Not Best Friends
Author's Notes: These are NOT written in linear order, so there's not really a "story" here per se, although I tried to tie things together as best as I could? This was written for 1sentence on Livejournal using the Delta theme set. Some sentences are set post-series so look out for spoilers! Also, there is unresolved romantic tension between boys. Gasp!
#01 - Air
They both breathe deeply, laugh, turn back to the TV and pretend it never happened.
#02 - Apples
Rachel throws an apple at Marco's head, muttering something about ungratefulness, and Tobias laughs as Ax catches it and starts to chow down.
#03 - Beginning
If anyone had told Marco he'd wind up friends with the guy who introduced himself by pointing a tailblade at his throat... well, he would have called them insane.
#04 - Bugs
{You are so, so lucky that you're a roach right now, you Andalite idiot,} he hisses; not that he was worried or anything.
#05 - Coffee
Marco spends most of the next morning nursing his cup of coffee, complaining to everyone about how unfair it was and how Ax only won the drinking contest thanks to his weird alien biology.
#06 - Dark
{Come on, Ax-man,} a voice rings out suddenly, causing him to almost crash into the osprey hiding in the night sky, {You've got about five of "our" minutes left - you have to accept Birdboy isn't coming back tonight.}
#07 - Despair
Cassie doesn't understand, Marco says, that death isn't always the worst way to lose your best friend; he thinks of Tobias hiding in the woods and lowers his stalk eyes in agreement.
#08 - Doors
"I believe this is the time for you, ooh, to yell 'Taxi'! Ax. Eee," he grinned as Marco barreled his gorilla body between the doors and into the vehicle.
#09 - Drink
Marco insists this is a human tradition, in times of mourning, even if they technically are not allowed in this establishment; and after his sixth drink, Ax stops questioning it.
#10 - Duty
"I'm not kidding, if you stay, I will take Rachel's place and go Xena on you - think about your parents, man, they deserve to know you're not dead."
#11 - Earth
{I told you their art was magnificent,} he smiles at his father with all of his eyes, {Though my human friend kept insisting Those Messages couldn't compare to the masterpiece known as Baywatch - he had terrible taste.}
#12 - End
"You just don't understand how sitcoms work," Marco insists as his hand brushes over his before pulling out a handful of popcorn, "They could never resolve the tension because it'd ruin the show - besides, c'mon, neither of them can even acknowledge it."
#13 - Fall
No matter how many times he insists that it was just admiration for a superior, not a crush, Marco still insists that he should let the Governor know he's madly in love and wants to father her heard of half-human hybrids.
#14 - Fire
Marco sees the fire in Rachel's eyes in the last place he ever expected; on Ax's mish-mashed face, smeared with cinnamon bun crumbs, as he talks about the Intrepid's latest mission.
#15 - Flexible
His girlfriends complain, oh how they complain, but he can always make room in his schedule for a surprise trip from Prince Aximili.
#16 - Flying
Ax loves the Intrepid as much as he assumes he would love a daughter if he had one; this is why Marco is never allowed to touch the ship.
#17 - Food
He's not sure what's more alarming: the fact that his Mom invited Ax over for Thanksgiving or the fact that they're in the kitchen, together, baking things.
#18 - Foot
"Wait a minute ..." he turned an odd shade of green, "You thought Fruit by the Foot contained actual foot and you ate it anyway?"
#19 - Grave
"See, Ax-man, this is when you get a friend flowers," Marco explains and Ax pretends not to notice his voice waver.
#20 - Green
"Wait, so you and Estrid-" Marco frowned, adding, "You're an alien, man, how can you have more luck with the ladies than me?"
#21 - Head
In addition to the vital differences between when one could and could not wear a shirt, apparently it was fine if a human female leaned her head against a friend's shoulder while watching television; but somehow it was "weird" if he did the same.
#22 - Hollow
Better to have lost his brother once, he thought, stalk eyes shifting towards his friend - yes, better that than to mourn him again and again.
#23 - Honor
Marco teases him, sometimes, and says that he should follow in Elfangor's footsteps and settle down with some human girl who really likes food - but he can't bring more dishonor to his family; even though there are times he wants to.
#24 - Hope
At least he had a chance of getting her back, he thought as he peeled his tired eyes away from the TV and towards the furrier of his friends - not everyone was so lucky.
#25 - Light
Space is so achingly beautiful; yet, at times, he finds himself staring out at the stars and wishing he were back on Earth staring at a television instead.
#26 - Lost
They're living the lives they always wanted, a superstar and a hero; it's only when they're alone that they can admit maybe they should have wished for something else.
