Chapter Text

May 28th, 1979

Slash walked down the street, in the dark, to the forest. Already not looking too bright. But he had done this every day for the past several months. And he would keep doing it once school got out. He walked to a place where he liked to think that only he and one other person knew about. Even if that wasn’t necessarily true, he’d never seen anyone else there. 

And who was this other person he was hoping to see there?

Axl. Axl Rose. Or at least that’s what the boy liked to call himself. 

He and Slash had met about the time school started, in a drug store. Neither of them should have really been there, but that wasn’t the point. Both of them being introverts, it was a miracle they had even started talking. 

Slash knew that Axl was older than him, but when he found out that the redhead was 17, three years older than him, instead of running away, he felt more drawn to him. He wanted to know more about Axl. He was intrigued. 

The only problem was that they hardly ever got three quiet hours. They usually saw each other at night, leading them to stay up way later than they should have, making them tired in the morning. Although it mattered more for Slash since he wasn’t the one who dropped out of school. 

That was another thing that Slash found interesting about Axl. The guy had managed to drop out of school and somehow not get killed by his stepdad and mother. 

Slash walked a few feet further before walking onto an open path right into a forest that would eventually lead to their spot. 

His thoughts endlessly revolved around Axl. A lot of people could say that Axl had looks, but Slash could say a lot more. Unholy, unhinged, and definitely not to come out of his mouth. It was a good thing to get older girls, but older guys? Yeah right. Slash was 14, and Axl was 17. If he went to school, he’d be a senior, and here was Slash, a 9th grader in Jr. High. The chances of Slash getting the words out of his mouth and not getting a blow to the face by Axl seemed pretty slim. So he kept his mouth shut. Whatever hots he had for Axl would just stay with him and only with him for however long he could manage. 

Slash didn’t really know if he expected to meet Axl today. The guy seemed busy lately, and sometimes he couldn’t make it at all. But of course, being how he was, Slash told himself that even if the chances are small, he would still wait for the ginger. What could he say? He looked up to the guy. Literally. He was still growing. 

But that didn’t stop him from basically falling in love with him. Even he thought it was dumb to be falling in love so early. He still had the rest of his life ahead of him, and there he was, at age 14, having wet dreams about the guy who probably had a girlfriend that no one knew about. 

The trees opened up to reveal a small walkway to a small wooden bridge that went over a small river, leading to a bigger lake. The night sky was spotted with clouds, and stars were visible. With the trees out of the way, Slash felt a somewhat chilly breeze momentarily cool the warm air. 

Slash walked onto the bridge and rested his elbows on the edge of it. He’d wait for hours. And after a while, if he didn’t see Axl, he’d walk back home. He sometimes felt bad about constantly leaving his grandmother at home by herself at night, but it was one of his only chances to see Axl unless they bumped into each other on the street. 

Slash stood there, looking out at the lake for about 30 minutes before he heard light footsteps and a throat clearing. 

“Hey, Curly,” Axl said from behind him. Slash turned around, smiling at the sight of Axl. His chest fluttered at the sight and at the way the nickname rolled off Axl’s tongue. 

“Hey, Red,” Slash replied. Axl stood at the opening of the trees and stuck a hand into his pocket. Slash stepped closer to him and looked him over. He was wearing a leather vest with nothing under it, a bandana around his neck, and the tightest leather pants. Damn if Slash had ever seen someone so fine… 

He didn’t really notice that he had been staring until Axl got his attention.

“Fuck, Slash, remind me never to wear this again,” Axl said, gesturing to himself and smiling. Slash shook his head.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. He turned and walked back over to the bridge and leaned his back against it.

“How long have you been waiting?” Axl asked after walking up to stand next to Slash, looking out at the lake.

“Half an hour or so,” Slash said. He looked at Axl, who nodded, still looking at the lake. 

“Nice night, huh?” Slash asked after a minute. 

“Yeah, I don’t get to see it often anymore,” Axl said, then sighed. It was true. Recently, Axl had been coming out less and less often since things with his family got complicated. But that didn’t stop Slash from going. It gave him a few hours to relax and have a smoke by himself. 

“How are things at home?” Slash asked. Axl shook his head and turned so he was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Slash.

“Shitty as ever,” the ginger said. “Stephen’s been limiting my time out of the house lately, trying to convince me that everything that ain’t in the house is the work of satan. Makes no fuckin’ sense anymore. Not that it did to begin with. The son of a bitch is crazy.”

Slash rolled his eyes at the mention of Stephen’s crazy work. How ironic. The crazy guy was heavily religious, yet he beat Axl every time he so much as heard music that wasn’t evangelical. Sometimes, Slash wanted to go up to Axl’s stepfather himself and ask, “Would God want you doing that? Huh? Would he want you beating the shit out of the kid for stepping outside?” Then beat the guy himself. But Slash knew that he’d most likely lose, so he never even thought past that.

“Axe, you know my grandmother, and I would keep you safe… Just if you ever feel like running away…” Slash said slowly. He looked at Axl cautiously. Axl had been to Slash’s grandmother’s house a few times, but to have him stay there for more than five minutes? Days, even? Slash wouldn’t be able to think it without combusting.

