Just Dust N' Bones, Baby

Heart of Glass

           When Amy drove Stuart home from school later in the afternoon, Axl and Slash had both fallen asleep, cuddling of course. When they heard keys jingling at the door, Slash scrambled at light-speed for a person half asleep and flopped onto the other end of the couch, and they both pretended to be asleep again. They lied still and quiet for a while, and when Amy and Stuart had passed by, noticing their "sleeping," they silently disappeared to their rooms so as not to disturb them. Slash picked his head up, glancing around to check if the coast was clear. Axl picked his head up again too. Slash looked at him, "Why did we have to do that?"

"'Cause Stuart doesn't know about us."

"Are you ever gonna tell him?"

Axl thought about that. "....I don't think so."

"How come?" Slash asked.

Axl shrugged, "Well just, the kid idolizes me." Slash looked at him with curious, serious eyes. "He always talks about me, and he wants to be just like me when he's older. I don't want him to..."

"Be gay?"

Axl bit his tongue, "That's not what I'm saying..."

"'Cause it sounds like you're saying its okay you want your brother to be like you, which you have never wanted anybody to be like you before, and you don't have a problem if he does all the shit you've done, but there's a problem if he wants to date guys."

"Slash that's not what I'm saying!"

"Are you embarrassed of being with me, Axl?" he asked sternly, looking into Axl's eyes.

"Of course not! Slash-" Axl cut himself off in frustration, trying to keep himself from getting worked up. "Nobody has ever looked up to me before, Slash. I love the way he looks at me like I'm Mick Jagger. And part of that is because he's just fifteen, he probably wishes he could get girls like how guys like us can, I've never met anybody who idolizes me like that! So yeah, I'm sorry I'm being a little selfish because I want my little brother to look up to me!"

Slash sighed and his eyes seemed to soften, "Sorry I got a little ticked off... I just, it really bothers me when you do that thing where you look ashamed because you're going out with me."

Axl nodded deeply, "I know.. And I'm trying to stop, I know I shouldn't be, and I'm not usually, just... Gimme some time, okay?"

Slash nodded, glancing around and gently kissing his cheek after doublechecking that nobody was around. "Okay.. I can be patient. Believe me, I can't even remember how long I had to wait to fuck your sweet ass."

Axl rested his head against Slash's, "I know. And I promise, I'm trying to get better.. And I will, but... It'll just take a little time, yeah?" 

"Right."

Axl kissed his ear before laying back down, closing his eyes and quietly whispering the lyrics to Time by Pink Floyd. "Ticking away, the moments that make up a dull day..."

Amy sat down next to her brother after dinner, Stuart had gone to his friend's house that afternoon to spend the night, and Slash had disappeared off to somewhere, doing whatever it was that Slash did. "Axl?" she nudged him.

Axl took off the headphones on his ears and looked at her, "What's up girlie."

Amy struggled for words, unsure how to ask what she wanted to ask. "Why did you come to Lafayette?"

Axl shrugged, "I already told you yesterday."

"No, I mean, why did you really?"

Axl bit his lip. ".....What's it like around here..? Now that I'm gone..?"