Author's Note: It's over. Wow. Um, what can I say? No joking or bullshitting here, a 50-foot THANK YOU to all my reviewers. If it weren't for you guys, I probably would've stopped writing this a long time ago. When I started this fic, I hadn't even intended for it to become a series, but I'm glad that it did. I'm also glad that since I've been writing this fic, it seems like more and more people aren't totally grossed out by the thought of slash and that is really fricking cool. The real reason I started writing this fic was because, at the time, there were only two fics about this couple and since I really liked Marco and Ax together, I felt like evening the score. =P
Now this couple seems to have become pretty popular. Eeek. And an extra THANK YOU to the three authors whose works inspired me to keep on going with this fic -- Forlay, Doctor Strangelove, and Phenomene.
Thanks, thanks, thanks! Gah, I'm getting emotional. **sniff** I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and of course, I'm not going to stop writing M/A. Check out some of my other fics if you find yourself in need of a fix. Whoa, that rhymed!
One note about the chapter - a part of this is left up to your own interpretation. Think what you want to. I'm not going to say what happened one way or the other, I leave that to you, the reader, to decide. =)
All right, my insane babbling done for now, enjoy the last chapter!
Be Stupid Chapter Fourteen: When Things Change
Part Two
Ax - Beginnings
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The word echoed through his head like sound in a dark cave. For a moment, the Andalite felt tempted to pinch himself so that he could be certain he wasn't dreaming. So that he could be certain this wasn't some trick of The Ellimist or The One, who was now dead. It wasn't a dream, though, and Ax knew that.
He just wasn't sure if he wanted to admit it.
What was he supposed to do, go running into Marco's arms like those women he saw on soap operas?
Somehow, that didn't seem like a good idea. It wasn't as if Ax would object to being Marco's arms, but Ax felt that just running into them like some sort of awkward simpleton. No, Ax was going to have to handle the sudden pounding his heart in a more manner than that. The Andalite tapped his First Officer on the shoulder and motioned over to Marco so as to inform Menderash he would be elsewhere. Menderash, far too absorbed in his work with the remnants of The Rachel's communications systems gave a slight nod in reply and kept working.
"It's been a hell of a day, hasn't it?" Marco asked, adding an awkward nervous laugh. Ax nodded.
"Yes, it has." The Andalite said, surprised at the way his voice seemed to have dropped a few decibels.
A long silence passed between the two men, with neither of looking at the other, but unable to speak.
Just as Ax decided he was going to break the silence, Marco started talking.
"Sorry I didn't, you know, talk to you for the past year." The short man said. "I forgot about, well, everything."
Ax shook his head to try and stop Marco from talking. It hadn't worked, so the Andalite resorted to covering Marco's mouth with his hand. He had to admit the angry glare he got in return was cute, in it's own strange way.
"You don't need to apologize. I figured, after a month on Intrepid with no contact from any of you, that Ellimist had affected your memories." The Andalite said, then with a slow apprehension, removed his human hand.
Both men took a step back on instinct. It'd been quite a while since they were this close.
"You have no idea," Marco whispered. "How weird that was."
Ax smiled with a hint of mischeviousness on his lips. "Are you certain?" He asked, his voice full of teasing mirth.
Marco looked at him for a moment, contemplating something. "Don't tempt me to do something I might regret."
Ax fought to keep from laughing. "I'm not tempting you to do anything." He said, his voice steady.
Marco raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah, Mister Grovel-At-My-Intelligence-You-Primitive-Humans?"
Ax blinked. That was a new one. He decided then and there that he didn't want to understand Marco's brain.
Marco continued his diatribe. "Anyone with half a brain can tell you're flirting with me, which may indeed tempt me to do something I could regret." Then Ax felt Marco grab by the shoulders all of the sudden. "Like this." He said.
It was at that moment that Marco halfway forced Ax into a long, hard kiss.