#27 - Metal
{Are you sure we should not have acquired a chakram for her instead?} Ax asks, and Marco's not sure if it's a joke, but it is the first time since Rachel's death his smile hasn't felt forced.
#28 - New
It isn't the first time he feels Marco's eyes on him, in this form, but the shiver it sends down his spine is new and somewhat alarming.
#29 - Old
Messing with Menderash (and forcing him to watch every box set of Star Trek) was fun, of course, until he remembered how much he'd rather be hanging with another Andalite.
#30 - Peace
They discuss Marco's show, and the Andalite military's plans to trade morphing technology for Krispy Kremes, and it's almost like old times.
#31 - Poison
No matter how politely he asked (or how big his puppy dog eyes got) Marco never ate Ax's cooking again; not after his Dad accidentally wound up in the hospital.
#32 - Pretty
He's used to the odd beauty of the morph, that's nothing new, but just once Ax manages to move his gangly limbs with all the grace of his Andalite form and it stuns him.
#33 - Rain
There's not quite enough room on his Dad's couch for both of them, and they almost sleep past the two hour mark courtesy of The World's Most Boring Infomercial, but hey - it beats staying in a leaky scoop waiting for the rain to stop.
#34 - Regret
Jokes about the Governor (or, rather, President now) naturally lead into the epic tale of how he ruined it with this week's starlet - and they begin a throughly practiced discussion of love revolving around everything but Estrid and Rachel; the women they really miss.
#35 - Roses
It takes Marco an hour to get him to understand that flowers, especially those kind of flowers, are not the kind of gift you give a friend - and even longer to get him to agree to never tell Tobias about this.
#36 - Secret
It just happens one night while they're watching TV; it's not a big "moment" like Jake and Cassie had after the Howlers, which is good because neither of them wants to explain this to the others.
#37 - Snakes
"I would be careful not to hurt my feeling-ing-ssssuh if I were you," he said, carefully picking up the cobra, "I read - dead - that snakes are a delicacy in some human cultures and I am feeling hungry."
#38 - Snow
He'll never say it, but it's pretty cute the way Ax stays by the window, all four eyes pressed up against the glass; seeing snowflakes for the first time must be inter-galatically cool.
#39 - Solid
Jake is dead, and history is turning itself inside out thanks to the stupid Time Matrix, and Jake is dead - but Ax is beside him and that doesn't help much, but it's something.
#40 - Spring
He lets it slip that this time on the Homeworld is close to his birthday; the next day Marco shows up with change and extra set of clothes, claiming he has a sudden craving for Cinnabon.
#41 - Stable
They're not best friends; still, they've stuck with each other through war and peace and watching their makeshift family fall apart, and there's something to be said for that.
#42 - Strange
"I do not make 'strange faces' at him, that's Cassie's job - besides, you're one to talk with your hero-worship of big, brave Prince Jake."
#43 - Summer
All right, so he'd rather be taking Rachel to the latest summer blockbuster instead of a strangely pretty alien, but this isn't so bad.
#44 - Taboo
What he says is so adorably naive that Marco has to put a hand on each side of Ax's blue face and slide them down to pinch his cheeks - he has no idea why the Andalite avoids him for the next two weeks.
#45 - Ugly
Ax patiently chews popcorn as Marco raves about the figure of the female on the screen; and tries not to laugh when Marco almost chokes after he points out that, in his opinion, the male lead has a more appealing face.
#46 - War
A few weeks later and he can still feel the sensation of knocking out Prince Jake with the flat of his blade; somehow he's not surprised to find Marco looking at his haggard face in sympathy before loudly declaring they need a lot of bad TV and junk food.
#47 - Water
It's like watching a scientist with all his little beakers of who-knows-what as the Andalite carefully pours just the right amount of water into a coffeepot; it figures Ax would have a promising career as a barista if this whole aristh thing didn't work out.
#48 - Welcome
These so-called "intelligence" missions to Earth always end the same way, with cinnamon buns and bad TV; better than Cassie's too-tight hugs or Jake's excuses or a bird who no longer joins them.
#49 - Winter
His first winter on Earth, he finds Marco stumbling into the scoop, holding a cinnamon bun and a beverage called hot chocolate; he insists it's a gift, some human seasonal tradition, but Ax also suspects it's the closet thing he'll get to an apology for being so suspicious of him at first.
#50 - Wood
They visit the scoop one last time before Ax leaves for his final mission, watch cheesy television specials, and Marco even tries to do the farewell ritual with him; they talk about everything except what needs to be said.