake said. "I promised Ax I wouldn't. But...go talk to him."
"Dude, this can wait until I finish my game," I made a swipe for it, but he held it out of reach. He gave me a small shove.
"Come on, Marco, this is important."
I stood up and made a final, futile effort for my Gameboy. No luck. "Fine, fine," I grumbled. "You owe me one, man." Jake didn't say anything, but he looked amused. Then he went back to looking worried. Whatever was wrong with Ax had him worked up.
I stalked off towards Ax's scoop, and almost bumped into Cassie. "Your boyfriend is a fascist dictator," I said loudly.
"Go!" Jake yelled back.
Cassie gave me a sympathetic look. She put her hand on my arm. "Just...don't say anything you'll regret later. If you need to talk..."
"Okay, *what* is going on here?" I demanded.
She held up her hands. "I can't tell you," she said. "I promised Ax..."
"Sure. Fine. What*ever*," I muttered. I moved past her. Stupid Jake. Stupid Cassie. Stupid secret. Why couldn't they just tell me?
< Oh, you're here, > Tobias said. I looked up and spotted him in a nearby tree.
"Yeah. Hey, wait, you know what's going on, right?"
His fierce gaze never wavered. < Well, sure. But I -- >
"You promised Ax, right, got that," I interrupted. "You know, for a big secret, everyone sure seems to know."
< Be nice, okay, Marco? If you hurt him, I will peck out your eyeballs. >
I covered my eyes out of instinct. "Jeez, what is it with you people? Of course I'll be nice, I'm always nice..." I lowered my voice when I realized I was almost at his scoop. Feeling a bit of trepidation, I stepped in.
Ax's stalk eyes fixed on me, but he didn't turn around from what he was doing. Neither of us said anything for a moment. I shuffled a little, hoping Ax would start the conversation. No such luck. Guess it was up to me, than.
"So, Ax-man, what's up?"
< The sky, > he said. Okay, should have expected that. Ax really plays up his "I'm a strange alien and I don't understand this world" thing when he wants to avoid talking.
"Come on, dude, everyone told me to come--wait, are you packing?" I inched around to get a better look at what he was doing, and sure enough, he was throwing some of his smaller things into a knapsack. "Stop it, man."
Ax did stop. He still wouldn't look at me. Even his stalk eyes were now pointed away. < I am leaving, > he said, unnecessarily. < I will be a lone Yeerk killer. >
I had an inappropriate and distracting flashback to Angel, and Wesley's stint as a Rouge Demon Hunter. Except Ax was like, I don't know, late season two Wesley, Wesley with balls. And a tail blade.
"Oh," I couldn't think of anything to say, and I plopped into a chair. Ax resumed his packing. "Stop it!" I yelled. "You aren't going anywhere."
Ax placed another object deliberately in his knapsack. < Yes, I am. >
I jumped up. "You're a bitchy little alien, you know that, right?" I grabbed his sack away. Luckily Ax has puny arms. Sure, he could kill me ten different ways before I could blink, but I was betting he'd restrain himself.
< I have to go. > Ax said. < You must let me leave. >
"Why?" I asked. I took the sack with me and threw it on the chair, then sat on it. Ow. Something electronic was poking my ass. The things I do for people.
< I can't tell you that. > Ax said.
So. Something he could tell Jake, Cassie, and Tobias about, but not me. "Look, did I do something to hurt your feelings?"
< No! > Ax exclaimed. < It's not you. Or, rather, it's not your fault. >
Was he deliberately trying to be as confusing as possible? "Okay, so it has something to do with me, but it's not my fault." I laughed. "You know, if you were anyone else, I'd say you have a devastating crush on me and -- " I stopped abruptly. Ax shuffled his feet. "Oh," I squeaked.
< You see why I must leave. > Ax said. < May I resume packing? >
"No!" I exclaimed, my voice an octave too high. I grabbed the sack and backed out of the scoop. "No, uh-uh, you should stay we'll talk about this later I have to go but -- " I shut up before I could say anything more stupid. "Bye!" I yelled, and ran back to my tent.
*~*~*
Jake, Cassie, and Tobias all came to me at separate times to "talk". Right. Interrogate is more like it. I didn't let any of them in. Ax's knapsack was under my pillow--still ow, by the way--and I had no intention of giving it back. He wasn't leaving because of me. We needed him. *I* needed him.
I pulled the sack out and dumped its contents on my lap. "Yeah," I said out loud, "Ax will never leave without his radio thingy." The logic was very clear: keep the sack with me, keep Ax. I threw the stuff back into the sack and put the sack back under my pillow. Ax wasn't leaving.
There was a shuffle outside my tent. "Go away," I called. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."
A pause. "Oh-kay." Ax, of course. The only person around to draw out the sounds like that. "I will leave."
I jumped up and unzipped the tent. "No," I said. "Come on in." I mentally slapped my forehead. I was inviting the guy into my tent? When he was crushing on me? And he was human?
