SLASH WARNING.
Puff swung open the doors grandiosely and flipped his hair with a grin.
"I've got it!"
Axel spun his drumsticks around on his long, pale fingers and smirked. "Got what?"
Puff was known for notoriously locking himself in his room as he thought of new song ideas, and each time they got weirder and weirder. And yet none of the other band members would want it any other way.
"You guys like the Simpsons, right?"
"Haven't watched it much, lately," Deejay said as Benatar shrugged.
"Well, you guys like Mr. Burns, don't cha?" Puff said snidely, "And Smithers?"
Axel put two and two together immediately. "Ah, no!"
"Ah, yeah!"
"No, Puff!" Deejay snapped, catching on, "That's retarded!"
"So is your mom. Now let's get to rehearsing."
As Puff read out the lyrics and explained his plans, Axel felt his gaze traveling up to Benatar's face. A soft blush appeared on the drummer's face as he smiled awkwardly. Benatar, noticing him staring, frowned in annoyance and turned away.
The two boys who hid behind their hair knew that Axel had a crush on the blond guitarist. Their oddly-named leader and well-named DJ had no idea, although they had suspected.
Axel smiled awkwardly and brushed his hand against Benatar's.
"Cut it out." he hissed. Axel giggled at his cute English accent.
"...and then they get all cutesy at the end. Whataya think?" Puff finished. Deejay nodded grudgingly as Axel rushed back to Earth.
"Wha - oh, yeah! Cool!"
Benatar nodded, his golden locks rippling. Axel's face grew hotter.
"Axel? Axel! AXEL!" Puff shouted. The drummer started and looked up guiltily.
"W-what?"
"Pay attention!"
Each was handed their music and each went to rehearse in their rooms. After about ten minutes, Axel felt himself growing bored from tapping his drums. He stood and went for a walk.
The April air was warm and pleasant. The drummer took the time to gather up some flowers into a small bouquet. Their gentle fragrance floated into his nose as he heard the familiar sounds of keyboard notes. Peeking around the corner, he saw Puff chatting with Benatar, who was absently tapping at his keyboard. Axel's heart fluttered.
"Do you wanna practice with me, Ben-o?" the snarky band leader asked. Axel clenched his fists in jealousy when the skinny Brit nodded.
Puff cleared his throat as Ben played the keyboard. Axel felt a little color rise into his face as Puff starting singing.
"And all he ever wanted to do...was spend a little time with you...hey Mr. Burns...hey Mr. Burns..." Puff sang. Axel felt the smile on his face slip as the lyrics processed in his head.
"You know you're worth more to him...than all the money you spend...hey Mr. Burns...hey Mr. Burns..."
Sliding his hands into his pockets, Axel went back to his room.
###
The next two days were devoted to practice. Axel learned his drum bits well, and spent his free time making creative things. At one point, he made a bright, rainbow teddy bear. Growing an idea, he quietly got up and crept down the darkened hallway.
Benatar was flopped over on his bed, tiredly poking his keyboard. His blue jacket was thrown over the back of a chair, and his red tie was relaxed around his neck. Axel sheepishly grinned as he blushed a little more.
"Hey, B." he said. Benatar sat up, startled, and slammed his hand against his keyboard sharply. He looked at Axel shaky figure and folded his arms angrily.
"S-sorry...but I made you something." the drummer said. He stepped forward, trying his hardest to keep his eyes off of the guitarist's chest. He took the bear out from behind his back and handed it to Benatar. The blondie stared at the teddy in his pale hands silently.
"I made it myself." Axel swayed back and forth on his feet, smiling stupidly.
Benatar remained silent for a moment longer, then in a swift move he tore off the bear's head and threw it back at Axel. He rose up and shoved the drummer to the ground, tense with rage.
"YOU FUCKING DYKE! STOP TRYING TO TURN ME GAY! I WAS NEVER WITH YOU, AND I'LL NEVER WILL BE!"
Axel felt his eyes well up. "B-but -!"
Benatar slapped him across the face with a painful smack.
"GET OUT!"
Axel rolled over and scrambled out, cheek burning and tears streaming down his face. As he blindly stumbled down the stairs, he heard the door slamming behind. When he finally wobbled down the final steps, he burst into full-fledged tears and collapsed on the steps, sobbing.
After five minutes, Axel had curled up on the cold steps and resorted to quiet sniffling. His pants and gloves were stained with snot and tears.
"Yo, Axel."
The drummer looked up tearfully to see Deejay looking at him. He hurriedly got to his feet and scrubbed his face embarrassedly.
"You okay?" Deejay asked.
Axel opened his mouth to respond, but his voice wavered and broke. Exploding back into tears, he flung himself in Deejay's arms and buried his face in Deejay's track suit. The DJ stared down at the skinny man clinging to him with his shoulders shaking, and felt his tenseness relax.
"Hey...it's okay, man." he said gently, wrapping his arms around Axel, "Shh...chill..."
With a sniff, he pulled away. "S-sorry..."
"Nah, it's fine."
Puff came by, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, what's happening here?"
Axel wiped his face clean. "N-nothing."
The singer tapped his white shoe against the floor. "Well, let's go. We need to record. Can someone get Benatar?"
Axel opened his mouth to say he would, but closed it at the last second. Deejay volunteered as Puff pulled Axel to the band room.
"What happened to you?" he asked when he saw the bright red, hand-shaped welt clearly visible on Axel's left cheek.
"Nothing." Axel mumbled, glad his long bangs hid his eyes, which were scarlet from crying.