More than half of the ship seemed to freeze in time. Menderash dropped the computer component he'd been tinkering with. Jeanne's eyes grew wide. Santorelli grew green and made a mad rush for the bathrooms.
Tobias glared. Many of the ship's aliens started cheering while they restrained the other half determined to kill the young man and the Andalite. Jake's reaction was quite simple. "No PDA on the ship!" He shouted.
It was then that Marco let go of a rather dazed Ax. He smiled a rather shy kind of smile. "Told you not to tempt me."
Then he turned to Jake and gave him a salute. "Oui, mon captain!" He shouted. It was then that Ax thumped Marco upside the head, just in order to shut his boyfriend up for the good of all on the ship.
----------------
"Hear me out." Jake said. "I know it sounds ludicrous, but how else do you expect us to handle them all?"
Jake, his eyes infused with a spark from the plan he'd just come up with, looked over at Ax.
"How many of them can we fit onto Intrepid?" Jake asked the resident alien.
That depends on whether you want them all packed or comfortable. Ax said. After the incident earlier near The Rachel's communications systems, Ax had retreated back to his natural form as a safety measure. It was the only way that half of the Blade Ship/Rachel's inhabitants would not kill him, despite his part in their freedom from the One. It was a depressing thought that the unity they had all experienced while fighting the One was starting to dissipate so soon. Ax tried not to focus on it, however, and get to the task at hand.
"Semi-comfortable would be best." Jake said. "We have too many to make everyone comfortable."
What are we going to do about the races that hate each other? Tobias asked. We can't have a war here.
"Keep them as far from each other as we can." Marco said. "There's not much more we can do than that."
We can fit close to seventy-five percent of them onto Intrepid without packing them all inside. Ax told the group.
Jake nodded, a brisk, quick movement. "That'll do. Now, like Tobias mentioned, we can't have all of them acting out intergalactic war on the ship. We're going to need some of us to keep the peace. Any volunteers?" He asked.
Both Menderash and Jeanne raised their hands. I would like to assist as well, Prince Jake. Ax said.
Jake smiled at the volunteers. "All right, then. If war breaks out, you three get all the blame. Ax, Menderash, how are you guys going with reconstructing the ships?" Jake asked. Menderash frowned, thinking to himself.
"Prince Aximili and I have the ships under eighty-five percent compatibility, Prince Jake." Menderash said.
Yes. By tomorrow, the ships should be 100 percent compatible. Ax chipped in.
"By tomorrow? Why, I thought you'd have it done in three minutes." Marco joked. Ax and Menderash glared.
"Maybe they would have if you didn't come to interrupt them, faggot." Santorelli said, his voice stern and gruff.
Jake stared at the Sergeant, anger playing in his eyes. Tobias's hawk glare seemed to increase in its intensity.
Jeanne bit her lip, looking like she wanted to slap Santorelli. Even Menderash looked uncomfortable.
Marco's words came out slow and angry. "What did you call me?" He asked. Santorelli rose to his feet in a flash.
"You heard me, you queer." Santorelli said, his voice laced with contempt. "Your kind of people disgust me."
"Funny, your kind of people disgust me." Marco said with a calm, dangerous voice.
"Figures." Santorelli snorted. "What I just don't get is why all you freaks can't stay closeted. What a man does in the bedroom is his own business, there's no need to bring your quirks out in the open. Nobody else wants to know."
Ax saw it for the brief millisecond it lasted. The anger in Marco's eyes had given way to a shadow of doubt.
"Both of you, sit down. Now." Jeanne said, her arms crossed. "Or I morph lioness and make you sit."
Both men sat down without breaking the glares in their eyes. Jake sighed and tapped his head with a pencil.
"We can't expect peace on the ship if we're going to fight amongst ourselves. Marco, Santorelli, on your own time." Jake said, his voice sounding weary and stressed. "Or else I'll let Jeanne loose on you both. Get it?"
"Got it." Both men said in unison. Ax felt, at that moment, an overwhelming urge to speak for himself, to speak to the man who he felt he had, to be honest, begun to fall in love with. He wanted to say something, any one thing.