I backed up when he came in. Now, I'm not homophobic, no way. Gays are cool. But this was Ax. It wasn't like I didn't know Ax was attractive. I'd always thought of Ax's human morph as beautiful. Human Ax was supremely odd and disturbingly gorgeous. But he was a he, and I wasn't into dudes. Nu-uh.
"May I have my knapsack back?" he asked. "Knapsack. This is a strange word. Duh. I will take my knap-uh-sack-uh and leave."
"No," I said. "You're not going anywhere." I crossed my arms stubbornly over my chest.
"Marco," he said softly, and sat on my cot. "I cannot stay. You must understand."
Putting aside major jitters, I sat next to him. "I don't understand," I said. "I mean, I do. I get that you're...uh...yeah. But that doesn't mean you have to leave." I tried to grin; it came out forced. "Heh, lots of girls have fallen prey to the Mighty Marco."
"I am not a girl," Ax said. "This is very embarrassing. And most unexpected."
I nodded. "That's the problem."
"What is?" Ax asked.
"That you aren't a girl. If you were a girl, I could--" I stopped. "Never mind," I said. "It's probably for the best, anyway. Who needs an interspecies relationship? Look at how crazy Tobias and Rachel are. And those are two *Earth* species--"
"If I was a girl," Ax interrupted, "you would consider me as a mate?"
"Whoa, whoa," I said, and held up my hands. "Back up, mister. I'm sixteen; I'm not looking for a mate. Now a boy-uh-girlfriend would be nice but I'm not ready to settle down and do the two-point-five kids, SUV thing."
"Ah," Ax said. And then he kissed me.
The kiss was...strange. Long. I'd never kissed a guy before--truth be told, I hadn't kissed all that many girls before, either. His face was smooth, which was good, as I didn't think I could handle a beard. But his lips were firm, insistent. The Ax-man had practice, which made me go to a bad place and wonder who he'd been practicing with. And when I put my hands on his chest, it was hard, flat. A boy. I didn't want to think about that, so I moved my arms around his neck. I pulled him closer.
It ended as suddenly as it had begun. Ax shoved me off and stood up. He was white, shaking. "I'm sorry," he said.
Oh my God, I was kissing Ax. An alien. A *boy* alien, and I didn't know what was weirder. "'s cool," I gasped.
"You see why I must leave," he said, his hands twisting, agitated.
"No," I said. My breathing started to return to normal. I put a hand on my forehead. Time to think rationally. "Dude, it may have escaped your notice, but I was kissing you back."
"I'm sorry," Ax said again. "I know you do not prefer men. I will tell Prince Jake what I have done and he will take the appropriate--"
"NO!" I yelled, startling Ax. "No, uh, let's not tell Jake. Let's keep it to ourselves, okay man? For right now at least." I so did not want to deal with the collective shit that would fly once people found out about what happened.
Ax continued stubbornly, "I have violated--"
"You violated nothing," I insisted. "It's okay. I kissed you back. I..." dear god, "...I liked it," I continued, plowing ahead even though I could feel my face flame. I sat down, hard. "You kissed me and I liked it," I said.
There was a long silence. I didn't look at Ax, couldn't look at him. I pretended to find my fingertips fascinating. "Do you want me to go?" Ax said.
I sighed. "I already told you, you don't need to leave. I don't want you to become the Rouge Yeerk Hunter."
Ax paused, then said, "I mean, do you want me to leave your tent."
Oh. Damn. "Uh...I...yeah," I stammered. "I'll, uh, catch you later, right?"
Ax didn't respond, but turned and left.
*~*~*
The next day, I slung Ax's sack over my shoulder and went to his scoop. He was waiting for me when I arrived. Just once, I'd like to sneak up on the guy. "Hey Ax," I said, trying to sound normal. I looked around but I couldn't see Tobias. Didn't mean he wasn't there, though.
< Hello, Marco. > Ax said. I stared at him. He stared at me.
"I, uh, brought your stuff," I said. "Sorry." I set the knapsack down but didn't take my eyes off him. Two of Ax's eyes never left mine, either.
< Thank you. >
I walked towards him, slowly. "I thought about what happened," I said,
< As did I. >
I hesitated, but reached out and slowly ran my hand down his side. His blue fur slipped through my fingers. "Could you morph human?" I asked.
< This is who I am, Marco, > Ax said. < If we are to be...whatever we are to be, you must understand that. >
"No, I get that, totally," I said. I looked around, lowered my voice.
"It's just, I'd like to...you know...and that's hard to do when you're big and blue."
< Will there be more kissing? > Ax asked.
You know that expression, 'My heart skipped a beat'? I totally felt that. "Oh yeah," I said, my voice husky. "Definitely."
I stepped back, and Ax transformed. Normally I don't like to watch, because ew, but this time I was fascinated. I watched the alien merge into the boy I was, in spite of myself, attracted to. Which one was the real one?
