Scandinavian Heartstrings, in Drop D.

Chapter 7.2 Fairy tale first

Toki had no clue what he was going to do when he got up there. The correct etiquette was to beat the living shit out of the lying Swedish Prick, hungover or not. Toki was so enraged that he was perfectly calm, and his blood ran as cold as the Lillehammer winter. He approached the door and stepped into the half-light of Pickles's room.

A ray of sunshine cut through the heavy curtains and fell dreamily across Skwisgaar's back, causing the dry parts of his hair to shine magnificently. The stark white of his skin contrasted perfectly with the dark sheets as he lay face down grasping the pillow under his head. His back rose and fell delicately as he slumbered, and his features were soft and innocent. It was like a scene from a fairy tale, providing that fairy tale involved a pool of wish-granting vomit, and Toki had to take an artist's step back and appreciate it. He leaned against the dresser and lit a cigarette, watching the smoke curl in the beam of light as he centred himself in his Zen of anger.

Skwisgaar was beautiful. He had the sort of beauty that made poets hang themselves and painters burn all their canvases; even after he had thrown up everywhere. The gods must have descended to earth and encased the shimmering radiance of a falling star into his very bones. No one denied him; he was adored, respected, revered, worshipped as the crimson idol. How many millions of teenage girls and boys had posters of him on their walls? Women wanted him, and men wanted to be him.

Toki contemplated the guitar god as he smoked. How could a man of such splendour be filled with so much contempt? Skwisgaar had no appreciation for the love shown to him, he just expected it. Toki had never known such love. He was shunned by his village, punished by God through the hands of his father, and had wandered the dark, invisible places of this world. Even now, Toki stood in the shadows while Skwisgaar was bathed in radiant light. The man who had been shown nothing but love his whole life had none for anyone else.

Toki hated him.

Skwisgaar was roused by the smell of smoke and groaned as he returned to the world of conscious beings. He curled his body slightly as he rolled onto his side and startled himself by accidentally looking into the light beam.

"Looks like that 'Ak-va-vit' is some pretty powerful shit." Toki spat the Swedish word mockingly from the shadows. Skwisgaar blinked furiously in the direction of the voice. Then let his face fall back into the pillow.

"Fucks off." He said plainly. Toki took a few heavy steps over to the bed and blew smoke down into his face. Skwisgaar made a low grumbling noise but was still too frail to do anything much else.

"Look at you. You're pathetic." Toki drew back hard on his cigarette. Skwisgaar poked one eye out from the pillow to glare at him.

"Get out of here before I murder you." Skwisgaar said without moving anything other than his lips. Toki leaned his face in close to Skwisgaar's and stared straight into the one eye watching from the bed.

"I'd like to see you try." His voice was low, and smoke rolled from his tongue like the hot breath of a predator circling its prey in the snow. He stubbed out his cigarette aggressively in the ashtray beside the bed, grinding it hard into the porcelain with his thumb. Skwisgaar's shoulders tensed around the pillow and his brow furrowed above his attentive eye.

Toki took hold of Skwisgaar's shoulder and forcibly rolled him onto his back. In one quick movement, he lept onto the bed and threw a leg over Skwisgaar's torso, straddling him like a horse, trapping him. Skwisgaar groaned indignantly and glared up at Toki. He reached up and loosely grabbed a fistful of Toki's blue T-shirt.

"Toki, I'm warning you." Skwisgaar said in a vain effort to be menacing. Toki just laughed derisively and leaned into his tug.

"Oh God, look at you. You're like a little wolf cub, nipping around, trying to be like his daddy. But I suppose you wouldn't know about that, would you." Toki tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eyes.