Yet Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil remained silent.
So let me recap this. Tobias said. A million or so inhabitants of a parasitic being, and we're returning them all home?
"Yeah, that's the plan." Jake said, smiling an unsure smile. "That is the plan."
----------------
Both Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil and Menderash-Postill-Fastill stood in front of the new communications center for The Rachel, now a hybrid made up Yeerk, Andalite, human and various other species' technology.
"This is amazing." The Nothlit said. "To think that such technologies merged like this, it boggles the mind!"
Yes, it does. Ax agreed. Menderash, I think we should quite proud of ourselves for this achievement.
Ax's ex-First Officer smiled. "Imagine what they'd think of it on the homeworld." He said, giving one of the computers an affectionate pat. "I wonder if there'd be any way to duplicate this technology?"
Ax shrugged, forgetting that wasn't a normal action for an Andalite. Perhaps, but I doubt that we could.
"What makes you think that, Prince Aximili?" Menderash asked, and for the first time, Ax noted no stuttering in his speech. Menderash had been human for close a year now, it was true, but he seemed to be in even better control of his human morph than Ax himself. To get this array of parts would take us a millennia. Ax answered Menderash.
"Yes, you're right. It would be worth it, though." Menderash said, looking at the system with the pride of a father.
If used in the correct hands, yes. Ax answered, amused by Menderash's obvious pride.
"The correct hands." Menderash said with a shake of his head. "You sound old-fashioned, Prince Aximili."
Ax was taken aback by his ex-First Officer's words. What did Menderash mean by that, calling him old-fashioned?
"I meant no disrespect." Menderash said in a meek voice. "It's rather obvious you aren't the old-fashioned type."
Rather obvious? Ax asked, still feeling a bit confused.
"Well, yes, considering your behavior with that human the other day." The Nothlit answered.
Ax felt a flush of shame. He was no longer ashamed of his homosexuality, but this was the first time he had ever discussed this with any other Andalite aside from his own parents. Ax felt quite uncomfortable about the situation.
That's not quite our normal behavior. Ax said, shocked to find that he was defending himself against Menderash.
"Then the two of you aren't, as the humans say, an item?" Menderash asked, seeming to have a genuine interest.
I wouldn't say that. Ax said. We are, but under normal circumstances, we aren't that flamboyant about it.
"Ah, I understand." Menderash said as he tore he gaze from the comm system to his Prince. "I wouldn't be, either."
Yes. Ax said, remembering his eviction from his family. It isn't a wise decision. Menderash smiled then.
"It doesn't matter to me. I believe that one's worth as a soldier and Prince overweigh personal matters." He said.
That's a relief. Ax said, feeling a pang of regret as he recalled his decision to be a Nothlit. Perhaps he had judged his own people too fast. Yes, there was no doubt in his mind that the Homeworld would remain prejudiced for many a century more. Ax's hope, though, in those attitudes changing was given sudden life once again.
The difference in age between himself and Menderash wasn't large at all. The two of them shared the same age group, it just happened that Ax was higher in rank. Was it wrong to believe he might become accepted one day?
I think we should inform Prince Jake we've completed our work on the communications system. Ax said.
So they went off, Andalite and Nothlit, to go inform Jake of their progress.
Ax had a feeling, however, that perhaps a ship's systems weren't the only thing they had progressed.
----------------
The two of them found Jake sitting in his quarters on The Rachel, trying (with Jeanne helping) to diffuse an argument between a Tly, a ruddy colored lizard-like creature and a Kigora, metallic beings famed around the galaxy for it's stubborn attitudes. On a bad day, the Kigora could rival Andalites in that department.
Prince Jake! We have finished our work on the communications system! Ax shouted, unaware of the brewing fight inside of Jake's chambers. Jake gave Ax a slight of his hand. "That's great, guys." He said, his voice steel.
