•
He knew Axl knew.
Axl knew that Slash knew that he knew.
But neither ever spoke on it.
"Did they say anything about that international tour yet?" Axl asks, holding the cellphone between his shoulder and his ear as he washed the dishes.
He knew that their marriage was doomed, but it wouldn't kill to at least act a bit domestic.
Slash's answer was a bit bored and distracted. "Yeah, uh....." He makes a muffled noise and then clears his throat. "Yeah. We're actually supposed to meet the guys for dinner after the show tonight."
Axl gives a small, tired smile at that, angling his five-month pregnant belly away from the edge of the sink as it was becoming uncomfortable.
"I hope you get to do it. You guys are fuckin' awesome." He says, making his voice sound cheerful so Slash knows how happy he was for him.
"Thanks, Ax..." Slash murmurs softly into the phone.
Axl's heart nearly burst. Slash was doing the bare-fucking-minimum and Axl was eating it up. "You wanna talk to Syd? She really misses—"
"Actually, Axl, I'll talk to you guys later." And the line clicks, signaling the end of the call.
Axl's smile collapses as he pulls one dripping hand from the sink to grab his phone from his shoulder before staring at the screen.
He shut the phone off and stuffed it into his back pocket.
Slash continued breaking his own record of how fast he could end a call with his husband.
Axl knew what to expect from the man, but it never stopped hurting. It never stopped.
As tears burned at the back of his eyes, his brother Steven strolled into the kitchen with Axl and Slash's 4-year-old daughter, Sydney, perched on his hip.
"What'd he say?" Steven asked with a big smile.
Axl turned away from the sink to face his brother with red-rimmed eyes.
Steven's smile immediately fell. "He hung up again."
Axl broke down. "He won't even talk to Sydney anymore!" He cried, feeling his heart clench in his chest. Steven approached him, pulling him into a hug.
"I get not caring about me, but his daughter? What the fuck is wrong with him?!"
In between his sobbing, he heard, "Mama?"
Axl lifted his head, wiping at his face.
Steven passed the child to Axl and watched the two with a heavy heart.
"Mama's here, sweetie." Axl sniffled. "Let's go watch your show, huh?"
Sydney brightens at that. "Paw Patrol!"
Axl gave a small, heartbroken smile, leaning his forehead against hers. "Yeah....Paw Patrol...."
Then he carries her to the family room, leaving Steven silent in the kitchen.
•
He doesn't bother getting in touch with Slash for the next few days.
Slash doesn't bother either, seeing as Axl's phone hasn't rang or buzzed with any new calls or messages from him. Only Ola and Ash. Slash never does make the first move.
"Alright, love bug, we're just gonna get a few things for dinner," Axl emphasizes to his toddler as he sits her at the top of the shopping cart with her tablet. "Then we can get home. Uncle Duff is coming over."
