AA: Nope. I have no idea whether there actually IS a phone on the May Ship… Call it artistic license. XD And surely with a bloody collection of them, Johnny would be able to PLAY a guitar…
"Good morning, Chipp."
"… Morning."
Axl heaved himself up onto the kitchen work surface, swinging his legs. The other man was busy trying to get his toast out of the toaster before it burned, poking a knife about inside, "You making toast? I'll have a slice…" He commented (though he appeared not to notice), then noticing what he was doing, switched off the plug the toaster was connected to. "Careful… You'll electrocute yourself…" He said softly. He received a glower for being concerned. "… Chipp? Chipp, what's the matter…? Have I done something wrong?"
"No." Came the husky reply as he buttered his toast.
"Oh…" He stared at his bare feet, wiggling his toes. "… Is it because of last night?" He mumbled, blinking up at the ninja, biting his lip.
Chipp's red eyes met Axl's blue ones. He hesitated, seeing how upset he was. He couldn't lie but… He sighed and bit into the toast, leaving it hanging out of his mouth as he sat on the side next to him. He swallowed and shrugged. "Yes and no."
He cocked his head to one side. "Err… yes and no?"
"Well…" He nibbled the edge of the toast, "… I… It's hard to explain."
"I know you have Anji, Chipp… He's a lucky bloke. But last night was nothing to do with it. Besides nothing happened that wasn't supposed to be in a completely friendly way. Nothing else. I'd have done the same for anyone else, you know. You were cold and tired and I wasn't about to let you take any more of those bloody tablets."
Chipp blushed. "What I do is none of your business! Don't be nosey."
"Look. You know I care about you… I didn't deny it; I only said I wouldn't intrude on you and Anji. So I don't like seeing you killing yourself! Especially when I could so something to stop you!" Axl retorted and slid off the side, "If you can't understand that…" He shook his head and forced a smile, "… Hah… Listen to me going on. I should get home..." He turned and disappeared into the living room to get his things. Most of his shopping had been put in Chipp's (rather empty) fridge but didn't want to spend any more time in that kitchen. You could cut the tension with a knife.
He'd tried to hide it, but Chipp had seen that hurt look in his eye.
--
"Stupid, stupid, stupid…" He hissed, fingers fumbling over his laces. "How could you be so stupid…! Of course he wouldn't care… Stupid!" He stood up and ran a hand through his already ruffled hair. He looked a state… What would he see in him anyway? "Stupid!"
"Axl…?" Chipp hovered uncertainly by the door.
"Mm?" He flashed him a smile. Yep, that was him, Axl Low, optimism in a nutshell. "I'm sorry but I really have to get going… I don't want to miss my train again…" He picked up his bags, "Well… Thank you for letting me stay at such short notice…" He opened the door, not wanting to hang around where he wasn't wanted, "See you around…!" He hurried out and shut the door behind him, walking as fast as he could down the corridor and stairs.
"Axl! Wait a second!" Chipp threw the door open, yelling after him down the hallway, "You forgot your-" The Brit had gone. He sighed deeply, leaning against the door frame, clutching the other's bandana in one hand.
--
"JOHNNY! THE PHONE'S RINGING!"
Johnny glanced up, "THEN PICK IT UP!" He yelled back through the door, picking up his guitar again.
"IT'S FOR YOU, JOHNNY!"
He sighed and stood up, leaving the guitar where it was and opening the door, "WHO IS IT?"
"AXL!"
"What the… How'd he get my number? BRING THE PHONE TO ME-"
May darted around the corner and held up the phone, "He says it's urgent."
Johnny took the phone, nodded his head in thanks and sat back down at a chair, kicking the door behind him closed. He held the phone up to his ear cautiously, "Hello?"
"Hey, Johnny…"
"How'd you get my number!"
"Yellow pages. Obviously…"
"What's up?"
"Oh Johnny… I'm going mad…"
"Uh-huh. Tell me something I don't know."
"Don't tease me! It's not funny! I'm such a complete idiot… I had to tell someone… Your name came up first in my phone book."
"Well go on then, spit it out. I have things to do."
There was a deep, long sigh. "Well…"
And he told and sighed some more in between. And Johnny listened. He sat up. "Axl, I don't know what to say…"
"… You don't have to say anything. I just needed to tell someone how I felt…"
"To be fair, Axl, you shouldn't have tried coming on to him when he was-"
"I wasn't coming on to him!" He sounded hurt. "I just… wanted to… be close to him for a little while…"
"Tell me something, what were you expecting him to do? Suddenly drop onto his knees and proclaim you were the love of his life? Pull out a white horse and ride off with him?"
"Don't take the piss, Johnny! Chipp doesn't like horses. He told me last night."
"You're a basket case…" Johnny coughed, trying to change the subject when he heard the other sigh. "So… What kind pf pajamas does he wear?"
There was a wicked little chuckle from the other end of the line. "He doesn't wear pajamas. He wears his undies and a t-shirt. Mmm… He has nice legs."
He winced, shaking his head, "Look, I'd love to spend the next three hours talking about Chipp's legs but I have better things to be doing…"
Axl blew a raspberry down the phone, "Oh whatever. I'll talk to myself instead."
With a laugh, he clicked the phone off, standing up and placing the phone on the chair next to his. What a nut case.