"Prince Jake, is there anything we can," Jake cut off Menderash with a shake of his head.
The Andalite and the Nothlit then left Jake and Jeanne to handle whatever situation had arose.
After that, Ax and Menderash had gone their separate ways. Ax found himself wandering the halls of The Rachel.
He could've been wandering the Blade Ship, he supposed, but Ax knew more about the ship than he even cared to know. Therefore looking around The Rachel proved much more interesting.
Aside from the revamping of the control center to one more befitting her human inhabitants, and the addition of sleeping quarters designed for humans, there was no large leap of difference between The Rachel and an advanced Blade Ship. Ax, however, preferred The Rachel to any Blade Ship any day, in particular after his capture by The One. It might have been a bitter sentiment but Ax couldn't help how he felt about it.
"What's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" Ax turned his stalk eyes around to see who was speaking.
It turned out to be just the person he suspected. Marco was walking up to him, hands in his pockets, smirking.
I was wandering around. I'm not very familiar with this ship, after all. Ax answered.
Marco, now standing next to him shrugged. "I could give you a tour." He said, hiding a smile. "All expenses paid."
I assume you have nothing better to do. Ax said. Marco laughed. "And you assume right. Come on, let's go."
Go where? Ax asked, but before he could get a proper answer, Marco took it upon himself to start the tour.
"This hallway is where everyone's sleeping quarters are. To the right is that asshole Santorelli's room, and Menderash's quarters are to the left. Further down are Jeanne's quarters, which I wouldn't mind looking into."
Looking up to see Ax's glare of doom, Marco amended himself. "Of course, I only have eyes for you."
That's a relief, as I assume Jeanne would gut you like a fish for sneaking into her quarters. Ax said.
Marco laughed, nervous. Ax guessed his little comment had more truth to it than he'd intended it to.
"Those, of course." Marco said, pointing to the room to the right. "Are my quarters. End of story."
The two of them turned into a different hall. "This is the control room, which you know quite well." Marco said.
They went to the left into another room. "Even though I know I'll regret telling you this, this is the kitchen-slash-dining quarters. Please, I beg you, don't go in unless you're invited, all right Ax-man?" Marco asked.
Ax sighed. He'd never put much thought into it, but convincing the others that he could handle himself around food was going to be a continuous battle. I promise not to go in unless invited. The Andalite said.
Then the two men took off down another hallway. "This is the armory and weapons storage unit."
Why would you need all of this? Ax asked. Marco shrugged. "It was built into the ship beforehand."
Then they went down another path. "And here we are at the sleeping quarters again." Marco said.
Ax saw Marco hesitate for a moment, then he seemed to blow it off. "Do you want to come in?" He asked.
Ax shrugged, not seeing any harm in it, and finding that he didn't much care either way. He went inside.
"Sorry, it's a pigsty." Marco said, picking up various articles of clothing in an attempt to create a safe walkway.
I don't mind. Ax said. Don't you remember my apartment? He asked.
Marco almost dropped the tiny mountain of clothes in his hands. "You're right." He said. Then he gave Ax a conspiratory look. "Perhaps you're how I learned to make such a mess of this place." He accused, poking fun.
Perhaps you were never very good at cleaning up. Ax commented, enjoying the irritated expression he got in return. Marco dismissed his comment with a wave of his hand, pretending not to have heard a word of it.
"Make yourself at home, do whatever you like." Marco said, dropping the mountain of clothes onto a pile in the back of his sleeping quarters. Checking to make sure no one could see before that he did it, Ax began to morph.
In a matter of moments, Ax was once again human. All at once, the Andalite found himself fighting an onslaught of emotion. The short incident near the communications center notwithstanding, it had been a year since Ax had found himself in this morph, the morph that was as familiar to him as his own Andalite body.
A morph in which he felt more secure in than his own Andalite body. A morph he had been prepared to live the rest of his life in until the moment the Ellimist had ripped that chance from him. Now, though, he could morph again.