“Yeah, I know, Slash. I’m just too afraid of him finding out,” Axl told Slash, turning his head to fully look at him. Slash nodded and looked down. Axl grabbed his jaw gently and turned Slash’s head to look at him.

“Don’t feel bad, kid. You can’t do anything about the shitty way I’m treated at home. I’m still here, see?” Axl said. Slash furrowed his brows. He wanted to tell Axl that he wasn’t that much more of a kid than Axl was, but that just wasn’t true. 

Slash leaned into the touch for a moment before Axl dropped his hand. He really wished Axl didn’t have such a fucked up home. Maybe then he wouldn’t get so… Finicky when it came to trusting people. 

Axl and Slash stayed by the bridge for a few minutes before Slash took Axl’s hand and guided him back through the forest. 

“Where are we going?” Axl asked. Slash shrugged and continued pulling Axl along. He wanted to get his feet moving, anything to keep him from thinking about the most solemn of subjects. But the feeling of Axl’s hand in his, the warmth of it, it was exhilarating. He thought, what if I just take Axl back to my room and let him- 

Slash cut himself off. No. He may be the horniest kid on the block, but that was no excuse to think these things about Axl when he should really be thinking these things about a girl. He could feel something warm pooling in his groin area and realized that it was blood. Fuck. Now was not the time. The last thing Slash needed was to be hard while hanging out with Axl of all people. It was embarrassing. Sure, it sometimes happened while he thought about Axl in his own room, but with Axl? Slash rolled his eyes. 

Once Slash and Axl made it back to the sidewalk, Slash let Axl’s hand go reluctantly. Sometimes he wondered if Axl was just hanging out with Slash because he was cool or if he genuinely wanted to be his friend. Their age gap seemed like a lot, but in just a few years, it would be like nothing. 

Stop, Slash told himself. Now isn’t the time. Slash reached into his pocket for a cigarette and realized that he had none. That or he’d forgotten to put a pack in his pocket before leaving. 

“You got any cigs?” Slash asked Axl. Axl shook his head. “Alright, why don’t we head to the store then?” Axl nodded. Axl seemed awfully quiet all of a sudden. 

“You okay, Axe?” 

“I guess so,” Axl replied. Slash wasn’t convinced in the slightest, but he knew Axl wasn’t going to crack, no matter what he said. And even if Slash tried, he’d just end up with a tooth or two knocked in.

He wanted to say it. Let me hold you. Let me comfort you. I’m here for you. Slash wanted to say those words so bad, but he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. 

The two came up on the drug store right outside of Slash’s neighborhood after a few quiet minutes. Axl went in and got three packs for the two of them. Slash watched Axl through the window. The way he effortlessly slid a dollar onto the counter, which had to be less than enough, and slipped out of the store before the guy who sold to him had a chance to pull more money out of him. They each lit a cigarette and continued walking. 

After too many more minutes of silence, Slash felt something at his hand, and when he looked down, Axl’s hand was there. Slash almost flinched, but he somehow stopped himself. He smiled, that fluttery feeling going back to his chest. 

He knew that neither he nor Axl would allow anyone to see them like this. Not in broad daylight, but it was night now. Slash knew, just knew, that if Slash’s best friend, Steven, saw him like this with another guy, even if he didn’t give a shit, the whole school would know about it. Shit, the whole country would know about it. 

 ***

At some point, Slash and Axl made it back to Slash’s grandmother’s house, still hand-in-hand. Slash didn’t dare let go; This was a rare, soft, silent, yet very exciting moment between him and Axl. Whether Axl knew it or not. He was sure Axl had caught the way Slash looked at him sometimes. Hell, he was sure Axl could feel the excitement flowing off him as they walked. 

This was how their nights went sometimes. At times, they would have loud, chaotic nights of fun, and others were like this. Soft and quiet. It was honestly surprising how they managed to do it. 

They walked up to the door, careful not to make any loud noises. 

“Thanks for hangin’ out with me,” Slash said, rubbing his neck, suddenly nervous. Axl smirked.

“Of course, Slash. You’re my friend. I want to hang out with you. You over my shitty household any day.”

Slash smiled at the older redhead. 

“Tomorrow?” he offered. 

“Tomorrow,” Axl replied. Then he stepped close to Slash, almost too close, but Slash didn’t say anything. If anything, he leaned closer to Axl. He felt so small next to him. So young. So much younger than Axl than he really was. 

Axl leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Slash’s cheek, so close to his mouth. Slash’s knees went weak, and he thought he might fall. 

“Love you,” Axl said before turning away and walking back down the street to his own house. Slash’s mouth opened slightly. He wanted to scream. He wanted to yell at Axl for dropping something like that on him randomly and then leaving. But he probably only meant it in a brotherly way. Or platonic. Slash needed to stop overthinking everything. Especially if it didn’t need to be overthought. 

As Slash walks up to his room, that moment with Axl, the whole night, really, replayed through his head over and over again. That didn’t seem likely to happen. Was that why Axl was so quiet? Had he been thinking about doing that? Or was it impulsive? There he was again, overthinking. Slash rolled his eyes to himself and quietly got himself ready to go to sleep. 

He would definitely ask Axl about that tomorrow.