𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 | 𝗶𝘇𝘇𝘆/𝗮𝘅𝗹

꧁ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ ; ɪ ᴡᴀɴɴᴀ ᴅʀᴏᴡɴ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴘᴛʜs ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜ (ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ's sᴏ ʙʟᴜᴇ) ꧂

• the next day

IZZY AWOKE TO A WHINE OF HIS NAME IN HIS LEFT EAR.

Izzy's sigh is anything but unnoticeable, but his eyes don't open. He figures Axl is having another one of his active dreams - which he had been having more of ever since the first night he's spent beside Izzy.

So Izzy just wraps his arm tighter around Axl, who he'd forgotten for a moment had slept on top of him.

They both had been so drained from yesterday that Izzy really didn't even want to get up yet, clutching desperately at those last few addicting moments of slumber that were slipping from his grasp.

And when he manages to catch the tail end of it, dozing off happily again, Axl shifts against him and whines again, desperately clutching at Izzy's side.

Izzy's eyes, despite their heaviness, shoot right open.

Axl jerks in his sleep and clutches even tighter at Izzy's arm. The brunette hissed in pain as Axl's nails dig into his skin. Izzy lifts his head, only a little, to glance at Axl's face, and, surprisingly, the man was still sleeping, though his eyes were darting around frantically beneath his eyelids.

Izzy frowned, forgetting altogether about Axl's painful grip on his arm. He, instead, lifted his hand to Axl's face and gently rubbed over Axl's cheek with his knuckles. "Ax...." Izzy whispers, continuing his light ministrations.

"Eywa'eveng....", whispered Axl, still so deep in his slumber that he was convinced he was living in this dream.

Pandora.

"Rutxe. Kehe. I want to go home." Axl whines into Izzy's shoulder, eyes still moving rapidly in his slumber.

Please. No.

Realizing his light touches and soft calls won't wake Axl, Izzy decides to take a firmer approach. As carefully as he can, Izzy shakes Axl's shoulder. This does nothing but make Axl's eyebrows draw together. But, still, the man's eyes don't open. His death grip on Izzy lets up though, as his hand falls limply to the bed.

So, Izzy tries again. And this time, he does manage a reaction. A scary one, but a reaction nonetheless.

Axl's gasp as he shoots up is terrifying, to say the least. His eyes are wide open, his chest heaving rapidly and his hands gripping Izzy's tank top like he had been on the brink of falling off a cliff. He looks around frantically, before looking down at Izzy. He's pale. Paler than he should be in his human form. And he looks scared, seeming on edge, as if he was being watched or chased.

Izzy's mind is blank as he takes Axl's hands in his and begins to softly soothe the man. "Hey, you're okay.... just try to breathe, alright? Focus on breathing, sweetheart."

Axl's eyes dart around Izzy's face, confused, as if he suddenly didn't understand a word Izzy was saying. So instead of repeating himself, Izzy guides one of Axl's hands to the center of his chest so he can feel Izzy's steady heartbeat.

"Breathe...." Izzy's voice is hushed as he keeps his eyes locked in Axl's.

Axl looks between his hand on Izzy's chest, feeling his strong heartbeat beneath it, and Izzy's eyes that hold the deep calmness of the oceans Axl was so familiar with. In only a few short seconds, Axl's eyes slip closed and he tries to steady his heartbeat enough to match Izzy's. Soon, all he can hear, feel, or breathe is the steady, repetitive thumping of Izzy's heart against his palm and the quiet inhales and exhales of Izzy's breath. The world around him becomes empty and insignificant as he sinks into all that Izzy is.