"Ax, are you feeling okay?" Ax was snapped back to reality by Marco's voice. The shorter man was looking at him in concern, not bothering to hide the worry lurking in his eyes. Ax smiled in gratitude and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."
Marco seemed relieved. "Good." He said. "That's good to know." The young men smiled at one another.
"I was worried." Marco whispered. "I mean, you looked a little out of it, and after...all of that, I was freaked."
Ax knew what "all of that" meant. Marco had to be referring to Ax's possession by the One. "I understand." He said.
Ax looked away and stared at a blank wall. "I should've told you sooner, when I first suspected it."
"No way." Marco said, shaking his head. "I would have thought you were going nuts."
"I thought that, too." Ax said. "It would have been logical for you to believe the same."
"Listen." Marco said, seating him in a chair in the corner. "I should've asked you what was up, you know."
"Jesus, even I can tell something's wrong if you attack a bunch of kids! But I didn't do anything, either. We're both to blame and we're both more than lucky nothing happened in the end." Marco said.
Remembering the future the Ellimist had shown him, Ax agreed. "Yes, I'd say we have incredible luck."
"You know, no one aside from Jake, Tobias and Cassie, I'd wager, remembers any of it." Marco said.
Ax nodded. "Yes, I figured that out when my mother let me talk to her." He told Marco.
The shorter man looked up in surprise. "What're you talking about?" He asked.
"I didn't tell you, did I?" Ax asked, looking straight the other man's suspicious eyes. "My parents disowned me."
Marco shot up from his seat like a rocket. "They what? How could they? How could you not tell me?"
"I apologize. There were more pressing matters, after all." Ax said. "It wasn't intentional, I just forgot to tell you."
"Don't you ever keep something like that from me again!" Marco shouted, now hopping mad.
"We weren't together at the time, you know." Ax said in a quiet voice. Marco sighed in exasperation.
"I know, but you shouldn't have to keep something like that to yourself." Marco said with a sheepish shrug.
"I would have liked to tell you all, but I was afraid of getting the same reaction." Ax admitted, looking at his feet.
"I wouldn't have." Marco said, causing Ax to look up. "Even if I wasn't attracted to you, I wouldn't have cared."
Ax smiled. "That's good to know." He said, now moving himself to sit on the bed. Something had occurred to him.
"How did your parents take the news?" The Andalite asked. "I never did get to find out."
Marco's whistled before he gave an answer. "They were happy for me as long as I didn't tell them a thing."
"Ah." Ax said. "Well, I suppose that's a good thing." Then he looked back at Marco, dubious. "What did you tell them?"
"To be honest? Nothing." The dark haired young man said. "They found out through Tompson, that asshole."
"I see." Ax said, leaving it be. "We're lucky in that regard. At least Tompson won't reveal us like he did."
Marco raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Tompson won't reveal us?" He asked, wary.
"I doubt he remembers anything. He now lacks the fuel he needs for the Human Alliance to gain new members. With the memories of my attacking those two boys and anyone's recollection of our relationship both gone, Christopher Tompson does not have much basis for his organization as the Yeerks have so far been the only problematic species, excepting the Skrit Na, to arrive on Earth." Ax explained. "Simple as that."
Ax rested his chin on his head as he thought. "Of course, that means our relationship is not public knowledge."
Marco blinked. "I almost forgot. So, we get to decide about making that public this time around." He said.
"Yes." Ax said, then looked back at Marco. "Assuming we want to, of course." He added.
The shorter man shrugged. "My show needs a ratings boost. Besides, I never did like skirting around it."
Ax frowned at him, confused. "Skirting around it?" He asked. Marco sighed, leaning back against the wall.
"It's an expression, Ax-man. It means to not lie, per se, but just not tell everything." The shorter man explained.
"Ah, a lie of omission." Ax said, now understanding without a doubt. "It never was satisfying, I must admit."
Marco nodded. "I gotta agree with you on that. But, Ax-man, you know that your people don't remember, either."
