Welcome to the Jungle, Sweetheart

He was so Cold

They had been wandering aimlessly around the streets for about thirty minutes until they found him. Izzy and Steven just wanted to walk, but in the back of Slash's mind, he knew he was looking for Axl. It didn't do much, it just made him feel a little better, even if he was certain it was a lost cause. When Axl leaves, there's no finding him until he came back. Nobody knew where he went when he disappeared, he was just off the radar.

Slash looked up at the sky, it was still dark, but a dim, grey light was beginning to filter over the buildings in the east. The sun would come up in maybe forty-five minutes to an hour. The wind blew sharply and hit their faces until Steven's face began to look pink from the cold. They were all about ready to go home now. Slash didn't expect to find him anyway. But that's part of the reason why he was so shocked when he came across his small figure, leaned up tiredly against the lamp post.

"Is that Axl?" Izzy said, voicing the confusion all three's minds were filled with. They walked up closer to the light and sure enough, the redhaired idiot was asleep on the pavement.

Slash didn't know what to do, he looked so... fragile. He sat with his back against the post, the back of his head resting so weakly on it. He looked awful. He was pale, shivering, even his fiery red hair looked dull. Slash looked closely and it was almost like he saw on his boots... frost.

How long had he been sitting there?

Some people were standing around him, talking and whispering to each other. He heard some people mutter things like:

"Is he dead?"

"No, you can see him breathing."

"Wow he's pretty."

"Should we call an ambulance?"

"Why's he just sitting there?"

"Is he retarded or something?"

Slash knew something had to be really wrong if these people were talking about him and he didn't do anything. Axl was known to have a fit if somebody simply said something relatively slanderous, or slightly offensive, or maybe not at all just that he thought it was. Maybe if it wasn't even directed at him, maybe he just had a problem with it or thought they were talking about him. Either way his reaction to those events must always be justified in his eyes anyway.

So these people were all talking directly about him in such a belittling tone right within earshot of him, and he did absolutely nothing. He didn't even show any signs of hearing them at all. If he were alright, he would've told them to fuck off, or punched one of them, but he didn't. He just looked so hollow.

Some kids, teenagers, were standing over him and joking to each other. One of them kept poking him in the side with their shoe. Sometimes lightly, other times a little harder, they were clearly trying to get him to wake up. But Axl didn't do anything, he just closed his eyes tighter and groaned a little. The whole situation reminded him of that scene from Dumbo, where those kids at the circus kept picking on the baby elephant and the mama just flipped out.

Slash never liked that movie, but it fit the situation, because the next thing that happened was Steven ran over to the teenagers, aggressively flailing his arms about like he was scaring away birds, "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM YOU MOTHER FUCKERS!" Slash didn't know he had it in him. But it worked, all the people went away, more afraid of Steven than if Axl was dead.

Izzy looks down at his friend, "Lord, he looks like shit." Slash and Steven nodded in agreement. Steven sat down on the pavement beside him and rested his head on Axl's shoulder, hugging him with one arm. Normally Axl didn't like Steven's hugs, but he didn't seem to care, maybe he didn't even feel it at all. Axl just sighed painfully and laid his head on top of Steven's.

In a better circumstance it would've been really cute and sweet, heartwarming. But it wasn't now. All it did was hurt Slash.

Steven shivered, "He's so cold."

Izzy extended a hand to help Steven up. He rose to his feet and brushed dirt off his jeans. "What are we going to do?" Steven asked, looking at Slash. Slash saw Steven was hurting, he was always so empathetic with the other guys, even if Axl didn't always like him. "Well we can't just leave him here, he'll die!" Izzy finally said.

Slash wasn't sure if he would actually die, but he imagined at a certain point, something would bring him pretty damn close to death, whether it were the cold, a random street gang, or he'll be kidnapped for sex trafficking because he was gorgeous and just sitting on the street.

They talked for a few more minutes about what to do, but every second there was any sort of noise, Axl grew more and more exhausted until he eventually just laid down on the cement, curled up into a tight ball.

The three guys went silent and exchanged uncertain glances. Slash kneeled down beside the small redhead and scooped him up in his arms, and Axl groaned in pain as if that slight movement were too much for him.

It made Slash wince to see him so frail and helpless in his arms. His body was limp and weak, cold to the touch. His legs dangled loosely over Slash's arms, and he could barely look at him in such a broken state. Every sign of Axl's usual, fiery self was no longer there. He just looked so fragile. Like he was just a broken shell of what he used to be.

Slash walked down the street behind Izzy and Steven, every so often they'd turn around to ask him if he's still got him. Slash would just nod solemnly and keep walking.

Eventually, Axl opened his eyes ever so slightly to look at who was carrying him. Slash looked down at him and he smiled softly to try and comfort him, but it was so hard to look him in the eyes.

His beautiful green eyes, which were usually so lively and wild and crackled with electricity, were now clouded with pain. Lord, he looked so sad. Slash thought his heart might break. He had so much meaning in those deep, green eyes of his, but Slash couldn't look at them anymore or he might fall to tears.

Axl closed his eyes again, like keeping them open took too much energy, and Slash felt him nestle his head against his chest with a deep sigh. Slash thought he felt his body relax slightly and he figured he must be nodding off. Slash didn't mind though, he thought that Axl was probably better off just sleeping for a while rather than draining his energy trying to keep his eyes open. Slash held him a little closer to his body to try and give him some of his own warmth. He was so cold.