Axel sat silently on the couch, his shoulders tense and an undeniable uneasiness to his general aura as he anxiously waited on Mark to finally return to the living room and give Axel what he was sure was going to be a pretty stern talking to. Although he could honestly say that he'd never meant it, Axel really had put his foot in it this time. Ever since Josh had moved in with them things around the apartment had changed. Mostly these changes were for the better and didn't really effect him all too much - little things like making sure all weaponry was kept on top of the counter and out of Josh's reach for example -, However there was only one thing Axel was having real trouble reigning in, namely his language.
It was a well known fact that Axel had a mouth on him like a damn sewer. Being around the pint-sized Trickster for more than five minutes and anyone could see that it was just a natural part of his 'colourful' vocabulary. However, Mark had made it pretty damn clear that whenever Josh was around Axel was to mind what he said to assure that his child wouldn't be saying something like 'shit' or 'fuck' when Mark next dropped him off at Pre-School. For the most part keeping up appearances had been easier than Axel had anticipated, Josh had been living with them for almost seven months now and so far he hadn't slipped up once. However earlier that evening the penny had finally dropped and Axel had thrown himself right into the deep end.
The Three of them - Axel, Josh and Mark - were sat on the couch watching some weird Barnyard themed kids show when suddenly some actor wearing a garish Pig Mask sauntered into the view of the camera and effectively scared the hell out of Axel. The Tricksters dealings with Professor Pyg when the Rogues were in Gotham were a bit of a sore subject for Axel and he had the scar across his abdomen to prove it. However, even Axel knew that the site of a man wearing your average run of the mill pig mask didn't quite warrant the reaction it had got. Jumping backwards in his seat - and managing to scare both Mark and Josh in the process - Axel grabbed his chest and cackled maniacally.
"Fucking hell! That asshole scared the living shit outta me man!" Axel had announced with a panicked sounding chuckle, but upon turning and looking towards his boyfriend and being met with a venomous glare Axel had instantly put two and two together and realized he had well and truly fucked up this time.
Almost an hour had passed and as of yet Mark was yet to actually return from Josh's room. Axel was almost sure that he could hear the Television playing from within the boy's room and he just assumed that meant that Mark was doing two things, making sure that his son got settled while also leaving Axel alone in the metaphorical dog house to think about what he'd done. Mark could be pretty damn sadistic when he put his mind to it.
After what felt like an eternity Axel felt his stomach drop when he heard Josh's room door delicately creak open and a set of footsteps edging out into the hallway before shutting the door behind them.
Oh god, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been this nervous.
Without even so much as looking at Axel, Mark slipped around the couch and sat as far from the Trickster as possible, his arms folded tightly across his chest and an icy scowl that would make even Lenny shiver present on his face. Shifting uncomfortably in his spot on the couch, Axel turned his head around to look at Mark only to find the taller male staring ahead of him with his eyes fixed on the Television. Oh great, now Mark was giving him the silent treatment? Well if that's how he wanted to play it then Mark was about to find out that Axel could be a difficult customer too.
Less than ten minutes of Axel also trying - and failing - to give Mark the silent treatment passed before the knot in the smaller males stomach finally got the better of him. Heaving out a bored sounding sigh, Axel swung his leg up off the floor and begun moving it across the couch and towards Mark, knudging him lightly with his toes. Mark however continued to pretend not to notice the other males presence.
"You're mad at me aren't you..." Axel said with a frown. "C'mon Cloudy, y'know i never meant it. Mark? C'mom Mark, look at me... Maaaaaaark."
Next to him, Mark continued to burn holes into the television with his eyes, completely ignoring the other male's desperate attempts to try and get his attention. Outside, Axel noticed the patter of rainfall beginning to fall from the sky above and slap against the windows the longer Mark let his feelings fester. Christ, Mark could be so damn dramatic.
Getting up onto the couch and crawling over towards Mark, Axel sighed contently as he placed himself down next to Mark and rested his head down on the other's shoulders. Mark continued to ignore him, although Axel cracked a small grin when he saw the rain outside begin to simmer back down once his head was planted against Mark's shoulder.
"C'mon Mark, don't be mad at me. I'm sorry okay? I got a fright and made an ass of myself. Y'know how i am around Pig masks after Gotham. I mean can you blame me? Pyg wasn't exactly an easy fella to deal with and to be fair i'm also kind of massively afraid of clowns and Chainsaw's after Gotham too, which isn't ideal considering our line of work isn't exactly Chainsaw-free bu..." Axel rambled away before he was silenced by Mark's index finger being pressed lightly against his lips. Next to him, Mark sighed aloud and tilted his head down ever so slightly to kiss Axel's forehead.
"I know babe. I'm sorry for giving you the silent treatment, It's just... you know how impressionable Josh is. I mean, he heard Mick say the word 'Dick' and he wouldn't stop saying it for days. You'd think it was the 'Sesame Street' word of the day or something." Mark added as he raised his arm up from Axel's side and placed it down around the smaller males shoulders.
"Ha! Oh i remember that well. Lisa and I spent all damn day trying to get him to forget about that before you got back in. To be fair we thought we'd succeeded when Lisa taught him how to say 'Icicle'..." Axel replied with a pleased looking smirk as he nuzzled into Mark's embrace.
"And then he then spent all night calling Lenny 'Icicle Dick', much to everyone's amusement..." Mark chuckled, an somewhat proud looking grin on his face as he spoke.
The two continued to chat among themselves for the next few minutes, recounting several tales of the strange brand of madness and normalcy that the child had brought into their lives. Who knew something like raising a kid could be so damn rewarding?
