Chipp had been surprised to say the least when a bedraggled looking man in a red bandana turned up on his doorstep, grinning sheepishly at him. Axl had been soaked through, having just been caught out in the near-torrential rain and wind. His blonde hair was plastered to his face and his bandana only hanging on limply half over his face because of how tight the knot at been.
But, playing the good host, Chipp had stepped aside and let him dump his waterlogged shopping bags in the hallway and dry off.
Axl was sat on the floor by the couch, a cup of steaming tea clasped between both hands and a towel around his shoulders. He had been heart-broken when the ninja had put his bandana over the radiator to dry off, claiming it would give him a cold, or the flu, but eventually he had given up and let go of it.
His own clothes were in the tumble dryer and he was wearing some of Chipp's old clothes. They were too big and a little too snug around the waist. Axl had noted this. He had put on some weight after all. He hadn't said much since he'd come in and was staring into his mug, trying not to catch his eye.
Chipp came back into the room, holding a cup of green tea. He stopped in front of Axl. "… So…?"
He looked up shyly, "… Mmm?"
"What happened?" He sat on the couch behind him.
"… I, er… Missed the bus… I remembered I had to go and get something and when I got back I had missed the last bus."
Oh yes. He had missed the bus alright. He had stood at the bus stop dithering between running after Chipp and going home for so long the bus had come and gone before he knew it. He knew for a fact there was a train leaving in ten minutes to where he wanted to go, but… The wicked part of him made him linger a little outside the station. In fact, he managed to 'linger' for ten whole minutes. It only took a few minutes to decide that Chipp would know what he could do for some reason though…
Chipp sighed, rolling his eyes. "Typical."
He smiled in spit of himself, reading his head on Chipp's leg. Chipp nudged him off gently. "Mmm."
"So, what were you thinking of doing?" He asked, glancing at the Brit, "I don't know if there are any trains running to where you're going."
"Neither do I…" There was one going in about half an hour. He could catch it easily. "Would… Would it be too much trouble if… er… I…"
"If you…?"
"Stayed the night?" Axl blushed, "I mean, only because I don't know when there are trains running and a cab driver wouldn't want to go all the way…" He stopped, going crimson. How that innuendo slipped out he didn't know.
Luckily, Chipp didn't appear to notice. "… Are you sure there aren't any trains running?"
"Want me to go out there and check?" Axl stood up, finishing his tea and jerking a thumb towards the rain.
He sighed and shook his head. "Fine. You can stay. You're sleeping on the couch though."
"Are you really sure?" He beamed at him, "Thanks… I really appreciate it…" He sat back next to him.
He shrugged in response. "Whatever. It's your loss. This sofa's the lumpiest bastard in the history of furniture."
Axl giggled, but then was suddenly very aware of the fact that he was right next to him, shoulders pushing against each other. It was uncomfortable but worth it. Oh yes. He had sorted out this romantically related problem of his. To think… All this time he had been harbouring a passion for Chipp Zanuff! He was so… moody all the time, so unlike himself. Maybe that was what he found unbearably attractive about him. He distracted himself by changing the subject. "So… You own this place?"
"No. I rent it." He shook his head, frowning, "It's a dump. Besides, I move around a lot so it doesn't really matter."
"Oh. It's nice." Well, nice but boring. Axl stood up, tilting his head to one side. "Hmm… I'm hungry. How about I try and make something to eat?"
The 'try' part worried Chipp slightly.
--
Chipp pulled out a blanket. It was an old one, but that was a good thing. It was soft from the number of washes it had been through. They had a memory to go with every single one of them. He remembered all of them, flinching a little. He didn't know why he was hanging on to it still, there were too many bad memories attached to it. He brushed a hand over it. It was cold tonight. A little selfish impulse came over him and he took the blanket into his own room. It had too much emotional value to lend to Axl.
Axl.
He walked back to the cupboard, taking out another blanket. What to do about Axl. He had a little idea of what was going on. It was the way he looked at him when he thought he wasn't looking, in that cute but lustful way. He… had looked at someone like that before… At Anji… He smiled slightly, despite still feeling a bit of a fool lowering himself to doing something so... Not him. But something good had come out of it.
But what should he do about Axl?
He sighed, yanking out another quilt to use as a pillow. He didn't want to endorse this crush he seemed to have on him. It was bad enough he had to stay the night. He should have said no. He should have just let him stay for a few minutes and then gotten rid of him somehow. He would have to do what he could though.
When he wandered back into the living room, Axl had helped himself to a mug of hot milk. He smiled sleepily at him, blue eyes half closed. "Mum always said it was good to drink something warm before you go to bed." He explained, yawning a little.
Chipp looked at him properly. He was quite cute in a way, if you liked that sort of thing. It was probably that smile of his. It was infectious. The guy seemed to wear himself out pretty easily. He just didn't seem to stop talking sometimes. You just had to bring up one thing and he would find something about it to tell you about. He probably knew every one of his thirteen cousins and six second cousins. In fact, he could probably put them in age order.
"Whatever." He'd started to rely on those two syllables. It was the best thing to say most of the time.
He put down the mug and took one of the blankets from Chipp. "Thanks."
He began to make up a little bed on the sofa. There was more room than Axl had expected and he had almost made it look cosy. "There we go." He turned to thank Chipp, but the ninja had disappeared into the kitchen. He popped his head around the door. "Chipp…?"
He was standing by a cupboard, sorting through some boxes. Sleeping tablets. He took out one, two three, four.
"Are you okay?"
He looked up, and shrugged loosely, putting the pills in his mouth and washing them down with a glass of cold water. He looked paler than usual. Axl risked putting an arm around his shoulders. Not for himself but because he was worried. "You shouldn't take so many… You'll make yourself ill…"
Chipp went rigid as he said it and pushed him away. "Fuck off, Low." He hissed maliciously, switching off the kitchen light and stalking into the living room, turning that light off then disappearing into his bedroom.
Axl watched after him silently, gripping his elbows. That hadn't gone well. He carefully felt his way back into the other room and clambered into bed, forgetting about the milk. He was too worried to care now. But the blankets were thick and warm and somehow he managed to drift into an uneasy slumber.
--
"Shit!"
Axl opened one eye lazily. It was still dark. At first he suspected a burglar, but then his mind kicked groggily into action and he recognised the voice as Chipp's. It appeared he had tripped over the arm of the sofa.
"… Chipp? Where're you going, it's late…" He mumbled, sitting up.
"Nightmare… Woke up… Getting some more pills."
"Oh no you don't." Axl reached out and grabbed his arm as he went past and gasped softly. He was freezing cold. "Chipp… C'mere…" He yanked him a little closer, pulling him next to him on the couch. "Get in. You're freezing…" Chipp struggled for a moment, then gave in, obviously exhausted and rested his head on his chest.
"Fuck… you… Axl…" He mumbled, closing his eyes and pulling the blanket tightly around himself.
"Good night to you too Chipp."