Ax picked himself up off the bed and looked boyfriend in the eyes. "I know that." He said with a grim smile.
"I don't intend to keep them in the dark any longer." Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil said, his voice determined.
Marco shrugged, and Ax could have sworn he saw a glint of something like pride in his eyes.
"Your decision." Marco said. "And of course, if anything happens, you can always stay here with me."
Ax smiled, grateful at the offer. "Thank you." He whispered, and Marco grew sheepish. "It's no big deal." He said.
It was, however, quite a big deal to the Andalite. It was quite a relief to know that he had support on his decision.
And he did stay the rest of the day there.
----------------
It happened the day afterwards while Ax was on his way to the kitchen-slash-dining quarters. Prince Jake had requested all of the crew and Ax, to act as mediator, be there early in order to inform the beings on board of their new living arrangements.
One moment Ax, now Andalite again, was making his way towards the eating area, and the next moment time itself seemed to have stopped. On instinct Ax turned to fight whatever enemy had presented itself.
AXIMILI, BE CALM. The Ellimist said, his tone hinting he found the Andalite's reaction funny.
It's you, Ellimist. Ax said. He didn't even bother to conceal his bitterness. YES, I AM HERE. It said.
DO NOT WORRY, I HAVE NOTHING TO ASK FROM YOU. The Ellimist assured Ax.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR DEFEAT OF THE ONE. The not-quite-all-powerful being said.
Ax stopped dead in his tracks as he realized something. It was you who freed us! The Andalite gasped.
The Ellimist shook its head, which was not a true head at all. I AWAKENED THE ONE'S INHABITANTS. YOU WERE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR GAINING YOUR FREEDOM, THOUGH. The Ellimist said.
I GAVE YOU A CHANCE AT FREEDOM, NO INTERFERENCE. THE CHOICE WAS YOURS.
You call that no interference? Ax asked, not believing a word the Ellimist said. You're nothing but a meddler.
The Ellimist laughed. YOU MAY BE RIGHT, ANDALITE. I'M CERTAIN YOUR BROTHER WOULD AGREE. HOWEVER, THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS. I DO NOT INTERFERE.
For some reason I'm staring to doubt that. Ax said, his voice dry and cutting. DOUBT AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE.
What have you come to tell me? Ax asked, suspicion and doubt lining his voice.
I'VE COME TO GIVE YOU A PIECE OF ADVICE, THAT IS ALL. The Ellimist said.
REMEMBER THIS, AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISHTIL, BROTHER OF ELFANGOR-SIRINAL-SHAMTUL. REMEMBER THIS ONE FACT OF LIFE. NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES YOU ARE FACED WITH, THERE IS ALWAYS ONE ENDURING THING THAT NEVER LEAVE YOU. The Ellimist said.
REMEMBER THAT THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.
Then time started up again, back to normal. And the Ellimist? He was gone.
Ax raced to the kitchen-slash-dining quarters.
----------------
The meeting was long and torturous.
Ax wasn't sure why he expected it to be any different. However, Prince Jake and the others had managed to convince the others now living on The Rachel-Blade Ship mix to cooperate with each other in a peaceful manner.
Ax himself doubted that anyone besides Prince Jake would have been able to pull off such a feat. The responsibility of keeping the peace now lay on the shoulders, or perhaps tail in Ax's case, of Menderash, Jeanne and Ax; though the other three members of The Rachel's crew also held that duty in their own ways.
All those aboard were to sign an agreement of peace that was to be kept until all those aboard were returned to their families and/or homeworlds. Menderash and Ax were made the ship's captains, which was a large relief to Menderash who swore he woke up in a cold sweat at the thought of Marco operating his communications system.
Jeanne was Jake's principal Officer of the Peace, as the other aliens had taken to calling her. She developed a rapport with most lifeforms on the ship, and those she lacked that bond with, knew enough to respect her.