"I just want to be a good dad, y'know? I don't wanna be that guy who let's his four year old do and say whatever he wants. People already expect the worse of me, with Josh i just wanna prove them wrong, for his sake i mean. He means everything to me Axel and i just wanna do right by him. Josh deserves better..." Mark said, his voice wavering towards the end of his sentence as a sad look became visible in his deep brown eyes.
Instantly picking up on his lovers change in attitude, Axel forced himself into an upright position and placed his hands on either side of Mark's face, turning the other's head around to look upon his own.
"Mark, listen to me. You're an amazing dad, no 'ifs', 'ands' or 'buts' about it. Josh thinks the world of you and practically worships the ground you walk on. You may only have been taking proper care of him for seven months or so, but god dammit he think's your a fucking superstar babe! You're doing everything you can by him and you're absolutely brilliant at it." Axel whispered as he leaned in closer to Mark, pressing his lips lightly against the others and kissing him tenderly. "Besides, you've got all of us to help you out, and when have we ever steered you wrong?"
Mark pulled his head back and chuckled. "Do you really want me to answer that?"
"If it's gonna kill this beautifully sentimental moment were sharing, then i wouldn't if i were you." Axel snickered as he kissed Mark once again. "But seriously Mark, Don't put yourself down. Josh loves you, and i do to."
Mark continued to stare into Axel's eyes with a happy smile present on his face, his head tilted forward and his forehead resting tenderly against Axel's.
"So... y'still mad at me?" Axel asked sheepishly.
The taller male hesitated for the briefest moment before he lunged forward and tackled Axel down onto his back and begun kissing him passionately, his hands roaming all over the smaller males body as Axel oh so easily melted into his touch.
"I take it that's a 'No' then? Fucking hell Cloudy..." Axel whispered between kisses, his hands traveling up under Marks shirt and caressing his back as he pulled the Weather Wizard in closer.
"Yes i'm still angry and this doesn't change that, but god dammit the things you do to me Mr. Walker." Mark purred as he begun awkwardly fumbling around with Axel's belt buckle.
"Blasphemy! Sex solves everything!" Axel teased before one of Mark's large hands clamped down hard over his mouth, eliciting a shocked gasp from Axel as Mark momentarily stopped kissing him to look up into his eyes.
"Just... stop talking? Okay babe?" Mark muttered playfully as he pulled Axel's jeans down off his legs before tossing them down onto the floor.
"Ha! Can do Cloudy! Can do!"
Things begun quickly getting hot and heavy with both males being too caught up in the moment to really care where they were or what they were doing. Clothes had been shed - Axel's jeans and Mark's shirt were the first to go - and the kissing had quickly turned into grinding. However after Axel let out a rather embarrassingly loud moan when Mark ferociously ravished his neck Axel had the sense of mind to place both hands onto Mark's shoulder and push the shirtless male up off of him and onto his knees on the couch.
"Uh, Maybe... maybe we should consider moving this upstairs?" Axel said between heavy breaths, his chest heaving up and down and his pupils blown out as he desperately tried to restrain himself, for the meantime anyway.
Kneeling above the Trickster, Mark raised an arm up to rub the back of his head as he turned behind him to look at the still closed door that lead into Josh's room.
"Yeah, maybe we should..."
A few hours later up in their shared bedroom, Mark slipped back into consciousness when he managed to pick up on a gentle knocking against his closed bedroom door. Sitting up in bed, Mark groaned under his breath and rubbed his eyes before turning to his left and looking down at the still apparently fast asleep Axel. Mark hated to admit it, but Axel was kind of right about that whole 'Sex Solves Everything' thing he mentioned earlier.
Swinging his long legs over the side of the bed and rising to his feet with an almost inaudible moan, Mark silently threw on his boxers and a t shirt before making his way over to the door and opening it delicately to avoid waking the sleeping male still wrapped up in the covers. In the open doorway stood the tiny Josh, his eyes red and nose running from crying and an over-sized red teddy bear clutched tightly between his short arms. In that moment, Mark felt his heart break for the kid.
"Daddy, i h-had a bad dream..." The child said, his soft voice shaky as he spoke. Without hesitation, Mark sunk down onto one knee and wrapped his arms around his son, pulling the child into a tight hug and cooing sweetly as he did so. In his arms he could feel Josh ease up and while he did struggle to do so while still holding onto the bear he could feel the child's arms do their best to wrap around his father's broad torso.
Picking Josh up and placing him up onto his shoulders, Mark wrapped his hands around the Child's ankles and looked up towards his son with a tired smirk on his face. As he did, Josh leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his fathers neck for balance, still refusing to let go of the big red bear in his arms.
"I'm sorry for waking you daddy..."
"S'alright kiddo. You don't have to be sorry for anything. I love you, and it's what dad's do. Now how about we go get you some warm milk and i'll sleep on your floor tonight? If we're quiet we could even watch some Spongebob, how's that sound?" Mark said in a hushed tone as he looked up at his son with a cheeky smile on his face.
On his shoulders, Josh nodded lazily before he then lay his own head down onto his dads, his eyelids heavy and voice tired as he spoke.
"Mhmm, that would be good." Josh whispered, apparently doing the 'quiet' part already as he was carried down the stairs and towards the kitchen.
Inside their bedroom, Axel was sitting up in bed with a wide smirk on his face as he listened to Mark and Josh's little exchange outside. As both the other males silently made their down the stairs Axel puffed out a tired sounding sigh and collapsed backwards onto the bed, one arm sprawled out over onto the warmth of Mark's now empty side of the bed and another placed on his chest, absentmindedly tracing the long scar that stretched across his abdomen.
"'Not a good dad' my ass Mardon." Axel whispered to himself with a yawn as he got to making himself comfortable on the now empty bed.
Things in this relationship were never going to be perfect, no relationships ever were really, but if things kept going like this then Axel had the feeling that things would be just fine.