The change was done, and Ax stepped towards me. I moved towards him. He put his hands near my wrists and ran them up my arms, slowly. Uncontrollable goosebumps broke out. He moved his hands over my shoulder, brushed my neck, and then tangled them in my hair. He pulled me close, and I willingly followed.
And then we kissed.
It was slow at first. Hesitant. Closed mouths, and almost chaste. But it was Ax. Kissing me. And I was okay with that. Better than okay.
I don't know how long we stood there in the middle of the scoop, but eventually we heard, < Okay, you two, break it up. It's getting so a bird can't even do a security fly-over around here. >
Whoa, embarrassment. Ax and I jumped apart. "Sorry," I muttered.
Ax reached out and brushed my face. "It is I who should be sorry," he said.
< Marco. > Tobias sounded stern. < We need to talk. >
I sighed, and gave Ax a sardonic grin. "Time to go face the music."
"I do not think Tobias will sing," Ax said.
"That's not what I--" but Ax was smiling. A joke. Good for him. "Ha ha." Tobias flew off, and I followed him out of the scoop.
"Look, don't even start," I told him.
< He's an alien, > Tobias said.
"Oh, please. Do not even start on me, Tobias. You're a fucking bird. Fucking being the operative word. With Rachel. A *human*. Prick."
There was a pause. < Are you finished? >
I shrugged. "I guess, for now."
< If Ax hadn't said anything, would you have thought about it? You don't even like guys, Marco. >
"I like Ax," I said, stubborn. "I like Ax a lot."
< All of us like Ax, > Tobias said. < None of us are making out with him. >
"Yeah, well, I like kissing him, too," I said.
< I don't get you, Marco. >
"Welcome to the club," I muttered.
< The threat stands, > Tobias continued, like I hadn't spoken. < You hurt Ax, I peck your eyes out. >
"I get that," I said. "And I'm not going to hurt him."
< I just bet. > Tobias did not sound pleased. < Oh. Jake said there's a meeting. Now. Or, rather, a few minutes ago. > He flew off.
"Jerk," I grumbled. Then I ran over to Ax's. I stuck my head in. "Dude. Meeting."
Ax was back to being an Andalite. Darn. No chance to sneak in a kiss before the meeting. < Tobias told me, > he said. < I was on my way. > He hesitated, then said, < Would you like to walk with me? >
"Hell, yeah!" I exclaimed. It was hard to walk next to him, but both of us attempted to change our pace to make it manageable. "I still like you, even when you're an Andalite."
< That is very...cool. >
I gave Ax a light punch. "See dude? You're learning."
Jake was Not Pleased. "You're late," he said, curt.
"It's the bird's fault," I said. I sat down, and Ax stood next to me.
"Yeah," Rachel sneered, "blame Tobias."
"Okay, I will."
"Children," Jake snapped. "Can we get this started?"
"Yes, daddy," I lisped. Rachel giggled. Even Cassie had to hide a grin. Boy gets too serious sometimes.
It wasn't even that important of a meeting. No new information or anything, just the same old, 'yeah we're screwed, keep your spirits up' bullshit we've been saying for years. Boring. I hadn't slept well the night before, and I caught myself swaying slightly. Ax backed up behind me. I looked up. He couldn't...
< Go ahead. >
I leaned back against him. He shuffled a bit, then adjusted to my weight. It was so comfortable, my own fur chair. My body moved with every breath he took. I was so focused that I didn't hear Jake stop talking.
"Something you'd like to add?" he asked, tone icy.
I looked around. Jake looked pissed, Cassie worried, and Rachel confused. Tobias wasn't looking at us at all. "Oh," I coughed. "Not really."
"Marco," Rachel snapped, "Ax isn't your personal servant. You don't need to hold him up, Ax. Let him fall over."
There was a pause, then Ax said, < But I want to. >
I jumped up and clasped my hands together. "So! I'm going to go...a...take a swim, clean off a bit, so I'll be by the river if anyone wants to...uh...find me. Bye!" I took off running.
It wasn't long before I heard the clip-clop of Ax's hoofs behind me. I stopped running and let him catch up. Okay, he would have overtaken me in no time, but a boy's got to have his pride, right? He glided up next to me. Then he morphed human.
"You don't wish for anyone to know?" he asked when he was finished.
"Tobias knows. If Jake and Cassie don't they're a lot dumber then I think. I don't want to tell Rachel right now. She'll -- well, she won't understand. And she'll make problems." Acting totally on instinct, I grabbed Ax's hand. "I just want to enjoy this right now. And figure it out myself."
"I understand," Ax said. He tugged, and I came forward. He kissed me, a soft kiss, and short.
"You understand?" I laughed softly. "Good, because I sure don't. I don't think I'm gay, and I'm sure not Andalite-sexual."
"You aren't?" Ax asked. He looked worried. Upset.
"Hey, man, I'm Axsexual." I smiled up at him. "Totally and completely Axsexual. I think you've ruined me for everyone else."
"Good," Ax said. Then he kissed me again.
***END***