Santorelli, who had been assigned as Jeanne's second-in-command, fell into the second category. On the plus side, this did lead to the gruff Officer's begrudging respect to "that feminazi" and "the two faggots", as he said.
Marco was assigned the job of entertaining any unruly ship-goers to keep them from doing any damage.
He turned out to be rather successful in this endeavor, which surprised quite a few people.
Jake, of course, remained the ship's leader. Much like Ax, even though they came from different races, they knew that Jake was the kind of person one gave their respect to. He was the kind that knew how to lead.
The final destinations of ex-Animorphs and those aboard the Rachel were a bit scattered in and of itself.
Menderash had made the decision to live on Earth for the time being. Aside from his family and friends, he said, there wasn't anyone on the Homeworld that would even bother to care if he was gone. He was lucky that his family and close friends were enthusiastic tourists, Earth just happening to be one of their favorite vacation spots.
Jeanne intended to work with other lifeforms both on her home planet and elsewhere. Sergeant Santorelli was banking to quit the military and live with his wife and children, away from all this madness.
Tobias was going to return to Earth as well, still living as a hawk, but this time keeping in touch with his loved ones. Jake was planning to try living on Earth again, perhaps this time attempting to get past the pain of losing his brother and cousin. He also had every intention to apologize to Cassie when he got home, both for missing her wedding and for not having the guts to fight for her, and telling her that he hoped Ronnie did a better job.
Marco, of course, was going back to Earth. He had resolved to make no effort to hide his feelings for the Andalite. He'd also decided that, of all people, Tilopid should be the first to cover those feelings in print, not Christopher Tompson and in a real publication like Time as opposed to a random broadcast. Though he had made no mention of this to anyone whatsoever, he was going to ask Ax to live with him, at least part-time.
Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil was going to return to his homeworld for a while. Just as Marco had, he had also resolved to make no effort to hide his own feelings. If he people refused to accept that, it was fine with him. However, Ax wanted to see if he could at least try to open his people's eyes. It wasn't a permanent plan, of course. Ax had every single intention to return to Earth and continue his life as a Nothlit. After all, he had to pay his landlady all of his now immense debt of rent money somehow. The prospect of these actions did overwhelm the little brother of Elfangor at times, yet it was as the Ellimist said -- there was always hope. Even if his people never outgrew their outlook, even if his relationship with Marco and the others fell apart, there would always be hope.
And somewhere, some time, a not-quite-all-powerful being laughed as thousands of timelines, spurred on by the random bond sparked between two other twisting lines, began to change and transform towards a more open and peaceful life.
No interference required.
Those Who Reviewed During the One-Day Gap Between These Chaps (reviewer response):
Doctor Strangelove - My sincerest apologies, but it is all over now. I'll still be writing, of course, so don't worry about a lack of M/A, if that works as consolation. Yay, Ax/Oz! **cheers** I can't wait to see that! (Extra points if Marco and/or Tobias get involved. Yes, my mind works in odd ways.) Your fic idea both intrigues and scares me. Kind of reminds me of this one time a friend and I were joking around about writing a fic where Ax gets "ill" (use that slash-sex-starved brain of yours, I'm sure you can guess what I mean) when he discovers the blocked channels on his satelite dish. Bad things happened. You know what? I think I should stop discussing this before I write something I'm going to regret more than my gender-bending fic. Shoo, evil ideas, shoo! =P Good luck to you on finding an NC-17, by the way. Despite a lot of the random m/m NC-17 stuff I've found for this fandom, somehow it all avoids being M/A. Weird. Tell me if you find something. Oy, I cannot believe I just encouraged someone to find sex fic. I am going to go to hell. **sigh** Oh yeah, and human/Andalite sex...ACK! EWW! NOOOO! **runs away in fear** Manly handshakes are good, very, very, very good. The scary thing is, I read a fic where there was human/Andalite interaction, so to speak. It was WRONG. Okay, now that I'm gonna shut up, I leave you with this one command -- write more fic! Please!