###
After recording, Puff let the band members take a break as he fiddled with his computer and edited the music video. At some point, he swept his hand over his sweaty forehead and sighed.
"Hey, I'm beat. Do we have any beer?"
Deejay checked the fridge. "Nope. Fresh out."
"Aw, bullshit. Someone go buy some more."
His gaze flitted to Axel, sitting quietly at the table with a bandage on his cheek, and Benatar, leaning against a wall.
"How about you two?" he said, pointing at them. Axel looked up in surprise.
"Wha - no!" he squeaked.
"Why? Do you have a problem with Brits?"
"No, but -!"
"Then there's no problem!" The lead Martian crossed his arms behind his head and put his feet up. "Now get going."
"But -!"
"GET."
Deejay watched as Axel quietly stood up and went with the silent Benatar to their car. He almost said something, but held it back at the last moment.
The YFM bus was for tours only, so they slid into the backup car they used. Benatar drove.
After spending a few silent minutes at the store, they started their drive home on the lonely highway. Axel glanced at Benatar worriedly.
"Look, Benatar, about what happened earlier..." he trailed off when he saw the keyboardist tighten his grip on the steering wheel until his knuckle flushed white.
"I...I didn't mean to make you mad, I just..." Axel searched for the right words, "I just wanted to be friends."
Benatar turned to look at him grudgingly, taking his eyes off the road.
"And I just don't want you to be mad at me anymore." Axel mumbled. Benatar softened and opened his mouth to respond when the blare of a truck horn broke their silence. As the giant tanker bore on them, Axel immediately reacted.
Almost by instinct, he shoved Benatar against the door, hard. The force was enough to knock the blonde Brit out of the car and onto the street, where he rolled a safe distance away. He looked up in horror.
"AXEL!"
It was too late; the resulting crash almost blew Benatar's ears out from the sound. He ducked down as debris flew by his head.
When the noise had died down and the only sound was the ringing of the keyboardist's ears, he looked up and jumped to his feet.
"Axel? Axel, where are you?"
His calls went unanswered. Heart pulsing erratically, Benatar stumbled forward and looked around.
"Axel!"
A moan came from the other side of the highway, where a rocky escarpment was. Fearing the worst, Benatar looked over the edge of the hill and gasped.
Axel was sprawled on the ground, holding his stomach and breathing heavily. He was covered and cuts and burns, and blood was pooling around his head.
"AXEL!"
Benatar crawled down the rocky cliff and raced to the drummer's side, shaking traumatically.
"C'mon, Axel, you're fine, just get up, please..." he begged, on the brink of tears, "Please, just, get up..."
Axel opened his mouth to make another painful sound but instead blood bubbled out of his mouth. Terrified the drummer had internal bleeding, Benatar pulled him up and held him close. The warm, sticky fluid soaked through his clothes.
He did it to save me.
"H-hold on, I'll get help..." Benatar begged, tears beginning to pour down his face as shock clamped a hold on him. He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, which had cracked across the screen thanks to the crash. He hurriedly called Puff, which proved harder then he expected since he was shaking so much.
"Yello?"
"P-Puff, you g-gotta help m-me! W-we got in a-a crash, and A-Axel is r-really hurt, a-and -!"
"Oh, SHIT! We'll be there in a second, just hold on!"
Benatar held Axel closer, listening to the faint, steady thump of the drummer's heart, and prayed it wouldn't stop.
Five minutes later, Puff and Deejay had shown up and gotten them. As they drove, panic-stricken, to the hospital, Benatar reflected on the drummer's words.
I...I didn't mean to make you mad, I just...I just wanted to be friends.
Benatar looked down at the bloody mess in his arms.
I just don't want you to be mad at me anymore.
###
ONE DAY LATER
The remaining members of Your Favorite Martian walked through the pale hallways of the hospitals. Benatar peeked into the ward.
"Axel?"
The drummer was sitting up, coated in bandages. His eyes were sunken and dark, and his skin was anemically pale.
"Hey, guys." he mumbled.
The three floated in. The Brit sat down lightly on the bed.
"Do you...did your internal bleeding fixed?"
"What? Oh, I didn't have internal bleeding."
Axel grinned, revealing a hole in his grin - he was missing a tooth.
"O-oh."
A wave of relief washed over the blonde, making his shoulders sag. An awkward pause hovered in the air.
"So when did they say you could go?" Deejay asked.
"Later today. The tooth was the worst I got - the rest were just burns and cuts."
Suddenly, a song came on the radio. Puff's ears perked up.
"Hey, hey, hey! They're playing our song!" he cheered as Deejay grinned. The two paraded out of the ward, announcing it to everyone.
Benatar watched them leave and turned back to Axel as the music played on.
"And all he ever wanted to do...was spend a little time with you...hey, Mr. Burns...hey, Mr. Burns..." the radio played.
The drummer looked down and sighed.
"I know, you're -"
"I need to thank you."
Axel looked up. "Huh? What're you s-?"
Before he could finish, Benatar had swept in and their lips had met. Under his hair, Axel's eyes widened.
No way.
As the Brit's hands flew up to the drummer's shoulders, Axel's eyes fluttered closed. He wrapped his arms around Benatar and pulled him closer.
"You know you're worth more to him...than all the money you spend...hey, Mr. Burns...hey, Mr. Burns..."
Benatar pulled away, heart racing. Axel tensed.
"...thank you."
The English blondie held Axel's hands tightly.
The drummer relaxed and smiled. "Don't mention it.